Royal Mail £8 Internal Post Handling Fee scam?

adastra_2

Yes, you may be right, but definately remember paying a value related parcelforce clearance portion of the fee in the past. No, I don't still have the box, but one of the items was test equipment with a declared value of perhaps 350 usd and had to pay a pf related "clearance fee" of about 25.00 ukp as well as the duty.

If it is fixed at 8.00 now, all we need now is a sliding scale so that the pf/rm clearance fee is reasonable in relation to the overall package value. ie: Not greater than the duty wouldn't be a bad idea to start with. After all, we have already paid the postage which should cover the package from door to door. Will check to see if they have such fees in the us (usps), but can't remember any mention of it from customers.

The real question is of course, if companies like Fedex can make a profit with clearance fee of 5.00 ukp, why do pf/rm need 8.00 ukp ?. Are they really that inefficient, or is it just gouging to fatten them up for sale ?...

Regards,

Chris

custardy

adastra wrote: »

Yes, you may be right, but definately remember paying a value related parcelforce clearance portion of the fee in the past. No, I don't still have the box, but one of the items was test equipment with a declared value of perhaps 350 usd and had to pay a pf related "clearance fee" of about 25.00 ukp as well as the duty. PF have 2 fixed levels of fee. £8 and £13.50 from memory.still no sliding scale

If it is fixed at 8.00 now, all we need now is a sliding scale so that the pf/rm clearance fee is reasonable in relation to the overall package value. ie: Not greater than the duty wouldn't be a bad idea to start with. After all, we have already paid the postage which should cover the package from door to door. Will check to see if they have such fees in the us (usps), but can't remember any mention of it from customers. RM doesnt need to do anything. Its fee's are approved and controlled by a regulator. If you want to avoid them then buy from a supplier who uses a carrier of your choice.your argument of "paying the postage" is moot. some carriers offer a more expensive service including any clearance. so under your argument they should od that for free?

The real question is of course, if companies like Fedex can make a profit with clearance fee of 5.00 ukp, why do pf/rm need 8.00 ukp ?. Are they really that inefficient, or is it just gouging to fatten them up for sale ?... are you comparing a courier to RM?

Regards,

Chris

........................................

adastra_2

Yes, you may be right, but definately remember paying a value related parcelforce clearance portion of the fee in the past. No, I don't still have the box, but one of the items was test equipment with a declared value of perhaps 350 usd and had to pay a pf related "clearance fee" of about 25.00 ukp as well as the duty. PF have 2 fixed levels of fee. £8 and £13.50 from memory.still no sliding scale

So, it's not a fixed fee then ?.

If it is fixed at 8.00 now, all we need now is a sliding scale so that the pf/rm clearance fee is reasonable in relation to the overall package value. ie: Not greater than the duty wouldn't be a bad idea to start with. After all, we have already paid the postage which should cover the package from door to door. Will check to see if they have such fees in the us (usps), but can't remember any mention of it from customers. RM doesnt need to do anything. Its fee's are approved and controlled by a regulator. If you want to avoid them then buy from a supplier who uses a carrier of your choice.your argument of "paying the postage" is moot. some carriers offer a more expensive service including any clearance. so under your argument they should od that for free?

Most of that is irrelevant to the preceding text, but to give a quick example for a 25 Kgm, package, to the US, 25x25x50cm:

Parcelforce:

200.25 ukp, 1-2 days
154.89 ukp
152.19 ukp
143.99, 28 days

The last two are not even tracked and there's no compensation available for loss either

Interparcel: (Several others have charges at this sort of level)

---

Express, varies from:

93.00 ukp
95.00 ukp
103.10 ukp

Standard, 2-5 days

85.00 ukp
86.00 ukp

So, not much has changed since I last looked a couple of years ago :eek:

The real question is of course, if companies like Fedex can make a profit with clearance fee of 5.00 ukp, why do pf/rm need 8.00 ukp ?. Are they really that inefficient, or is it just gouging to fatten them up for sale ?... are you comparing a courier to RM?

I'm buying s similar service and want to minimise costs, it would be foolish not to compare, right ?.

Regards,

Chris

custardy

you are asking about companies efficiency and then comparing apples with oranges
have you any concept of the legal requirements of RMs services vs a courier?
Im not getting into postal costs as the market controls them and people are welcome ot find a price/service that suits their needs.
perhaps PF are more interested in the UK market and price accordingly. however this thread is about royal mail

paddyrg

Just for perspective btw I looked up the Fedex extra charges

http://fedex.com/ancillary/go/service?pt=ac&lc=en_US&wcc=US

Looks like it is either £10, or £10 + 2.5%.

adastra_2

That's for items inbound to the us, afaics, but I do remember being charged the flat fee of 5.00 ukp last time I had a package via Fedex.

