ACTUAL (3000%+) exorbitant customs/vat charges after the fact, inflated declared value

anonymous11223

So I'm an American that moved to the UK in September of 2019. Since then an older family member has sent me some old stuff from my childhood that was sitting around in attics and storage depots. A few months ago I received a box of stuff: an old, dirty stuffed animal I had when I was a toddler. A ratty old baseball cap I don't even remember ever having. A wind up plastic music box, a random keychain. Stuff literally exactly like this. Whatever, I didn't want any of this, but it arrived at my door and there were no charges.

So, months later, I just got a letter, saying I owe over $900. Attached is an itemized list of all the stuff, with their "value." The dirty, 30 year old stuffed animal? $50. The old baseball cap? $30.  The PLASTIC WIND UP TOY/music box, $150. This goes on and on and on. Now, I don't know what my older family member was thinking, they are 81, but I guess they were told they needed to unwrap the box at UPS, and declare the value on each item. There's no way in hell he would have been able to do this, so I guess him and the clerk did it together. 

My problem is obvious: I would have never accepted the package if I'd known I'd have to pay this ridiculous price. I know it's SOMEHOW legal for them to charge you after the fact, which I have huge issues with, but how is this acceptable or legal? I could send you a tennis ball and sign it as a nobody and declare it as worth $10,000. You get the tennis ball, and take it, because, whatever, I'm some acquaintance, so you recognize the sender name. And then MONTHS later they tell you, owe, by the way, we, UPS, had to pay $1000 in taxes to get this thru, so now you gotta pay us $1,000. 

What do I do? Do I contact HMRC Tribunal? So far we've only been able to speak to a UPS call center, which was about as worthwhile as you could guess. I know I am entitled to relief as someone that has moved here legally, permanently, for moved personal items. But we don't have the money to pay the bill in the first place, to then wait for "partial relief." 

We would have rejected the package. 

Please help. I am okay paying customs/vat charges that apply, but in cases where the declared values are thousands of % above reality (I mean, how does a 25 year old, dirty, used, stuffed animal have ANY value at all, let alone $50??? It's just ridiculous. This will financially ruin is, and ruin our credit. I'm supposed to have just rejected a package from a family member, full of childhood stuff they sent me, with no attached fee/invoice? Every time in the past, they hold the item first, and ask me to pay before collection. The fact UPS can do this is outrageous.

theoretica

See bottom of this page - and good luck! https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

dinglebert

Your user name and story drives me to one conclusion.

anonymous11223

dinglebert said:

Your user name and story drives me to one conclusion.

What's that? I take opsec seriously. I moved here on a marriage visa. I've been in the UK off and on since 2011. Met my wife at Uni many years ago. And what's weird about my story? That I was dumb for not using freight? Yeah, definitely. But I didn't want any of the childhood stuff sent to me in the first place. Genuinely curious what your "conclusion" is and how in the future I would not come off that way. Everything I said is 100% true.

anonymous11223

dinglebert said:

Your user name and story drives me to one conclusion.

Do you not find it outrageous that UPS can charge you after the fact, without you knowing how high the customs/vat are going to be, because you don't know what the sending party declared? I could probably upload images of the invoice and the itemized list, without sacrificing opsec.

pogofish

Did the copious and detailed information already here on how to get your sender to label the parcel in a way that lets you do your own customs clearance, which removes all handling charges and limit any duty to that actually payable not help you any?

And as this is an HMRC/statutory issue, it is most certainly not a matter for the consumer rights forum.

anonymous11223

pogofish said:

Did the copious and detailed information already here on how to get your sender to label the parcel in a way that lets you do your own customs clearance, which removes all handling charges and limit any duty to that actually payable not help you any?

And as this is an HMRC/statutory issue, it is most certainly not a matter for the consumer rights forum.

The package was unsolicited and from a family member. Would you reject an unsolicited package from a family member, whom you can deduce spent a good chunk of money shipping a big box across an ocean? It's crazy to me that you don't think it's related to consumer rights that UPS can deliver you a package, tell you nothing about potential future fees, and then send you a massive bill. Or that the original clerk mislead the family member. Whatever, I guess this place isn't the right place, but for other reasons. 

Grumpy_chap

anonymous11223 said:

how does a 25 year old, dirty, used, stuffed animal have ANY value at all, let alone $50??? 

How do the Customs Officers know that the used, stuffed animal toy is not an antique and worth many multiples of £50?
It must have some value greater than nominal, otherwise who would pay the postage for it?

DiddyDavies

Grumpy_chap said:

anonymous11223 said:

how does a 25 year old, dirty, used, stuffed animal have ANY value at all, let alone $50??? 

How do the Customs Officers know that the used, stuffed animal toy is not an antique and worth many multiples of £50?
It must have some value greater than nominal, otherwise who would pay the postage for it?

Not necessarily. There are probably a great many people who have things such as stuffed toys or other similar items from their childhood or from their parent's childhood who treasure them even though they may well be totally worthless in any monetary sense.

Grumpy_chap

Fair do's - sentimental value - but clearly there is none for the OP.

Voyager2002

There is a consumer rights issue in that UPS should have made clear the costs at the time the parcel was delivered, and so given the OP the option to refuse it.

The OP is probably more concerned about the tax involved, for which a different board would be more suitable.