Ebay returns + customs charges

monaymadlol

Hi, I bought a drawing on ebay, and the seller said before buying if I wasn't happy I could return it.

After purchasing, I found out it was not as described / likely a copy, so I was planning on returning it.

However, parcel force has informed me of a customs bill of around £100. Piece cost around £500

So, if I open a case and get a refund, does the seller have to refund the customs charge? 

If not, is it better I pay and swallow the charge, or open a case and wait (?) or instruct parcel force to return to sender?

Thanks

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

monaymadlol said:

Hi, I bought a drawing on ebay, and the seller said before buying if I wasn't happy I could return it.

After purchasing, I found out it was not as described / likely a copy, so I was planning on returning it.

However, parcel force has informed me of a customs bill of around £100. Piece cost around £500

So, if I open a case and get a refund, does the seller have to refund the customs charge? 

If not, is it better I pay and swallow the charge, or open a case and wait (?) or instruct parcel force to return to sender?

Thanks

It depends on what " likely a copy" a means in relation to what you actually purchased?

Spoonie_Turtle

You can reclaim the customs charges from HMRC if you return it, but you won't get the handling/processing fee back from Parcelforce (I think it's ~£12)

MEM62

It is not the sender that has billed you the Customs charges so why should they refund it?  If you are returning the item you should reclaim any import duties and taxes paid directly from HMRC.  However, check the procedure for doing so before you send the item back as you will have to ensure that the items is properly declared upon re-export.

monaymadlol

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

monaymadlol said:

Hi, I bought a drawing on ebay, and the seller said before buying if I wasn't happy I could return it.

After purchasing, I found out it was not as described / likely a copy, so I was planning on returning it.

However, parcel force has informed me of a customs bill of around £100. Piece cost around £500

So, if I open a case and get a refund, does the seller have to refund the customs charge? 

If not, is it better I pay and swallow the charge, or open a case and wait (?) or instruct parcel force to return to sender?

Thanks

It depends on what " likely a copy" a means in relation to what you actually purchased?

TTht was a bit of a wasted post. Please read above :seller was happy to refund if I was not happy with the item, whatever the reason

monaymadlol

MEM62 said:

It is not the sender that has billed you the Customs charges so why should they refund it?  If you are returning the item you should reclaim any import duties and taxes paid directly from HMRC.  However, check the procedure for doing so before you send the item back as you will have to ensure that the items is properly declared upon re-export.

No, it wasn't the sender. It was parcel force who have billed me.

monaymadlol

Spoonie_Turtle said:

You can reclaim the customs charges from HMRC if you return it, but you won't get the handling/processing fee back from Parcelforce (I think it's ~£12)

So rather than asking parcel force to rts, is it better to accept the package and reclaim from HMRC - how would I go about doing this? Via parcel force?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

monaymadlol said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

monaymadlol said:

Hi, I bought a drawing on ebay, and the seller said before buying if I wasn't happy I could return it.

After purchasing, I found out it was not as described / likely a copy, so I was planning on returning it.

However, parcel force has informed me of a customs bill of around £100. Piece cost around £500

So, if I open a case and get a refund, does the seller have to refund the customs charge? 

If not, is it better I pay and swallow the charge, or open a case and wait (?) or instruct parcel force to return to sender?

Thanks

It depends on what " likely a copy" a means in relation to what you actually purchased?

TTht was a bit of a wasted post. Please read above :seller was happy to refund if I was not happy with the item, whatever the reason

No it wasn't, the seller may be happy to refund either way but the question is still relevant.

Spoonie_Turtle

monaymadlol said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

You can reclaim the customs charges from HMRC if you return it, but you won't get the handling/processing fee back from Parcelforce (I think it's ~£12)

So rather than asking parcel force to rts, is it better to accept the package and reclaim from HMRC - how would I go about doing this? Via parcel force?

Oh I see, you haven't accepted/paid for it. In that case probably easier to just let it go back to the sender for a refund (the customs charges won't be paid so no need to reclaim) BUT I don't think they'd have to refund you the original postage if you did that. Depending on how much it was, you may feel that loss is worth not having all the hassle of having to reclaim charges.

If you paid, you'd have to open a SNAD case for a full refund, make sure to reclaim the charges from HMRC (not PF) and you'd lose the ~£12 Parcelforce handling fee.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Spoonie_Turtle said:

monaymadlol said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

You can reclaim the customs charges from HMRC if you return it, but you won't get the handling/processing fee back from Parcelforce (I think it's ~£12)

So rather than asking parcel force to rts, is it better to accept the package and reclaim from HMRC - how would I go about doing this? Via parcel force?

Oh I see, you haven't accepted/paid for it. In that case probably easier to just let it go back to the sender for a refund (the customs charges won't be paid so no need to reclaim) BUT I don't think they'd have to refund you the original postage if you did that. Depending on how much it was, you may feel that loss is worth not having all the hassle of having to reclaim charges.

If you paid, you'd have to open a SNAD case for a full refund, make sure to reclaim the charges from HMRC (not PF) and you'd lose the ~£12 Parcelforce handling fee.

I don't think eBay is going to find a SNAD claim in favour of a buyer who is yet to receive the goods. 

They won't find in favour of a buyer when claiming INR but refusing to pay customs either. 

Hence the question above. 

Spoonie_Turtle

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

monaymadlol said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

You can reclaim the customs charges from HMRC if you return it, but you won't get the handling/processing fee back from Parcelforce (I think it's ~£12)

So rather than asking parcel force to rts, is it better to accept the package and reclaim from HMRC - how would I go about doing this? Via parcel force?

Oh I see, you haven't accepted/paid for it. In that case probably easier to just let it go back to the sender for a refund (the customs charges won't be paid so no need to reclaim) BUT I don't think they'd have to refund you the original postage if you did that. Depending on how much it was, you may feel that loss is worth not having all the hassle of having to reclaim charges.

If you paid, you'd have to open a SNAD case for a full refund, make sure to reclaim the charges from HMRC (not PF) and you'd lose the ~£12 Parcelforce handling fee.

I don't think eBay is going to find a SNAD claim in favour of a buyer who is yet to receive the goods. 

They won't find in favour of a buyer when claiming INR but refusing to pay customs either. 

Hence the question above. 

No I know - my point was that if they paid then received it, they would then have to open a case and so on. At no point did I mention opening a case if it simply goes back to the sender without payment of the charges, just logically if it's returned to the seller they should refund the item price (especially as they've already said they're happy for it to be returned).