Ridiculous Royal Mail custom charge

DaisyJoustra

My friend who lives in jersey has sent me her old phone which isn’t worth a lot and paid nearly 10 for tracked delivery. She was asked if the parcel was worth Over £20 which as it is sent tracked. I have been stung with an customs  charge of £38 or I can’t have the parcel. I send her parcels all the time but Have never had this charge, how is this ridiculous fee worked out, and what happens if I don’t pay it, do they keep the parcel. The phone probably isn’t worth £40 to be fair- And isn’t jersey in Great Britain? 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Due to mass VAT avoidance (that's the legal type), low value consignment relief was reduced to zero for commercial goods coming from Jersey and Guernsey into the UK. 

Regarding gifts they attract VAT if valued over £39 (including postage).

Either your friend should pre-pay the VAT or they declared the wrong amount. Details here:

www.jerseypost.com/help/customs-taxes/import-exporting/

£38 sounds high, do you have a breakdown or know the value that was declared?

Aylesbury_Duck

Advice above is correct.  Jersey is indeed in the British Isles but it is not in the United Kingdom and it has its own government.  Therefore, in many respects, it's considered "overseas".

JReacher1

DaisyJoustra said:

And isn’t jersey in Great Britain? 

Sadly no it isn’t. 

Out of the £38 I think £9 will be handling charges so they’ve charged you around £29 VAT. Looks like they’ve valued the phone at around £125. It would be interesting to know where they’ve got this value from. 

davidmcn

No, of course Jersey isn't in the UK, that's why it's a tax haven.

Manxman_in_exile

Not a lot of people know this...but the Isle of Man (like Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark etc) is not a part of the UK but (unlike Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark etc) forms part of a Common Customs Area with the UK.  Interesting, eh?