Import duty on clothing

limez_2

My sister bought three bridesmaids dresses from a company which sends their stock from China. She paid approximately £340 for the dresses and a further £40 for delivery all though PayPal. Unbeknownst to me she had the dresses delivered to my home to ensure someone was home to receive them.

Well a UPS van arrived this afternoon and the driver said he wanted £122 cash before he would hand over the dresses. I did not have it of course and so delivery has been rearranged for another day.

My sister was shocked when I told her. At first she wanted to return them but the company she bought them from offer no refunds or exchanges. If you receive the goods you cannot return them unless they are faulty.

Now she is not sure what to do. So I thought I would ask here for advice.

Is it normal for such a large import duty to be placed on an imported item? It amounts to around 37% of the total she paid for the dresses.

Also, is it legal for a company to have a policy of no returns or refunds? The dresses were not specially tailored. They are simply off the peg.

Could she request a refund though PayPal and return the dresses via UPS?

Thank you

CoolHotCold

Depends if the company is a UK one or abides by UK law, they could just be a drop shipper in which case I don't think you'll get very far with them.

As far as UPS goes, some of that money will be import tax and some will be UPS clearance fee.

lincroft1710

If you read this link

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/tax-and-duty.htm#1

you'll see that Customs Duty (payable on items from non EU countries) can vary from 0% to 85%.

nikki1520

Duty on clothing is about 12%

Add to this VAT at 20% and the charge Ups make for clearing the goods for you. Sounds about right to me

paddyrg

I guess she bought from China because it was cheaper? This is why it was cheaper - because it isn't the delivered price and buying from non-UK companies means you do not get UK consumer protection laws.

Only real option is to pay the money which is owed

withabix

You have two choices:

1) Pay an extra £122.

2) Lose £340.


It is as simple as that.

bris

You have to pay import and vat from outside the EU, this is your sisters fault for not knowing this, the seller has done nothing wrong.

BlueAngelCV

bris wrote: »

You have to pay import and vat from outside the EU, this is your sisters fault for not knowing this, the seller has done nothing wrong.

Strictly true but a bit harsh.

If sellers are marketing themselves as shipping worldwide I do think that they should make clear where the items are coming from and that there may be additional charges. Obviously I don't know about the site in question but with some it's not clear at all.

paddyrg

BlueAngelCV wrote: »

Strictly true but a bit harsh.

If sellers are marketing themselves as shipping worldwide I do think that they should make clear where the items are coming from and that there may be additional charges. Obviously I don't know about the site in question but with some it's not clear at all.

Maybe they did - be good to see which website it was. Most Chinese etc sites I've seen do point out in their terms that they are not responsible for the duty and taxes for importers (after all, how can they know as it varies country by country!)