Royal Mail Customs charge

zippychick

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Nymph

I order frequently from Australia as that's where my favourite clothing brand is and yep get bitten a lot. Only tips are to never use express/tracked shipping, as UPS/DHL etc all charge £15 handling fees ontop of the customs so Royal Fail are cheaper. You do not ALWAYS incur charges, I find sometimes my packages slip through the net if they are being delivered at the start at the month, anything coming through at the end of the month nearly always incur charges (perhaps they have monthly targets to meet and become more stringent at the end of the month? Who knows?!) Also Royal Mail tend to leave a customs slip, which you can pay online or in the sorting office (or by franking the card I believe) whereas some other delivery companies (FedEx for one) will knock on your door with the package and demand payment there and then in cash! Can be quite intimidating, though you can request the number from the delivery man to pay over the phone, or else they will just return everyday until you pay. Royal Mail are far more civilised!

Charges start at anything worth £25 or more, so if ordering abroad especially if they have free shipping it is sometimes easier to split orders up to come underneath that (though allow a few £ leeway for exchange rates). I now have an Australian friend who sends things to me marked as gifts at a value less than £25, bear in mind that even if things are sent as gifts you are still charged customs if they are over that limit

Morglin

My son, in America, sent my dad, in England, a DVD, a rareish one that he could only get over there, and Royal Mail want £14 handling and customs, before they deliver.

I know it's legal, but it seems a lot of money for a DVD! :mad:

Have paid it for him, so thanks Son!

Lin

custardy

Morglin wrote: »

My son, in America, sent my dad, in England, a DVD, a rareish one that he could only get over there, and Royal Mail want £14 handling and customs, before they deliver.

I know it's legal, but it seems a lot of money for a DVD! :mad:

Have paid it for him, so thanks Son!

Lin

Well £6 is VAT
Are you okay with that?
If so and given your family has complete control over this.
Why not do your own clearance? That's also legal

LadyDee

If you are buying something from overseas and your seller marks it as a gift to avoid charges, you could be in trouble if Customs open it to check the contents and find an invoice in the parcel. It is against the law and people do get charged with evading tax etc.