Unexpected import duty

OLTeale

In 2019 I bought a bunch of silver from a website which I had found and was cheaper than any others. I sold it and made a profit and was planning to do the same
now. I bought some silver from the website, got sent an invoice which I payed in full and it said free postage and packaging. Two weeks later I receive and invoice from ups asking me for £96 in import duties which I was not told about at all. Turns out the company sell from Germany and brexit caused an import duty which ups passed onto me with no warning. Is there anything I can do?

born_again

A lot of threads on this subject.
The answer is NO.

davidmcn

What do you mean it "turns out" they're in Germany? Where did they say they were? Where were they in 2019?

LittleNinja

No. It is your responsibility to check for import fees

OLTeale

davidmcn said:

What do you mean it "turns out" they're in Germany? Where did they say they were? Where were they in 2019?

All I saw was that they had offices in London, Germany etc, but apparently they keep their stock in Germany and send it from there 

visidigi

OLTeale said:

davidmcn said:

What do you mean it "turns out" they're in Germany? Where did they say they were? Where were they in 2019?

All I saw was that they had offices in London, Germany etc, but apparently they keep their stock in Germany and send it from there 

Its still no. And if running a business its your responsibility to know, not for the seller to tell you (you have different rights)

cymruchris

It's a no from me too... 

Brexit has been in the headlines for a couple of years now - and with all the publicity of it all going wrong - any order I've placed in the last couple of months, I've absolutely double checked where it's coming from as there have been quite a few horror stories in the media in relation to import charges by the various courier companies. You'll have to chalk this one up to experience, and look closely as to where your items are coming from on your future orders. 

Flight3287462

Did you apply for a VAT exemption in Germany or have you paid VAT twice?

OLTeale

cymruchris said:

It's a no from me too... 

Brexit has been in the headlines for a couple of years now - and with all the publicity of it all going wrong - any order I've placed in the last couple of months, I've absolutely double checked where it's coming from as there have been quite a few horror stories in the media in relation to import charges by the various courier companies. You'll have to chalk this one up to experience, and look closely as to where your items are coming from on your future orders. 

Ah, is a shame, it’s a lot of money to me. I only turned 18 two months ago and it’s something I didn’t consider. Comes with experience I guess.

Aylesbury_Duck

OLTeale said:

cymruchris said:

It's a no from me too... 

Brexit has been in the headlines for a couple of years now - and with all the publicity of it all going wrong - any order I've placed in the last couple of months, I've absolutely double checked where it's coming from as there have been quite a few horror stories in the media in relation to import charges by the various courier companies. You'll have to chalk this one up to experience, and look closely as to where your items are coming from on your future orders. 

Ah, is a shame, it’s a lot of money to me. I only turned 18 two months ago and it’s something I didn’t consider. Comes with experience I guess.

Good for you.  A lot of posters on here recently have been much less mature in their response despite, I suspect, being much older than you.

mattyprice4004

While it's a bit of a blow, Brexit has meant there's tariffs and fees on a lot of purchases between the UK and EU. 
I'm sorry to say it, but it sounds like next time a little more homework would be beneficial - both on the company and the import process. 
Fingers crossed next time it works out better for you.