royal mail slip asking for £9.50 customs charge

zombie_tennants

i got a slip through from royal mail saying they have an item of mine and a box ticked saying there's a customs charge and i have to pay £9.50!!!

well i couldnt think what it could be but i sussed that it must be a cardigan i won off ebay about 2 weeks ago as its the only thing i'm expecting and havent recieved, i won it for £7 and its really nice
(so i do sort of want it)

i didnt notice at the time but it says the seller is from Jersey, Channel Islands, United Kingdom

does this seem normal to have a customs charge, i didnt even notice where the seller was from, i just presumed it was just somewhere in the united kingdom?

i have contacted the seller (yesturday) before i got this slip through the post, to ask if it has been sent as it has been a while, but she hasn't yet responded?

is it normal to have a customs charge from united kingdom (jersey) or is it a royal mail mistake?, i cant really afford the £9.50, although i would really like the item, im not willing to pay this amount!

not sure what has happened, anyone got any ideas?

continualdiamond

Have a read of this:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/post/internet.htm

I'm from Australia and have lived here for 9 years, twice I have been required to pay custom charges, both times it was my xmas pressies from my parents.

I of course paid mine, was over £30 though, but wasn't about to send my xmas pressies back to my parents.

Obviously_the_best

Jersey isn't part of the EU, therefore the recipient is responsible for paying Royal Mail charges, however the seller should have forewarned you about this, so I'd open a PayPal item not received dispute if the seller doesn't reply by tomorrow evening. Another thing is though, you will never truly know what it is unless you pick it up.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Jersey isn't part of the EU so VAT is applicable when importing into the country, normally it would only be on goods over £15 but this doesn't apply in the Channel Islands due to the VAT avoidance that went on for years and years.

It is the importers (i.e yourself) responsibility for any custom charges due, the VAT is only £1.50, the rest is Royal Mail's £8 charge for paying the fee on your behalf.

All you can do is pay the fee.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Obviously_the_best wrote: »

Jersey isn't part of the EU, therefore the recipient is responsible for paying Royal Mail charges, however the seller should have forewarned you about this, so I'd open a PayPal item not received dispute if the seller doesn't reply by tomorrow evening. Another thing is though, you will never truly know what it is unless you pick it up.

No the seller doesn't have to warn you, you import, you bear the responsibility.

Opening a claim is an outrageous suggestion.

zombie_tennants

thanks everyone for the replys

yeah i thought united kingdom was all the same so would never have known, i didnt even notice the location as i only buy from uk (and filter this option) on ebay so didnt think it was important.

do they charge this on all goods from the channel islands? or do they just flag up certain items, im sure i have had amazon items from channel islands before?

just curious as she also sold a shirt to someone on the same day as me for over £40 to a uk buyer, she got good feedback recently, just wondered if she wrote a large value on my package by mistake or does it not matter?

zombie_tennants

anyone know what this means

"Customs Duty is waived if the amount of duty payable is £9 or less"

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

zombie_tennants wrote: »

anyone know what this means

"Customs Duty is waived if the amount of duty payable is £9 or less"

The charge by customs should be for the VAT, Customs Duty is a separate charge on top of VAT which shouldn't have been applied to this import due to it's value.

VAT is 20% so if the charge was £1.50 (plus RM £8 charge) the item would have been valued at £9, which should be calculated by including the sale price and postage charged.

luvvlyjubbly

wow this is all news to me but unlikely to the seller
I'd call in at the post office with a print out of the listing for a full explanation and if I still had to pay then i would claim item not received

custardy

luvvlyjubbly wrote: »

wow this is all news to me but unlikely to the seller
I'd call in at the post office with a print out of the listing for a full explanation and if I still had to pay then i would claim item not received

well for starters you would be calling Royal Mail
At £7 the item shouldnt be getting charged
of course it depends on the declared value/what the item is
also postage is included once an item goes over the VAT chargable limit
There will be no print outs given
The OP can call the DO or go in and ask to see what the declaration is

zombie_tennants

yeah maybe i could print out the auction page? its being held at my local sorting office so maybe i could ask them about the item over the phone and ask where the item is from etc (so i know for sure)? i doubt they would let the fee go though?