DHL - delivering goods then invoicing for Customs duty, VAT etc with no prior warning

Aylesbury_Duck

wolfehouse said:

Are you suggesting I should pay a large postage cost to post it back to him and then whatever us customs wanted on top and then also claiming back the £11.50?   (His delivery cost was covered in his purchase)

You should do what you want to do.  It just seems odd to blame and seek repayment from grandfather who made a lovely gesture for his grandchildren.

Next time someone buys me concert tickets as a gift, I must remember to bill them for the train ticket I need to buy to get there.

visidigi

PragmaticMoneySaver said:

molerat said:

<snip>

Even if you had rejected the shipment you would still have been liable for customs charges.  </snip>

See this is the bit I disagree with generally (apologies for jumping on your post OP).

So if let's say I really royally pi**ed someone off abroad they could happily send me multiple parcels declared with high values and I become legally obliged to pay customs charges EVEN if I reject them. 

This is the bit that doesn't sit right with me, how can I potentially run up thousands in debt solely by a third party doing something that is not illegal (sending me stuff).

Back on topic...Generally couriers will hold goods for individuals if the duties and taxes are over £100 - it varies by courier and by services used but generally the cost of processing the sub £100 before delivery costs more in service, staff, space, processing than delivery and collect later - they are an express service after all.

So you wont get in 000's of debt, the couriers have thresholds, they have patterns to the same address etc - because they consolidate deliveries etc.

HeinzVarieties

visidigi said:

PragmaticMoneySaver said:

molerat said:

<snip>

Even if you had rejected the shipment you would still have been liable for customs charges.  </snip>

See this is the bit I disagree with generally (apologies for jumping on your post OP).

So if let's say I really royally pi**ed someone off abroad they could happily send me multiple parcels declared with high values and I become legally obliged to pay customs charges EVEN if I reject them. 

This is the bit that doesn't sit right with me, how can I potentially run up thousands in debt solely by a third party doing something that is not illegal (sending me stuff).

Back on topic...Generally couriers will hold goods for individuals if the duties and taxes are over £100 - it varies by courier and by services used but generally the cost of processing the sub £100 before delivery costs more in service, staff, space, processing than delivery and collect later - they are an express service after all.

So you wont get in 000's of debt, the couriers have thresholds, they have patterns to the same address etc - because they consolidate deliveries etc.

I don't think that's true.  I've had plenty recently where the bill was <£100 and I received a payment request when it was in transit.

In fact over the years the only bills I've received after receipt were a £12 CD and a cigar purchase that ended up attracting a £400-ish duty/VAT bill, both over a decade before Brexit, incidentally.

I suspect it's more based on storage capacity in depots, they can't hold onto these things forever and if there's a few more packages than usual, they just have to send them out and bill later.

visidigi

HeinzVarieties said:

visidigi said:

PragmaticMoneySaver said:

molerat said:

<snip>

Even if you had rejected the shipment you would still have been liable for customs charges.  </snip>

See this is the bit I disagree with generally (apologies for jumping on your post OP).

So if let's say I really royally pi**ed someone off abroad they could happily send me multiple parcels declared with high values and I become legally obliged to pay customs charges EVEN if I reject them. 

This is the bit that doesn't sit right with me, how can I potentially run up thousands in debt solely by a third party doing something that is not illegal (sending me stuff).

Back on topic...Generally couriers will hold goods for individuals if the duties and taxes are over £100 - it varies by courier and by services used but generally the cost of processing the sub £100 before delivery costs more in service, staff, space, processing than delivery and collect later - they are an express service after all.

So you wont get in 000's of debt, the couriers have thresholds, they have patterns to the same address etc - because they consolidate deliveries etc.

I don't think that's true.  I've had plenty recently where the bill was <£100 and I received a payment request when it was in transit.

In fact over the years the only bills I've received after receipt were a £12 CD and a cigar purchase that ended up attracting a £400-ish duty/VAT bill, both over a decade before Brexit, incidentally.

I suspect it's more based on storage capacity in depots, they can't hold onto these things forever and if there's a few more packages than usual, they just have to send them out and bill later.

I said generally...of course we know there are always exceptions...

If the courier has a way to contact you electronically (email/mobile) then they are going after lower amounts, but eCommerce shippers rarely provide this. If they can't then processing mail is too slow (unless you're connected with the mail which is why parcelforce do it).

Its not depot space - for upfront payment the courier has yet to officially clear the package, its in bond pending payment of an amount based on a digital data exchange between the courier and HMRC - which generally means its at the airport point of clearance (DHL/UPS is EMA, FedEx is STN, ParcelForce is Coventry etc).