Royal Mail £8 Internal Post Handling Fee scam?

damnjet

custardy wrote: »

so you are moaning now about lost revenue and not getting charged?
if all packages were held and checked RM would then be charging more...

no your missing the fundamental point , if they are going to be charge customs duty then they should inspect every parcel regardless of the costs involved. After all there not paying now are they?

Why should it be luck of the draw.. is it because the systems in place couldnt handle it, or perhaps they would get to many complaints by people getting ripped of.

custardy

damnjet wrote: »

no your missing the fundamental point , if they are going to be charge customs duty then they should inspect every parcel regardless of the costs involved. After all there not paying now are they?

Why should it be luck of the draw.. is it because the systems in place couldnt handle it, or perhaps they would get to many complaints by people getting ripped of.

well that would be down to HMRC given they dictate what is liable for tax
although in pretty sure i may have mentioned that before

gohan2091

I haven't read the whole thread and I am not sure if there is anything I can do but I was charged this ridiculous £8.00 handling fee too.

I purchased some SSKI from the US for £18.35 with £8.81 postage. Royal Mail withheld my parcel and asked for £11.28 and said if I don't collect it, it would be sent back to the sender. I collected the parcel today and paid the £11.28 which breaks down into:

- £3.28 VAT
- £8.00 Royal Mail International Handling Fee

My item including postage costs £27.16 so paying almost 50% more (£11.28) is really unfair. I am furious :mad:

madonnamustache

gohan2091 wrote: »

I haven't read the whole thread and I am not sure if there is anything I can do but I was charged this ridiculous £8.00 handling fee too.

I purchased some SSKI from the US for £18.35 with £8.81 postage. Royal Mail withheld my parcel and asked for £11.28 and said if I don't collect it, it would be sent back to the sender. I collected the parcel today and paid the £11.28 which breaks down into:

- £3.28 VAT
- £8.00 Royal Mail International Handling Fee

My item including postage costs £27.16 so paying almost 50% more (£11.28) is really unfair. I am furious :mad:

Hi,

Sorry to hear about that. Not sure what you can do now, as you have already paid the fee. If you hadn't, you could have contested it in court or even directly with Royal Mail. I wish we had a lawyer on hand in the forum!

cyberbob

gohan2091 wrote: »

I haven't read the whole thread and I am not sure if there is anything I can do but I was charged this ridiculous £8.00 handling fee too.

I purchased some SSKI from the US for £18.35 with £8.81 postage. Royal Mail withheld my parcel and asked for £11.28 and said if I don't collect it, it would be sent back to the sender. I collected the parcel today and paid the £11.28 which breaks down into:

- £3.28 VAT
- £8.00 Royal Mail International Handling Fee

My item including postage costs £27.16 so paying almost 50% more (£11.28) is really unfair. I am furious :mad:

The £8 fee is for Royal mail dealing with customs on your behalf. Most couriers charge a lot more fedex £20. It would cost you far more to do this independently. Royal mail gave to deal with all the paperwork and costs with the HMRC so they are well within rights to charge for this sevice. Its always worth checking possible customs and administration cnharges before you buy from abroad.

cyberbob

madonnamustache wrote: »

Hi,

Sorry to hear about that. Not sure what you can do now, as you have already paid the fee. If you hadn't, you could have contested it in court or even directly with Royal Mail. I wish we had a lawyer on hand in the forum!

What could you contest? That your refusing to pay for RM service in processing your item through customs

madonnamustache

cyberbob wrote: »

The £8 fee is for Royal mail dealing with customs on your behalf. Most couriers charge a lot more fedex £20. It would cost you far more to do this independently. Royal mail gave to deal with all the paperwork and costs with the HMRC so they are well within rights to charge for this sevice. Its always worth checking possible customs and administration cnharges before you buy from abroad.

Incorrect, Royal Mail are NOT legally collecting this charge. See here:

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/community/forums/t/parcelforce-clearance-ransom-charge-10938.aspx

I would prefer to pay HMRC directly. Royal Mail are scamming people.

madonnamustache

cyberbob wrote: »

What could you contest? That your refusing to pay for RM service in processing your item through customs

Because there's no way in HELL it costs them £8 to process a parcel, when it costs £2 to send it all the way from the USA.
Because it is my legal right to know what is VAT and what is Royal Mail charges.
Because they are breaching the law by not allowing you to pay these fees separately.
Because it is my consumer right to question things.
Because life should be easy and fair.
That's why.

mazza111

madonnamustache wrote: »

Because there's no way in HELL it costs them £8 to process a parcel, when it costs £2 to send it all the way from the USA.

This item is taken out of mainstream mail and is then fully tracked all the way, so in theory it turns into a special delivery, without the signature (unless originally requested). Try to send any package special delivery and see how much it costs you.

Because it is my legal right to know what is VAT and what is Royal Mail charges.

Yep you're right, and there is a breakdown of charges on your package

Because they are breaching the law by not allowing you to pay these fees separately.

Would like to see that law.

Because it is my consumer right to question things.

Yes, but just because you question them, doesn't mean you are right.


Because life should be easy and fair.

Should doesn't mean is.
That's why.

Maybe it would be a better idea to read this thread from the beginning so we can stop repeating ourselves.

madonnamustache

mazza111 wrote: »

Maybe it would be a better idea to read this thread from the beginning so we can stop repeating ourselves.

Did you read all the legal points raised on the Moneysupermarket forums at the link I posted above? All the answers you seek are there. Good luck!