Royal Mail £8 Internal Post Handling Fee scam?

Willowx

wanye wrote: »

are you saying the £8 flat fee *is* fair to people who only have ~£4 worth of import tax to pay?

I don't see how a flat fee is unfair. The work done is going to be the same regardless of the amount of tax payable, surely they still have to go through the same steps it is just the tax calculations end up with a different value.

I cannot comment on how much it costs the RM to do this as I have no idea but I have no issue with the handling fee being the same for differently price parcels. Where I used to work we did have a prepay account with a couple of couriers but on the occasions where a customer or supplier used a different courier to deliver to us I can assure that the fee for customs clearance was more than £8.

If you choose to buy from abroad be it due to want or need then you simply have to add this charge and the cost of tax to the price before you buy and if you feel it is an acceptable price then you pay it if not you look elsewhere. Then at the end of the day if it turns out that you haven't had to pay for whatever reason then you have the bonus of some saved money.

expostie_2

OK, I had this charged to me today for an item from the US ... A cap actually ... Total of £11.19 .. Cap cost $19 .. So just the double what I paid for it.

OK, straight to the point ... I'm an ex-postman of ten years ... And before I kick off, I'd just like to say being a postman was the easiest job I have evver had, or ever will have. ... The money back then was pretty poor unless you did overtime, so I left, although I hear the wages have gone up- considerably since ... So, money for old rope .... No disguises...

Let me start off by saying that the £8 charge is ridiculous! It's ridiculous that Royal Mail are even involved other than diverting the package to customs and excise ... All Royal Mail need to do is drop the lot off and pick the lot up again for delivery.... Simple as ...

The customer has not asked for the detour ... And if customs and excise want their pound of flesh, let them foot the cost....

But, what really gets me ... OK, so I've ordered something from outside the UK? Why? Well, because what I wanted cannot be bought in the UK and if it were I'd pay a fortune for it ... Hence, shop elsewhere .... Much like I would if I were in town having a shop .. See it cheaper somewhere else, go back to that store and buy it ....

So, my item comes from halfway across the World, the item is fully paid for and I've even paid for the postage ... My parcel is on it's way ... Woo Hoo ....

I've bought my item ... I'm happy ....The shop has a sale .. They're happy ....A contract between two parties who are both happy ....

But oh no, wait, someone else wants a piece of the action!!! .... It's the tax man .... He wants to add VAT .... Now then ... VAT, Value Added Tax .... Where oh where is the VALUE for anyone other than the government? .... And why should they want to charge me VALUE for a cap I've just bought?

It's a cap for heavens sake! Why are you even getting involved? And should anyone get involved, it's the US government (Which they did, sales tax), not the UK government! The UK government have absoutely nothing to do with my purchase.

Why would you charge anyone a fee for buying something from outside of the UK? Especially something that cannot be bought in the UK.

And because of your rip off charges, I've been charged a further £8 by royal mail,which of course you own also ...

You tax my wages, you tax the things I buy and as I'd forseen, with emission control, you're actually taxing the air I breath!!!

At least let me buy a cap in peace!!!!

Give us all a break .... !!!!!!!!


Oh, and for the postie ... If I can send a parcel from Land's End to John O'Groats for the measly sum of £4.41 .... Why is Royal Mail charging £8 for a diversion?

custardy

Posts
OK, I had this charged to me today for an item from the US ... A cap actually ... Total of £11.19 .. Cap cost $19 .. So just the double what I paid for it.

OK, straight to the point ... I'm an ex-postman of ten years ... And before I kick off, I'd just like to say being a postman was the easiest job I have evver had, or ever will have. ... The money back then was pretty poor unless you did overtime, so I left, although I hear the wages have gone up- considerably since ... So, money for old rope .... No disguises...

Let me start off by saying that the £8 charge is ridiculous! It's ridiculous that Royal Mail are even involved other than diverting the package to customs and excise ... All Royal Mail need to do is drop the lot off and pick the lot up again for delivery.... Simple as ...

i got this far,saw i could give advice that was helpful but as you say money for old rope so good luck

expostie_2

custardy wrote: »

i got this far,saw i could give advice that was helpful but as you say money for old rope so good luck

Fella, postman for ten years..... I know exactly how you guys work, get paid and so forth ...If I'm stating anything untrue please let me know!!! ;o)

And what advice could you give? Write to customs and ask for my money back? lol

JasonLVC

RM, like all other couriers, will have a deferment or SIVA account held with HMRC.

