Customs Charges

bigbradwolf

Hi all,

I've recently purchased 4 vinyls from the USA which with shipping has cost me just over £200. (shipping has cost a substantial amount) Parcelforce have now got in contact and advised that I need to pay £53 for these vinyls to be delivered. I feel conned and shafted. I've queried the payment but should they not move from the charge, where do I stand with my consumer rights in terms of refusing the goods, getting them sent back and getting a refund?

Browntoa

It's called " import tax" 

Been pretty standard for years 

UK consumer rights do not apply 

jon81uk

bigbradwolf said:

Hi all,

I've recently purchased 4 vinyls from the USA which with shipping has cost me just over £200. (shipping has cost a substantial amount) Parcelforce have now got in contact and advised that I need to pay £53 for these vinyls to be delivered. I feel conned and shafted. I've queried the payment but should they not move from the charge, where do I stand with my consumer rights in terms of refusing the goods, getting them sent back and getting a refund?

You need to pay 20% VAT on most goods, plus for orders over £135 there may be Import Duty (none on vinyl records though so doesn't apply to you). Then the courier add a fee to collect the tax on your behalf. So for £200, the VAT is about £40 and the parcelforce fee is  £12.

Anything you buy from overseas will have VAT added to it.

bigbradwolf

Thanks for the responses...Frustrating as if I'd have split the order into two I'd have saved a decent wedge of money...nevermind, you live and learn.

jon81uk

bigbradwolf said:

Thanks for the responses...Frustrating as if I'd have split the order into two I'd have saved a decent wedge of money...nevermind, you live and learn.

VAT is due on almost all imports so splitting into smaller shipments wouldn’t make any difference. Although more parcels would mean more handling fees from couriers.

If it is over the £135 where import duty is payable then that makes a difference, but only on items where there is import tax and vinyl records don’t have import tax applied.

kreb

Hi, I just ordered an item (Earthing Sheet) from Sweden, value £304 inc shipping 
The seller discounted their VAT (25%) and I got a notice from Royal Mail that it was on its way the day he sent it!
Today it was delivered by Parcelforce. No VAT added, and no import duty or handling fees charged.
I expected all costs to include 20% VAT, 10% import duty and handling on top.
Am I just lucky, or should I expect a bill to follow?

pogofish

bigbradwolf said:

Hi all,

I've recently purchased 4 vinyls from the USA which with shipping has cost me just over £200. (shipping has cost a substantial amount) Parcelforce have now got in contact and advised that I need to pay £53 for these vinyls to be delivered. I feel conned and shafted. I've queried the payment but should they not move from the charge, where do I stand with my consumer rights in terms of refusing the goods, getting them sent back and getting a refund?

This isn't a shopping/consumer rights issue and is already well covered on any number of other threads here.

Why didn't you do your own import paperwork?  That way you would limit any payment to the actual duty due and completely avoid the hefty "processing charges" that get added-on.  The only downside is that it can slow delivery until your payment clears.

Chapter and verse on how to do this has been in an appropriate forum here for years now!