parcel force clearance fee

RFW

Nick_C wrote: »

And of course computers are free, software costs nothing to develop or maintain, and the staff work for nothing in rent free offices that are exempt from business rates.

Thanks for telling me. Next time I get a charge from them I'll send them a bit extra if they're that hard up.


Customs surcharge is an arbitrary charge that no one signs up for, it is not an enforceable charge, that's why they ask for it upfront and hold your parcel hostage until they get it.

MEM62

tremault wrote: »

They send the bill to me because its easier.

Nope. They send it to you because you are liable.

tremault wrote: »

For legal purposes, the importer is the person who writes the import declaration, or its the consignee (if they bought the items) or its the buyer in the exporters invoice. My friend is the buyer. So my friend is the importer.

Incorrect.

The person 'who writes the import declaration' to use your terminology is the Customs Broker or Declarant. In this case YOU are the importer and YOU are liable for any duties and taxes due. The fact that you have found a way of looking at this that allows you to deal with the fact that you have to pick up the costs is all well and good but it doesn't change the way the real world works.

You are right in that you cannot be pursued for the charges in this case but that is not because you have no liability. It is because, in the event that you fail to pay, you forfeit the goods - which is your prerogative.

mgdavid

RFW wrote: »

I've seen it done, so not really a guess.

It's all the stuff you don't or can't see that costs the money.
As Nick-C has also pointed out.

RFW

mgdavid wrote: »

It's all the stuff you don't or can't see that costs the money.
As Nick-C has also pointed out.

He largely pointed out all the infrastructure they'd have in place even if they didn't overcharge people for handling customs charges. Business rates on an office within a huge warehouse space would be immaterial, all the other stuff they'd have anyway.

The fact is that other couriers charge different amounts and the recipient rarely has control over which company will be levying the charge.

I still don't understand why people are so quick to defend them, it's an arbitrary charge that is legally unenforceable. It was the same way with the banks for decades, it turns out that charging £30 for a bounced cheque didn't cost them anywhere near that and they were just ripping people off.

Nick_C

If they didn't have to clear the customs formalities on behalf of the recipient, they wouldn't need the bonded warehouse. They wouldn't need to write to the recipient to collect fees. They wouldn't need to collect the fees or account for them. They wouldn't have to deal with HMRC.

£10 (plus VAT) seems reasonable.

RFW

Nick_C wrote: »

If they didn't have to clear the customs formalities on behalf of the recipient, they wouldn't need the bonded warehouse. They wouldn't need to write to the recipient to collect fees. They wouldn't need to collect the fees or account for them. They wouldn't have to deal with HMRC.

£10 (plus VAT) seems reasonable.

Parcels coming from overseas don't just go through customs checks for surcharges, so they'd need the bonded warehouse whatever. That's also where they deal with HMRC. They send a postcard with the parcel details on if there's a surcharge. It's another computer generated piece of paper and now they try to email if they have an email address.


Even accepting it's a valid charge of great value, which it patently isn't. They should charge the fee to their client and the only person they have a contract with, the sender. It makes no sense to charge the receiver. At no point does the receiver agree to pay for the courier surcharge, by importing they agree to the possibility of there being a customs charge but nothing with any courier, there's no way of knowing who it is.

There are quite a few cases of people asking for the charge to be waived for those reasons and eventually the couriers have agreed.

System

MEM62 wrote: »

Nope. They send it to you because you are liable.



Incorrect.

The person 'who writes the import declaration' to use your terminology is the Customs Broker or Declarant. In this case YOU are the importer and YOU are liable for any duties and taxes due. The fact that you have found a way of looking at this that allows you to deal with the fact that you have to pick up the costs is all well and good but it doesn't change the way the real world works.

You are right in that you cannot be pursued for the charges in this case but that is not because you have no liability. It is because, in the event that you fail to pay, you forfeit the goods - which is your prerogative.

Isn't it funny how I provided actual legal definitions and excerpts from the law whereas you've provided nothing. If you're going to try to assert something g you're going to need some actual facts instead of your say so.

I am not liable because I am not an importer. I have already shown this factually, backed up by legal definitions. You've shown absolutely nothing here. Please don't do that it's disrespectful not only to me but to anyone readi g thus site looking for factual information.


Edit:
And no, I don't forfeit the goods. The goods are returned to the person who sent them. My friend. Who happens to be the importer in this case because he is the buyer.



I've already proven this. Don't reply to this unless you have something actually written in law.


Edit2: just in case you don't have time to check it, I'll provide for you here. For customs purposes, the importer is the person writing the customs declaration or the person whom the agent acts on behalf of. This person is usually the consignee or the buyer as indicated on the shipping label.



Now, the definition of consignee, that is a person who orders a consignment.

I did not order the package therefore I am not a consignee, merely a recipient. My friend is designated the buyer and is therefore the importer.



If you don't like that or agree with it then you need to stop giving people advice because that's the actual facts proven in the letter of the law.

shaun_from_Africa

tremault wrote: »

Isn't it funny how I provided actual legal definitions and excerpts from the law whereas you've provided nothing. If you're going to try to assert something g you're going to need some actual facts instead of your say so.

I am not liable because I am not an importer. I have already shown this factually, backed up by legal definitions.

You provided legal definitions from an American website:
https://definitions.uslegal.com/i/importer/
and those definitions may differ for other countries and even then, you did a partial quote from the definition.
The full definition is:

Importer refers to an individual, firm or legal entity that brings goods, or causes goods to be brought from a foreign country into a customs territory. For customs purposes, an importer is the person who makes the import declaration, and who is liable for the payment of duties on the imported goods. An importer is named as the consignee in the shipping documents and in export invoice, s/he is named as buyer

So, from the definition that you provided (well, partially provided) the consignee is the importer.
As the shipment (or the consignment) was addressed to you, you are the consignee therefore you are the importer.

RFW

tremault wrote: »

I am not liable because I am not an importer.

In the usual sense of the word you aren't an importer but someone has sent you goods from outside the country (whether you ask for them or not), once you accept them you have imported them.

System

Actually, no I am not the importer because I am not the consignee. I've already stated this multiple times. I am reading your posts. Please give me the basic respect of reading mine or STOP COMMENTING.



Consignee:

A party (usually a buyer) named by the consignor (usually a seller) in transportation documents as the party to whose order a consignment will be delivered at the port of destination.





as I've said a number of times, I did not order anything, therefore I an not a consignee therefore I cannot possibly be the importer.