This is a bank guarantee to HMRC to allow HMRC to release imported goods straight away to RM on the basis that RM collect the import duty and VAT on behalf of HMRC.

A bank guarantee costs money and that cost increases based on the value of the bank guarantee. I'd have thought RM would have a few million quid bank guarantee at least.

The paperwork required is quite cumbersome (and not all electronic). RM will have the duty/VAT deducted from their bank account every 45 days by HMRC, HMRC will then issue C79 certificates to verify the VAT/duty has been paid which all needs to be accounted and audited to ensure that RM or HMRC haven't messed up on one of the many millions of transactions being handled.

A flat £8 charge can seem a little steep (and probably is to a degree), especially for low value items, but if items are imported using UPS/TNT, etc they too also charge for the service of dealing with HMRC and paying your duty/VAT on your behalf as well so there's no escaping an admin fee for importing goods, unless you import personally and arrange your own courier/go visit the docks and pay HMRC directly.

Perhaps RM could offer the custoemr a choice. We'll charge you £8 and deliver the goods or come down to Southampton and pay HMRC direct and you can pick it up from there. Might be a possible solution to a frustrating problem.

molerat

molerat wrote: »

If you don't want to pay RM the £8 you could always arrange your own customs clearance. It will only cost you around £50 per consignment plus £15 handling fee for paying the import duties. The choice is yours.

As I posted earlier you do not have to use RM. Your supplier may also charge you a higher freight charge and you will have the hassle of then getting your package from the handler but the choice is yours

jasoneboyd

I too am a little riled today, £4.04 VAT plus an £8 handling charge which I'm fairly confident i did not agree to in advance (so much for contractual obligations being clear and evident). Apparently VAT was added because there was the assumption that US state tax was not paid, something which the seller has confirmed for me that i did do also. Taxing at both ends, that is the very definition of a rip-off to me. What !!!!es me off though is the lack of transparency - try this link to someone trying to find out how many times this happens in a month and the Royal Mail claiming sensitive information: ww w.whatdotheyknow.com/request/royal_mail_handling_fee

I feel they consider it sensitive because it's such a huge moneyspinner and they know people would get !!!!ed off if they saw this information. Also, they really were w****** when i sought information. What i have discovered is that i am very keen to find alternatives to sending out the 250,000 A4 postal questionnaires i send four times a year, internet surveying, here i come!

DarkConvict

I hate this too. The post office told me the VAT was like £12 and i should take it up with HMRC, it was only when i got home did i find £8-9 of it was the post office charges for collection.

I was gob smacked, as i travel into London i would have collected it myself rather than pay them £8 for their bulk processing. The thing was my postage was free so in future i ordered all my items seperatly to avoid this now, or ensure an international courier like DHL is used.

custardy

DarkConvict wrote: »

I hate this too. The post office told me the VAT was like £12 and i should take it up with HMRC, it was only when i got home did i find £8-9 of it was the post office charges for collection.

I was gob smacked, as i travel into London i would have collected it myself rather than pay them £8 for their bulk processing. The thing was my postage was free so in future i ordered all my items seperatly to avoid this now, or ensure an international courier like DHL is used.

then you will be charged the couriers rate + VAT/duty
given you were happy to drive to London,why not ask HMRC why they dont give you the option?

mazza111

Spent the whole day today, all 11.5 hours, writing out cards for customs duties and underpaid bl00dy xmas cards. So yes, it would be better if we went back to one stamp covers all, it would be better if we gave you your parcels without charging a handling fee. I would love it. I could get on with serving the customers who are there to pick up their uk bought packages.

Unfortunately, it aint gonna happen. Every courier charges a handling fee for this. It's just luck whether you get through or not.

As stated in another thread, even items marked as gifts get stopped at customs. Do you really think RM or any other courier are gonna provide a fully tracked package service for nothing?


Best bit today tho, was the guy who came in to pay his customs charge with a £100 note, haha, his face was a picture when i gave him his change, £70 in fivers and £12 in pound coins