I guess it's a bit off topic though and the real irritation here is the fact that for items that are only a little over the duty point, the *effective* rate of incoming tax can be around the 50% or more mark, which is a restraint of trade when compared to goods coming in from the eu, where no duty is payable at all, irrespective of package value. I don't begrudge rm / pf a reasonable payment for the work done, but the amount should scale to package value.

The present system is just another example of regressive taxation, irrespective of which organisations contribute to the total payable. and discriminates against none eu countries...

Regards,

Chris

custardy

adastra wrote: »

Yes, you may be right, but definately remember paying a value related parcelforce clearance portion of the fee in the past. No, I don't still have the box, but one of the items was test equipment with a declared value of perhaps 350 usd and had to pay a pf related "clearance fee" of about 25.00 ukp as well as the duty.

If it is fixed at 8.00 now, all we need now is a sliding scale so that the pf/rm clearance fee is reasonable in relation to the overall package value. ie: Not greater than the duty wouldn't be a bad idea to start with. After all, we have already paid the postage which should cover the package from door to door. Will check to see if they have such fees in the us (usps), but can't remember any mention of it from customers.

The real question is of course, if companies like Fedex can make a profit with clearance fee of 5.00 ukp, why do pf/rm need 8.00 ukp ?. Are they really that inefficient, or is it just gouging to fatten them up for sale ?...

Regards,

Chris

so you remember paying a value related fee with parcelforce?
you are saying RM charge variable fees?
and you remember paying £5 with fedex?

well this member who posted today is being charged £10
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3029458

seems by your logic that fedex's efficiency has dropped by 100%

adastra_2

so you remember paying a value related fee with parcelforce?

Yes

you are saying RM charge variable fees?

I thought that I had already been corrected on this point ?. It is still too high for small value items. Often greater than the duty.

and you remember paying £5 with fedex?

Yes

well this member who posted today is being charged £10
(line delaeed to post)

So they have raised their prices in the years since I last had any items via them, and ?. I think I said elsewhere that it was 2 or 3 years since I last used them.

seems by your logic that fedex's efficiency has dropped by 100%

Don't know how you get there, but with regard to your earlier point about onerous rm duties and obligations, yes, I am aware of that, but rm is having it's lunch eaten by mass mail companies at the volume end and also with parcels at the high end. What do you think should be done so that rm is competitive again and can stand on it's own feet and do you think the taxpayer should subsidise some or all of the services ?.

Regards,

Chris

custardy

adastra wrote: »

so you remember paying a value related fee with parcelforce?

Yes

you are saying RM charge variable fees?

I thought that I had already been corrected on this point ?. It is still too high for small value items. Often greater than the duty.

and you remember paying £5 with fedex?

Yes

well this member who posted today is being charged £10
(line delaeed to post)

So they have raised their prices in the years since I last had any items via them, and ?. I think I said elsewhere that it was 2 or 3 years since I last used them.

seems by your logic that fedex's efficiency has dropped by 100%

Don't know how you get there, but with regard to your earlier point about onerous rm duties and obligations, yes, I am aware of that, but rm is having it's lunch eaten by mass mail companies at the volume end and also with parcels at the high end. What do you think should be done so that rm is competitive again and can stand on it's own feet and do you think the taxpayer should subsidise some or all of the services ?.

Regards,

Chris

so hold on. RM charge £8,but you are okay with fedex charging £10 as their prices have gone up?
well RM charged £4 a few years ago
so?
RM stood on its feet just fine for many years,then the folks in charge thought opening the market up but shackling RM and allowing competitors to cherry pick lucrative contracts was the way forward.
Like RM,parcelforce charge a fixed price
so i think your recollection is at fault,not a change in PF's pricing system
when you have a fixed fee it means its irrelevant how much VAT/import fees are payable.
thats how a fixed price system works
If your order was for an item requiring £400 in VAT.would that change the amount of admin and handling for RM?

shaun_from_Africa

I don't begrudge rm / pf a reasonable payment for the work done, but the amount should scale to package value.

If RM handle a package valued at £30 and this gets picked for customs charges, they have to fill out a form, send this form along with the payment for VAT to HMCE, then print out the required charges form and advise the intended recipient of the payment due and collect it from them

Now substitute the £30 package with one valued at £300.
RM have to do exactly the same as above.
The item value has no bearing on the work required.