Royal Mail £8 Internal Post Handling Fee scam?

greeble

You guys are right, I shouldn't have moaned in that first post about the VAT as it should be paid. I think I'm just angry over the charges as a result of the package getting stopped for tax. I think the lesson learnt here is to get the seller to sort out the VAT before sending to avoid that RM fee.

shaun_from_Africa

In most cases, it won't be possible for the seller prepay the VAT as there are only certain companies that can do this.

What you can do is to get your sellers to write "Goods to be customs cleared by importer" on the customs declaration.
If you do this, there shouldn't be any charge for collecting the VAT/duty but it will greatly delay the delivery of your goods.

The package will be delivered to HMRC who will then send you a declaration form that you need to fill out and return. When they receive this they will calculate the amount due and write to you to inform you of the amount. You send payment for this and when the payment has cleared, they will arrange delivery.

Personally, for the time and hassle involved, I'm more than happy to pay RM the £8 to do it all for me.

shaun_from_Africa

Nemo1966 wrote: »

Say what you will - the admin charge is a ripoff. The RM don't give you the chance to pay the VAT/Duty due, they hold the item to ransom and bundle their £8 charge in with it.

How many times are people going to keep going to post this incorrect rubbish?

You can opt to do the customs clearance yourself which avoids having to pay the admin fee.
All you need to do is to get the seller to write ""Goods to be customs cleared by importer" on the customs declaration.
Then when the package gets to the UK, it will go to customs who will work out the duty payable and contact you asking for payment.

lovinituk

Nemo1966 wrote: »

Say what you will - the admin charge is a ripoff. The RM don't give you the chance to pay the VAT/Duty due, they hold the item to ransom and bundle their £8 charge in with it.

What a ridiculous load of tripe. You would have made less a fool of yourself if you had read the thread that would have highlighted just how wrong you are!

I wonder how long until the next ranting, illiterate fool posts the same nonsense yet again?!

Nemo1966

lovinituk wrote: »

I wonder how long until the next ranting, illiterate fool posts

You just did! and it is a rip off!

RM have no right to hold items in the guise of waiting for customs payments!

Ransom at best!

bod1467

You can lead a horse to water .......

You've just confirmed what the TWO prior posters intimated.

lovinituk

Nemo1966 wrote: »

You just did! and it is a rip off!

RM have no right to hold items in the guise of waiting for customs payments!

Ransom at best!

And still you haven't bothered to look for the answers! I know the answers so I'm certainly not the illiterate ranting fool!

Pathetic (your post), at best!

QuackQuackOops

Tarostar wrote: »

It does seem very unfair as you have no say in the matter and am not even made aware of the rather steep "handling" charge until the goods have already been sent and it is therefore usually too late to change your mind without penalties from the seller.

I was aware of the customs duty charge and although I don't agree with it, was expecting it. The "handling" fee is however twice the customs duty and not something you can easily discover beforehand or have any say about. At least customs are working for the government which we are suppose to have elected. RM are private (more or less) and are in this instance forcing you to pay wathever fee they determine. I'm sure they are regulated, but surely £8 is a bit much for simply collecting duty on the parcel. You even have to bring exact cash when you pick it up.

It is your responsibility to check for charges when buying items from abroad, not the sellers.
Royal Mail don't receive much for delivering parcels when the postage has been paid for abroad, it is the postal service of that country that gets the most, so in order to cover costs of imports, RM charge £8 and have done for a long time now.
As is it your responsibility, you really can't blame Royal mail for your annoyance.

These costs are why it is not cheaper to buy from the states etc.

QuackQuackOops

MrBriz wrote: »

I've just been done too! I brought items from the USA totaling $39.99, then another $14.90 for int. postage, the $4 for a international surcharge (?? !!!!!! - I guess the company selling the goods saw that as a nice free money earner!) then I get a card through my door asking me for another £11.57! Robbing !!!!!!!s! £8 is the royal mail handling fee... !!!!!!?

I still can't believe that Royal Mail basically pay the charge for you, then ask you to pay them a handling fee. Surely this should fall on customs to chase you for the money and not let Royal Mail make profit out of a lot of international parcels?!

Am I right in thinking that if the item is marked as a gift you don't have to pay any duty? If this is the case I will make sure all my items from the USA are posted this way

Hmmmm... now all I need to do is think of a way to scam Royal Mail out of £8

You still pay on gifts.
I had a birthday present a few years ago, and I ended up paying £40 towards it for duty and Royal Mails fee.


ETA. I didn't notice the date. Why are threads this old still going?

Wayward_Son

I buy a lot of stuff from the USA and I never get stung for the £8 Royal Mail Fee.

On Ebay I always use the Global Shipping Program which INCLUDES Customs Clearance, VAT & Import Duty, (this doesn't help if the seller doesn't use the program but the proportion of sellers that don't is decreasing rapidly as it's safer for them as well as the buyer).

On Amazon.com they have three International Shipping Options. The standard is cheapest but is not tracked and does not include Customs Clearance or duty so you end up paying duty and RM's £8 Fee on top. For items likely to be over the £15 threshold for paying Import VAT I always select the middle speed/cost AmazonGlobal Expedited Shipping (averages 8-14 business days) which as well as being faster and tracked also INCLUDES Customs clearance AND duty! It always works out cheaper than paying Royal Mail their £8 fee on top of the actual duty PLUS it's quicker as no delays while they hold your item, count up the fees on their abacus and send you a card!