TNT Duties final notice threat

noxas

Hi everyone,

I'm currently a little frustrated with TNT and wondered if anyone has any advice before the situation gets out of control.

It's probably easier for me to show you the latest email I've sent to them (to three email addresses!), As that explains the situation:

"To whom it may concern,

I am contacting you in regards to a FINAL NOTICE I have received pertaining to the following invoice:

Invoice number: #########
Client number: #########

This item was a digital camera that I sent out to China to have repaired. The cost of this repair was only $145. However the company declared $398 on the Proforma Invoice. Because of this I am currently being requested to pay £124.18 on a repair that only cost me ~£100.

On the 24th June I was sent an email titled: "Temporary Import of TNT consignment ########## / JK PAC - Please reply to nth.heldimports@tnt.co.uk" (attachment '01.pdf'). Because this email suggested that you believed the package was only coming into the UK temporarily for repair, I replied to the email address specified in order to clarify that the package was actually sent out by me for repair and is being sent back to me, after the repair had taken place in China. Within the email I also asked what needed to be done in that case (attachment '02.pdf'), I received no reply.

After receiving my package on the 28th June and having no further contact from TNT since I sent my email, I received an invoice for £124.18 on the 24th July. As suggested on the invoice, I emailed customsinvoicequeriesuk@tnt.co.uk the same day I received it in order query the invoice & try to get the it corrected to the actual price I paid for the repair, rather than the price the company declared (attachment '03.pdf'). Shortly after emailing I received an automated email reply confirming receipt of my email, and informing me that the invoice will be put on hold until the query is resolved (attachment '04.pdf').

Yesterday (9th September) I came home to find I have been issued a FINAL NOTICE, requesting payment for the same amount of £124.18. This came as a shock to me due to the fact that I had not had any contact from you regarding my invoice query since the automated reply. I am disappointed by the lack of communication from TNT and I hope that you will now spend some time taking a look at this case, as I am happy to pay for the duties pertaining to the actual cost of the repair I paid for, but find it unfair to expect me to pay an amount that is more than the repair itself due to the company accidentally declaring the wrong amount on their proforma invoice. I have attached the actual invoice from the company that carried out the repair as proof of the cost of the repair ($145) (attachment '05.pdf').

I hope we can resolve this issue soon."

So far I have sent all of these emails to them, and not had one reply (except for auto replies to acknowledge that my emails have been received).

Today I've received ANOTHER letter, but this time from 'Equity credit limited' or something, who are now threatening legal action if I don't pay.... To me, it feels like they're just ignoring my query and trying to bully me into paying.

Has anyone had a similar issue with TNT? I'd really like some advice on how to solve this

Thanks!

MothballsWallet

You might be better sending everything by post rather than email: if they took you to court, a judge might not consider email a "durable medium" and not accept the emails in your evidence.

I'd also recommend waiting for someone more qualified than me to come and answer.

shaun_from_Africa

You should edit your post to remove your name from it as it's never a good idea to show personal details on any public forum.

Did you contact HMRC before sending the camera to China?
If not, then I'm afraid that you are liable for import duty on the full price of the camera and not just the repair costs as there is currently no proof that the item that was sent to you from China is the same one that was sent out for repair.

It is possible to re-import repaired goods free of duty and VAT but there is quite a procedure that must be followed.
When sending the item out of the EU you are required to inform the export agent or HMRC that you wish to apply for Outward Processing Relief.
There is then a form to be filled out and submitted to HMRC and you get a copy of this form.

When the goods are brought back into the EU, a copy of the outgoing OPR form can be submitted to the importers to show that no import duty or VAT are due.