Haven't paid customs charge but my parcel still got delivered; where do you think I stand?

bushwacka666

Hello all. Honestly not sure if I'm posting this in the right section but it seemed like the most relevant.

So every now and again I buy stuff from Japan and have it shipped over to the UK. I'm no stranger to customs charges and have paid them many times before in order to get my parcels released for delivery. Parcelforce always send me a letter telling me the amount and the reference number I need to enter online in order to pay it & arrange the delivery date. Simple process, I know how it works.

Recently I bought an item. I'm never 100% sure at the time whether a customs charge will apply but on this occasion I assumed one would probably need to be paid, so I wait for the usual letter to arrive to let me know the details. Instead, a couple of days ago, Parcelforce delivered my parcel. "Great", I thought, "no customs charge on this one!" However, there was a label on the parcel stating there actually WAS a charge of just over £50. Fast forward to today, and I've now received the letter through the post informing me of said charge. Everything still says that they hold the parcel and only deliver it once the charge has been paid, so... how did they manage to deliver it to me?

Clearly, Parcelforce have messed up in their procedure somewhere and delivered my parcel without me paying the customs charge for it first (through no fault of my own as I wasn't even aware of the charge yet.) I've searched around online but can't find any examples of this happening to other people. So what are other people's opinion on this? Since I already have my parcel now, could I get away without paying the charge? Or could Parcelforce still chase me for payment and I would be obligated to pay, despite this being their error?

Any advice sincerely appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

davidmcn

The fact they've delivered the parcel has got nothing to do with your liability for the customs charge.

KatrinaWaves

They have 6 years to chase you for it. Its £50, its not worth the hassle of trying to string them along when you do owe it.

JJ_Egan

I had the same but they never asked for the money nor billed me

But 4 years left to ask for it .

What would you feel like if they passed to debt collectors and trashed your credit record ??

The_Rainmaker

If Parcelforce haven't asked for payment prior to delivery then I am 99.9% sure they won't come looking.  Perhaps it was just an oversight or the seller marked the value lower than they should have. 

powerful_Rogue

bushwacka666 said:

Hello all. Honestly not sure if I'm posting this in the right section but it seemed like the most relevant.

So every now and again I buy stuff from Japan and have it shipped over to the UK. I'm no stranger to customs charges and have paid them many times before in order to get my parcels released for delivery. Parcelforce always send me a letter telling me the amount and the reference number I need to enter online in order to pay it & arrange the delivery date. Simple process, I know how it works.

Recently I bought an item. I'm never 100% sure at the time whether a customs charge will apply but on this occasion I assumed one would probably need to be paid, so I wait for the usual letter to arrive to let me know the details. Instead, a couple of days ago, Parcelforce delivered my parcel. "Great", I thought, "no customs charge on this one!" However, there was a label on the parcel stating there actually WAS a charge of just over £50. Fast forward to today, and I've now received the letter through the post informing me of said charge. Everything still says that they hold the parcel and only deliver it once the charge has been paid, so... how did they manage to deliver it to me?

Clearly, Parcelforce have messed up in their procedure somewhere and delivered my parcel without me paying the customs charge for it first (through no fault of my own as I wasn't even aware of the charge yet.) I've searched around online but can't find any examples of this happening to other people. So what are other people's opinion on this? Since I already have my parcel now, could I get away without paying the charge? Or could Parcelforce still chase me for payment and I would be obligated to pay, despite this being their error?

Any advice sincerely appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

As already pointed out, yes they could and have 6 years to do so.

Although you will have people probably wrongly say not to pay it as they won't chase it, I wouldn't count on that. Parcel Force have already paid that money to HMRC to clear your parcel. All it would take is for Parcel Force to send a few letters followed  by a Small Claims Court form and they would win. You would then have the £50 customs charge, £30 SCC fee and any other costs they may have incurred.

powerful_Rogue

The_Rainmaker said:

If Parcelforce haven't asked for payment prior to delivery then I am 99.9% sure they won't come looking.  Perhaps it was just an oversight or the seller marked the value lower than they should have. 

They have come looking, they sent a letter asking for the Customs Charge.

bushwacka666

Thank you for your input, everyone. I decided to just pay the charge, as most of you are right; probably not worth the risk of kicking up hassles later down the line. A shame, as I could've done with saving £52, but oh well.

Thanks again.

KatrinaWaves

Thanks for coming back! (Well coming back with a nice story and not telling us they waived the charge, sent you a £50 HMRC voucher, a hamper of cheese and wine and a big kiss for the inconvenience!)

visidigi

KatrinaWaves said:

They have 6 years to chase you for it. Its £50, its not worth the hassle of trying to string them along when you do owe it.

How so? They (PF) don't have a contract with the recipient.

Whilst I agree there is the moral view - I just don't see how a courier pre-paying your duty is the same as using your bank card and them not taking the money (which they have 6 years to chase).
At least the OP paid it, but I can't fathom how PFW would have a right to a six year payment chase....

powerful_Rogue

visidigi said:

KatrinaWaves said:

They have 6 years to chase you for it. Its £50, its not worth the hassle of trying to string them along when you do owe it.

How so? They (PF) don't have a contract with the recipient.

Whilst I agree there is the moral view - I just don't see how a courier pre-paying your duty is the same as using your bank card and them not taking the money (which they have 6 years to chase).
At least the OP paid it, but I can't fathom how PFW would have a right to a six year payment chase....

The importer is legally responsible for the information on the customs declaration. A such, if the importer wishes to self declare, he/she should get the exporter to write "goods to be Customs cleared by the importer" on the customs declaration. Once this package arrives in the UK, customs will clear the item and invoice you for any duties/taxes. Once paid, you can collect or arrange the item to be delivered to you. However, this process can take a while.
If you do not ask the exporter to write "goods to be Customs cleared by the importer", then you are asking the delivery company to carry this out on your behalf.