Didn't realise I was buying from China - now can't get refund

esuhl

chesscat wrote: »

1) it cost me around £30 to get them shipped to China; and
2) I have just got this message from the shipping company "The consignee will not pay the duty/taxes of 101.65USD, please advise if you will pay this".

I looked into this a while back, and you're not expected to pay customs/duty/import fees to return goods. I think on the customs declaration there is a way to indicate that the goods are returns. You can also reclaim the original import charges.


https://www.gov.uk/guidance/importing-goods-from-outside-the-eu#reclaiming-taxes-on-rejected-imports


http://www.myinternationalshopping.com/advice/reclaim-uk-customs-duty-vat-non-eu


I don't know if you can have the customs declaration amended?


But if you're out of pocket, a claim against the card company is the way to go.

glentoran99

GDB2222 wrote: »

Sale in the Uk, using a Uk credit card. Like I said, make a chargeback request.

Uk consumer rights don't apply,


OP bought from china not the UK, Chargeback doesn't apply for change of mind

pmduk

esuhl wrote: »

I looked into this a while back, and you're not expected to pay customs/duty/import fees to return goods. I think on the customs declaration there is a way to indicate that the goods are returns. You can also reclaim the original import charges.

I believe the OP is stating that the Chinese authorities are imposing duties.

NCC-1707

GDB2222 wrote: »

Sale in the Uk, using a Uk credit card. Like I said, make a chargeback request.

No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?:D

esuhl

It doesn't matter if the seller is outside the UK, you still have rights with the credit card company.


If the Chinese seller is "scamming" buyers, then, by offering their services to the seller, the card company is liable (to the extent of the relevant laws).

boo_star

esuhl wrote: »

It doesn't matter if the seller is outside the UK, you still have rights with the credit card company.


If the Chinese seller is "scamming" buyers, then, by offering their services to the seller, the card company is liable (to the extent of the relevant laws).

They're not scamming anyone though. The goods simply aren't as good as the OP expected, which is a meaningless metric to determine the value of goods anyway.

The OP also hasn't indicated that the purchase was made via credit card.

GDB2222

NCC-1707 wrote: »

No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?:D

Very wise.

Seriously, it costs nothing to make a chargeback request. I'd leave it up to the Chinese company to make these various points about consumer protection, if they want to.

LadyDee

GDB2222 wrote: »

Very wise.

Seriously, it costs nothing to make a chargeback request. I'd leave it up to the Chinese company to make these various points about consumer protection, if they want to.

It might be more constructive to suggest that people take responsibility for what they do. The OP has not been scammed. They bought a load of junk from the other side of the world, without ascertaining what would happen if it turned out not to be what they wanted, and you are now saying their cc provider should be responsible?

Enterprise_1701C

As esuhl said, contact the shipping company and inform them that it is a return, they will probably want a copy of your paperwork.

Unfortunately things often seem like a real bargain, if it seems too good to be true then it probably is. Always check where the website is based, always check if there are full contact details and check the returns system.

bertiewhite

DCFC79 wrote: »

you just didn't check where the items were coming from.

It's not always as simple as that. I bought from a company on ebay listing as a "UK based seller" when all they do is ship from China through Australia and then finally distribute from Glasgow.