Problem with Amazon

Homeagain

I ordered a pair of trainers for my daughter from Amazon well over a week ago. I have now received a demand from the post office requesting a further 14.89 GBP for 'customs' charges! The trainers were over 40.00 and now to pay a further 14.00 is ridiculous. I have emailed Amazon and the seller requesting a refund as the price of these trainers is now much too high - I could have bought them cheaper locally. Nowhere on the original ad does it say anything about customs charges and I would never have ordered them if I had known I would now have to pay more.
Can anyone tell me where I stand now? Can I insist on a refund?

Azari

I expect you'll find that there is some indication somewhere on the listing that will tell you that the goods are coming from abroad (and where).

Amazon are rather bad for not making it 100% clear where things are coming from - and in a way that stands out.

Can you provide a link to the listing?

Homeagain

Thanks for your reply, I see that the item was coming from overseas and have received this email from Amazon (for all the help it is) - sorry I don't know how to put up links

'I'm sorry to hear that you are being charged and additional amount for the delivery of your order # 202-1304855-4557159. I understand this wasn't you expected when you purchased your item.

I've checked and I can see that your order was placed with Min-Limited, a seller on Amazon Marketplace. I hope you'll understand that items ordered via Amazon Marketplace aren’t directly fulfilled by Amazon.co.uk.

To help you with this, I've sent your enquiry to the seller on your behalf so they may be able to assist you with this matter. You'll receive a copy of this e-mail shortly.

You can also view the e-mail that was sent to the seller in Your Account at the following link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/communication-manager/outbox.html

When the seller replies, the response will be sent directly to you by e-mail. Please give the seller up to 3 business days to respond. In most cases, you'll receive a reply much sooner. All Marketplace orders are covered by our A-to-z Safe Buying Guarantee. Visit the following page to learn more:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=3149571

Please know that we take the feedback and performance records of sellers very seriously. We review seller performance and take administrative measures on an account when warranted.

If we see that a seller is persistently contravening our participation agreement or conditions of use and sale, we do have the ability to stop them from continuing to use our site.

I hope this helps and I'm looking forward for the positive resolution of this issue'.

Should I just pay up - I don't want to lose all the money I have already paid - what a rip off? I've always been a bit wary of Amazon and this is proving my own (personal) point.

KxMx

I can't see much in some of their listing to indicate they are coming from abroad, but their "about" page states:

1. All items are shipped within 2-4 business days after confirming payment.

2. We ship by International airmail to worldwide from Hong Kong, which normally takes 7-14 business days to arrive.

3. For any returning items, buyers are responsible for return postage.

4. Customers are responsible for Royal Mail/ Customs handling fee if it is required. But we will pay any VAT charged by the customs.

5. In some rare situations, packages might be held by the customs for random sercurity check. If in case package is held by customs, there is 5-13 business days delay normally. Saturdays and Sundays are not regarded as business days for post office and customs. Please allow sufficient time for the package to arrive when considering your purchases.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding! Happy Shopping!

Some of the feedback also mentions customs charges. Always best to check these things before you buy when they are not coming from Amazon direct. In this case Amazon are not to blame, the seller has clearly stated their t&c's which is down to you to research before buying. It could be clearer in the listing though.

From the seller page it looks like you'll be able to get the VAT back which would be £6.89 in your case as RM charge £8 for the handling fee.

Azari

KxMx wrote: »

In this case Amazon are not to blame

Amazon are to blame for not making it 100% clear when items are coming from abroad.

It's a pretty fundamental aspect of the transaction impacting both the possible cost and the delivery times.

Generally, Amazon are honest and give all indications that they want to help customers.

