Royal Mail £8 Internal Post Handling Fee scam?

techno12

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.

DHL are the honourable exception.

The growth of Internet shopping has led us to introduce a different administration fee for private individuals. This is because net shoppers are usually buying infrequently and purchasing low cost items such as CDs, DVDs or software. We felt that low usage such as this merited a different fee structure. We charge £1.25, or 2% of the total duty/VAT incurred, whichever is the greater. This compares very favourably with our competitors and we are, as far as we are aware, the only air express carrier who has introduced a special rate for private individuals.

I too was stung by the RM £8 charge last week on a £30 item. grr! I have however benefited from DHL's low fee in the past so kudos to them.

custardy

madonnamustache wrote: »

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.

so contact HMRC and ask why they dont offer that service?

maybe i should just sig that line

cyberbob

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.
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.

Take them to court then I await the outcome with bated breath. :rotfl: What wouldn't surprise me is that it costs more than £8 by the time they have filled paperwork processed your monay and then passed the VAT onto the HMRC

They are not breaching the law so don't be so silly they are charging you for a service. If your too lazy to check on charges before you order from abroad thats your lookout. The link you give is to a discussion board not exactly the font of all legal knowledge.

I;m afraid life isn;t fair so stamping your feet and screaming like a little girl doesn't really help

Threads like this are so funny in that everyone keeps dropping threats about going to court (no one ever does) because they cant admit that the reason they are making these sounds is because of their own failings. _ its all just postering.

gohan2091

cyberbob wrote: »

Take them to court then I await the outcome with bated breath. :rotfl: What wouldn't surprise me is that it costs more than £8 by the time they have filled paperwork processed your monay and then passed the VAT onto the HMRC

They are not breaching the law so don't be so silly they are charging you for a service. If your too lazy to check on charges before you order from abroad thats your lookout. The link you give is to a discussion board not exactly the font of all legal knowledge.

I;m afraid life isn;t fair so stamping your feet and screaming like a little girl doesn't really help

Threads like this are so funny in that everyone keeps dropping threats about going to court (no one ever does) because they cant admit that the reason they are making these sounds is because of their own failings. _ its all just postering.

I couldn't check before hand because my item was posted via UPS but some how it was given to Royal Mail when it arrived in the UK. I was expecting no charge at all on my item but if I was charged, I thought I would only be charged VAT and had no idea of this handling fee. I ordered a £120 item from the US last year and was charged £11 handling fee from FedEX and thought it was that much because my item was valueable. This £11 Royal Mail charge on an £18 item is crazy.

custardy

gohan2091 wrote: »

I couldn't check before hand because my item was posted via UPS but some how it was given to Royal Mail when it arrived in the UK. I was expecting no charge at all on my item but if I was charged, I thought I would only be charged VAT and had no idea of this handling fee. I ordered a £120 item from the US last year and was charged £11 handling fee from FedEX and thought it was that much because my item was valueable. This £11 Royal Mail charge on an £18 item is crazy.

that would be USPS?
well if you got charged before then there would have been a handling fee
if your item was £200,it would have been £8
if it was £2000 it would have been £8,the costs involved dont rise with the value of the item

mazza111

madonnamustache wrote: »

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!

Legal points posted on a public forum aren't really stating the law are they?


Let's split the handling charge up a wee bit.

Special Delivery would cost at least £5.05. This price is for a letter, granted most of what gets stopped by customs will be larger than a letter. Which in effect, is what you item becomes when customs get there hands on it. Ok, there is no signature at the end, but it is fully tracked all the way.

The postcard that gets sent to you, 41p first class, not to mention the cost of the postcard. Or the time spent filling these in, s
o shall we say this would perhaps take it to 60p?

I wouldn't know how much it costs for Royal Mail to deal with customs on your behalf but imagine this is where the biggest part of the money is spent.

So even with the £5.65 (minimum) that's listed above, without the dealing with customs, how would you suggest that RM or other couriers deal with this? Absorb the costs themselves? I think people are forgetting that RM and courier companies are there to make a profit. Not deliver things for nothing.

silversapphire_2

I can top all of these £8 scam posts as I have just been advised by Customs that a pair of boots (old and second hand ones I might add) which I've just bought from eBay in the US for $34.33 (@£24.00) plus $40.20 (@£34.00) post has attracted the £8.00 handling charge AS WELL AS £8+ for VAT INCLUDING the post!! How much of a scam is that? They say 'Its the rules' and that's it. It's SO unfair to have to pay VAT on the post costs as well as the goods, I know I'm over the £18 limit and would be happy to pay VAT on the boots (wouldn't mind if they were brand new) but not on the post as well. Because customs have added to gether the total of both amounts it comes to an eye watering $74.33 (@52.00). Customs should realise that we're not all millionaires. Really wish someone would stop this scam, it is so punitive and really smacks of wanting us to not buy from overseas. Only in rip-off britain eh?

silversapphire_2

techno12 wrote: »

DHL are the honourable exception.

The growth of Internet shopping has led us to introduce a different administration fee for private individuals. This is because net shoppers are usually buying infrequently and purchasing low cost items such as CDs, DVDs or software. We felt that low usage such as this merited a different fee structure. We charge £1.25, or 2% of the total duty/VAT incurred, whichever is the greater. This compares very favourably with our competitors and we are, as far as we are aware, the only air express carrier who has introduced a special rate for private individuals.

I too was stung by the RM £8 charge last week on a £30 item. grr! I have however benefited from DHL's low fee in the past so kudos to them.

This is good news but what about those of us whose mail gets sent to Parcelforce automatically? AFAIK when USPS sent my last pair of boots and which I've just posted about as customs made me pay on the post charges as well, I have no say in whether I can use DHL or not. USPS send their mail here and then customs automatically send it to Royal Mail, it is really unfair.

moromir

silversapphire wrote: »

Customs should realise that we're not all millionaires. Really wish someone would stop this scam, it is so punitive and really smacks of wanting us to not buy from overseas. Only in rip-off britain eh?

Maybe you'll consider buying British next time :rotfl:

silversapphire_2

moromir wrote: »

Maybe you'll consider buying British next time :rotfl:

If they made and sold Zodiac boots here then yes but as they don't I can't. This may have sounded funny to you but it is not funny to me.