I thought VAT was 20%? I'm being charged 29.3% here!

GotNoMoney

I bought a used bike part from Canada on eBay (I am in the UK).

The part itself was £39 and the seller charged £12 postage so I paid 51 altogether.

Today a card turns up telling me I have to pay another £19.72.

On the card it says £8 of this is a "handling fee" so this leaves £11.72 left.

On an item costing £39 @ 20% VAT I make that £7.80 VAT.

So if the handling and VAT come to £8.00 + £7.80 = £15.80 where does the extra £3.92 come in?

Is it the postman boosting his Christmas bonus?!

That is the first and last time I buy anything from Canada!

This bike part is not even new. It is well used, dirty, scratched and is from about the year 2003. I thought such items were exempt from customs charges? Its value is subjective, since it is in used condition.

Can they really whack almost a £20 charge on something that is in a box about the size of a bag of sugar, weighs under 300g and only cost £40 itself in the first place?

I consider this to be an absurd charge for what I bought and would only expect such a charge on something the size of a bike wheel or bigger. Totally ludicrous.

So the item was £40 and I am going to end up paying nearly £32 postage for it, when it is a small packet and under 300g.

I wouldn't mind but Canada is 3,000 miles away and you get financially manhandled... China would charge something like £2 postage on an item this size and weight and that is 6,000 miles away.

I know I can't do Jack Squiddly to claim back that £3.92 and to be Frank I couldn't give a toss but the post is here now warning others about extortionate postage fees from Canada. I mean this charge is more than I paid to the original Canadian guy that sold me the item.

What are they suggesting then, it costs £12 to ship 2,800 miles from Canada to the coast of the UK but then it magically and inexplicably costs a further £20 (almost) to ship it the last 200 miles?

Great.

PasturesNew

Could any of it be duty on an import?

You can't just buy stuff from abroad without it being assessed for duty.

MarkFromCornwall

See http://www.royalmail.com/personal/help-and-support/Ive-received-a-card-asking-for-a-payment

It seems you should only have to pay an £8 handling fee if there was a customs charge, and since the value of the goods was less than £135 I can't see why you should pay a customs charge. If it was Royal Mail there is a form to fill in if you think you were wrongly charged...
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-customs-dutyimport-vat-relating-to-imports-by-post-bor286

antrobus

GotNoMoney wrote: »

..On an item costing £39 @ 20% VAT I make that £7.80 VAT.....

Nope. You paid £51. The VAT is chargeable on the total price. I think the Royal Mail fee is liable to VAT as well.

GotNoMoney wrote: »

...This bike part is not even new. It is well used, dirty, scratched and is from about the year 2003. I thought such items were exempt from customs charges? Its value is subjective, since it is in used condition....

It's value is objective. Namely, the £51 you paid for it.

PasturesNew wrote: »

Could any of it be duty on an import?...

Don't think so. Duty doesn't kick in until the goods are worth more than £135.

antrobus

MarkFromMullion wrote: »

See http://www.royalmail.com/personal/help-and-support/Ive-received-a-card-asking-for-a-payment

It seems you should only have to pay an £8 handling fee if there was a customs charge, and since the value of the goods was less than £135 I can't see why you should pay a customs charge. If it was Royal Mail there is a form to fill in if you think you were wrongly charged...
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-customs-dutyimport-vat-relating-to-imports-by-post-bor286

It's easier to read this link.:)
https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

And whilst, yes, it's true that duty is not payable on imports worth less than £135, VAT is due on anything worth more than £15. Like, for example, a £51 second hand bike part from Canada.

GotNoMoney

Whenever I get an envelope sent to me with a stamp on that is not postmarked (which often happens) I will just peel the stamp off to be used again until it amounts to £19.72 in order to get the money back. It might take a few months or a year even, but I will get the money back in the end.

Thanks guys, after checking it seems about right, although there's still about £1.50 not accounted for in the charge, I am past caring and will just peel stamps for a while to even it out again.

McKneff

So you are quite happy to steal from then and let us all know that you are a thief then......


That makes you a lot worse then they are.


Think about it.

redux

VAT is chargeable on goods imported, including the cost of getting them here, as that is deemed to be added value.

So it is 20% VAT, not a postage surcharge.

GotNoMoney

I worked out before it is charged on the full cost of the item and the postage. Talking of stealing, how is it I paid £12 postage for the item from Canada but now have to pay nearly £20 more at this end?

I feel like I have been stolen from but have no recourse at all.

Did it really cost £12 to send 2,800 miles then another £20 to send another 150 or so miles? A scandal. Postage in the UK on such an item is £3.90 - not almost £20.

redux

I say again, and so did others before, you've been charged a customs agent fee and VAT, not postage.