It's a bit of a hole in their standards that you have to do 'research' to ensure that an item advertised an a UK site by a UK company will arrive from the UK for the stated price.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Quite clear on about page. Hong Kong based, ships worldwide.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aag/details?ie=UTF8&asin=&isAmazonFulfilled=&isCBA=&marketplaceID=A1F83G8C2ARO7P&orderID=&seller=A24OVO79FQWX9F&sshmPath=returns#aag_returns

About Min-Limited


1. All items are shipped within 2-4 business days after confirming payment.
2. We ship by International airmail to worldwide from Hong Kong, which normally takes 7-14 business days to arrive.
3. For any returning items, buyers are responsible for return postage.
4. Customers are responsible for Royal Mail/ Customs handling fee if it is required. But we will pay any VAT charged by the customs.
5. In some rare situations, packages might be held by the customs for random sercurity check. If in case package is held by customs, there is 5-13 business days delay normally. Saturdays and Sundays are not regarded as business days for post office and customs. Please allow sufficient time for the package to arrive when considering your purchases.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding! Happy Shopping!

KxMx

Azari wrote: »

Amazon are to blame for not making it 100% clear when items are coming from abroad.

It's a pretty fundamental aspect of the transaction impacting both the possible cost and the delivery times.

Generally, Amazon are honest and give all indications that they want to help customers.

It's a bit of a hole in their standards that you have to do 'research' to ensure that an item advertised an a UK site by a UK company will arrive from the UK for the stated price.

Amazon make it clear on the item page who will be fulfilling the order.
It is then for the consumer to check out that seller and the various T&C's.
Maybe Amazon could make it clearer but in this case I feel the onus is on the buyer as Amazon have already stated who the seller is

Homeagain

Thank you all.
I received an email from the seller and shortly thereafter a phone call (I presume from Hong Kong), apologising and saying that they will refund/pay the customs amount if I would collect the trainers! I have since also received a further email confirming a payment of 14.89 to my credit card. So, looks like they are being fair and I am pleased with this outcome.

Having said that I do think Amazon could make things a little clearer and I will definitely be more cautious if I ever buy from them again.
Thank you everyone for your replies.

Moglex

KxMx wrote: »

Amazon make it clear on the item page who will be fulfilling the order.
It is then for the consumer to check out that seller and the various T&C's.
Maybe Amazon could make it clearer but in this case I feel the onus is on the buyer as Amazon have already stated who the seller is

It beggars belief that here on a consumer website there are so many people who will go to the trouble of posting in defence of those who hide away important information on pages that buyers do not pass through in the normal ordering process.

What is the matter with you people?

If there is ANYTHING out of the ordinary about a product or a company then it should be HIGHLIGHTED on the product page. Not left for people to dig around in t&cs.

KxMx

Moglex wrote: »

It beggars belief that here on a consumer website there are so many people who will go to the trouble of posting in defence of those who hide away important information on pages that buyers do not pass through in the normal ordering process.

What is the matter with you people?

If there is ANYTHING out of the ordinary about a product or a company then it should be HIGHLIGHTED on the product page. Not left for people to dig around in t&cs.

I stick by what I said. Amazon made it clear who the seller was on the product page, and it took 2 clicks to find those T&C's. OP is obviously computer and internet literate having been able to post here on MSE.

Every time I buy from Amazon marketplace I research the seller, not only t&c's but feedback before buying.

And I have seen many many times MSE Martin of this website advising the same for online shopping in general.

Frankly it beggars belief to me that other people don't look into things properly before buying!



OP thank you for taking my comments in the spirit they were intended and I am glad that you got an outcome you are satisfied with.

Homeagain

KxMx wrote: »

I stick by what I said. Amazon made it clear who the seller was on the product page, and it took 2 clicks to find those T&C's. OP is obviously computer and internet literate having been able to post here on MSE.

Every time I buy from Amazon marketplace I research the seller, not only t&c's but feedback before buying.

And I have seen many many times MSE Martin of this website advising the same for online shopping in general.

Frankly it beggars belief to me that other people don't look into things properly before buying!



OP thank you for taking my comments in the spirit they were intended and I am glad that you got an outcome you are satisfied with.

Thank you - I am relieved that so far it's turned out ok. You are right though, I really should have checked out the t and c - I am usually quite cautious. I won't make the same mistake again though.