Parcelforce/Customs Outragous Charges

mellowmick

Hi. I have been trawling the net about this subject and wonder if anyone can give me some advice about my issue please?
I purchased some small motorcycle parts from australia which i recieved no problem. Unfortunately there were manufacturing issues with them and the shop i purchased them off no longer dealt with the manufacturer anymore.
The shop then sourced new parts from another manufacturer and said he would send me a set of the new parts free of charge. Very decent i thought. It turned out the new manufacturer is in the USA and the shop mailed them and instructed them to send the parts direct to me instead of to him in australia then him send onto me,to save time.
I have been tracking the parcel and it sat at parcelforces coventry hub for 3 days where it was "awaiting customs clearance" then status changed to "awaiting customs charges"
Like i say i have been looking at this charge parcelforce seem to put on and have read multiple posts on it saying it is illegal charge and to contest it. I do not have any queries with the vat and import duty,i just begrudge paying an extra charge by parcelforce just for collecting my parcel which they would have done anyway.
It also seems bad as these parts were free to me to replace faulty parts.
Any advice on this issue greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Mick.

custardy

mellowmick wrote: »

Hi. I have been trawling the net about this subject and wonder if anyone can give me some advice about my issue please?
I purchased some small motorcycle parts from australia which i recieved no problem. Unfortunately there were manufacturing issues with them and the shop i purchased them off no longer dealt with the manufacturer anymore.
The shop then sourced new parts from another manufacturer and said he would send me a set of the new parts free of charge. Very decent i thought. It turned out the new manufacturer is in the USA and the shop mailed them and instructed them to send the parts direct to me instead of to him in australia then him send onto me,to save time.
I have been tracking the parcel and it sat at parcelforces coventry hub for 3 days where it was "awaiting customs clearance" then status changed to "awaiting customs charges"
Like i say i have been looking at this charge parcelforce seem to put on and have read multiple posts on it saying it is illegal charge and to contest it. I do not have any queries with the vat and import duty,i just begrudge paying an extra charge by parcelforce just for collecting my parcel which they would have done anyway.
It also seems bad as these parts were free to me to replace faulty parts.
Any advice on this issue greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Mick.

well that was yours to sort out before you let Parcelforce do the clearance for you

mellowmick

That is the technicality i have been reading about on the internet.My contract is with the sender,postage is paid to get the parcel from his place in usa to my address. I am not given the opportunity to pay the customs charges,parcelforce just jump in and pay it and charge an amount for the pleasure.I should be given the oppurtunity to pay customs,not just have it done and incur an extra charge??
cheers.
mick

custardy

mellowmick wrote: »

That is the technicality i have been reading about on the internet.My contract is with the sender,postage is paid to get the parcel from his place in usa to my address. I am not given the opportunity to pay the customs charges,parcelforce just jump in and pay it and charge an amount for the pleasure.I should be given the oppurtunity to pay customs,not just have it done and incur an extra charge??
cheers.
mick

well you havent read very well
your opportunity comes from before the item is sent
usual blah,blah I wasnt given an opportunity
go and look on the other PF threads Ive posted on, as its boring dealing with the same stuff
you and your sender chose to leave the receiving carrier to deal with customs

mazza111

In your case, not really.

What you should have done, is declared the duty on the items before having them shipped. Which you couldn't really do as it's was from a 3rd party. Once the customs has been declared, PF will still send your items to you. So it's still going from A-B. Which is what's been paid for with the postage. What PF are charging for is paying the customs for you, along with all the other admin that goes with it.


But look on the bright side, you didn't get hit with customs charges when you imported from Australia??

You could always write to customs after getting your parts to explain that these were replacement parts, but they may then notice that you didn't pay import duty on the other ones..

mazza111

Custardly, I think you're being a wee bit harsh here, these were replacement parts, so don't think he really had the option to do it before hand, he was the 3rd party IYKWIM

mellowmick

I may as well have bought the parts again with all these charges lol.
Cheers for the replies

custardy

mazza111 wrote: »

Custardly, I think you're being a wee bit harsh here, these were replacement parts, so don't think he really had the option to do it before hand, he was the 3rd party IYKWIM

nope
its a new part and as such would be liable to charges anyway.even if they came from the original seller

arcon5

mellowmick wrote: »

Hi. I have been trawling the net about this subject and wonder if anyone can give me some advice about my issue please?
I purchased some small motorcycle parts from australia which i recieved no problem. Unfortunately there were manufacturing issues with them and the shop i purchased them off no longer dealt with the manufacturer anymore.
The shop then sourced new parts from another manufacturer and said he would send me a set of the new parts free of charge. Very decent i thought. It turned out the new manufacturer is in the USA and the shop mailed them and instructed them to send the parts direct to me instead of to him in australia then him send onto me,to save time.
I have been tracking the parcel and it sat at parcelforces coventry hub for 3 days where it was "awaiting customs clearance" then status changed to "awaiting customs charges"
Like i say i have been looking at this charge parcelforce seem to put on and have read multiple posts on it saying it is illegal charge and to contest it. I do not have any queries with the vat and import duty,i just begrudge paying an extra charge by parcelforce just for collecting my parcel which they would have done anyway.
It also seems bad as these parts were free to me to replace faulty parts.
Any advice on this issue greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Mick.

Your issues are with the supplier, not parcelforce.

mellowmick

I disagree.
Parcelforce are going to the hub anyway to collect parcels for distribution,yes?
Ok,duty needs paying.No problem.
WHY cant customs contact me by letter etc informing me of this??
If this was the case then i could pay duty & vat then next time parcelforce visited their hub to collect parcels they could collect mine then deliver it.
I do not see why they should jump in and add a charge for something which could be dealt with by HMRC & myself.
I just want to save money!
Looks like a money spinner to me.
Think we will have to agree to disagree )
Cheers.
Mick.