Amazon & Customs Charges

Deejay1806

Dear all, looking for help re Amazon.

 

I bought a stereo in November via a third seller £590 + £10 delivery – all good. received goods and all worked well.

 

I had to provide an EOIR number from my company to allow these into the country from Germany, with no mention of extra charges.

 

In January ParcelForce invoiced my company for over £130, and have since sent reminders, and now suspended the account for non-payment.

 

These charges were never disclosed to me at any point of transactions, only months after the goods were delivered.

 

After weeks of trying to resolve via Amazon’s third party portal I have gotten nowhere.

 

I then went through Amazon’s online help service (twice) and although told they would sort this I have gotten nowhere again.

 

I have this week emailed further up their complaint chain to the Grievance Office and finally the Nodal Officer, but all I receive is automated emails telling me to access the online service!

 

My issue is that I don’t believe I should be liable for these costs as they were not disclosed at any stage, nor was there a disclaimer/pause on Amazon’s site to suggest other charges may occur, their site is convenience based to just click-and-buy.

 

Any thoughts or help would be appreciated.

Sandtree

Orders under £135 then Amazon charges the importation costs up front, anything over £135 it is like it always has been and you as the importer has to pay the importation costs. (Pre-Brexit importation was relative to the EU rather than UK)

It is not for the seller to tell you your country's importation costs but for you to know before buying

Nearlyold

Sandtree said:

Orders under £135 then Amazon charges the importation costs up front, anything over £135 it is like it always has been and you as the importer has to pay the importation costs. (Pre-Brexit importation was relative to the EU rather than UK)

It is not for the seller to tell you your country's importation costs but for you to know before buying

Particularly so if it was a Company/Business purchase - in the absence of any  offer by the supplier/exporter to cover your import costs the assumption is that as the importer you are aware of the costs (or ought to be) and thus prepared to pay them.

user1977

Surely your company is aware of the concept of having to pay duties on imported goods? It's not the job of a German exporter to tell you about duties levied by the UK.

Phantom151

I get the feeling that it was a personal purchase rather than a company purchase. Techinically you have no right to use the company EORI number as a private individual. You are liable for the import costs but quite how you are going to explain this to your employer is a different matter particularly if they rely on Parcelforce for delivering the goods they sell... Unless, of course, this is your company. You'll still end up paying regardless.

Sandtree

Nearlyold said:

Sandtree said:

Orders under £135 then Amazon charges the importation costs up front, anything over £135 it is like it always has been and you as the importer has to pay the importation costs. (Pre-Brexit importation was relative to the EU rather than UK)

It is not for the seller to tell you your country's importation costs but for you to know before buying

Particularly so if it was a Company/Business purchase - in the absence of any  offer by the supplier/exporter to cover your import costs the assumption is that as the importer you are aware of the costs (or ought to be) and thus prepared to pay them.

Its actually one area where there is no nanny state protection for consumers and businesses/consumers are treated equally.

It is an area where some sympathy can be given as there are circumstances where its reasonable to assume products will come from within the UK but in practice they come from overseas however it was clear in this case the OP knew the products were coming from Germany before they were dispatched. 

Nearlyold

Sandtree said:

Nearlyold said:

Sandtree said:

Orders under £135 then Amazon charges the importation costs up front, anything over £135 it is like it always has been and you as the importer has to pay the importation costs. (Pre-Brexit importation was relative to the EU rather than UK)

It is not for the seller to tell you your country's importation costs but for you to know before buying

Particularly so if it was a Company/Business purchase - in the absence of any  offer by the supplier/exporter to cover your import costs the assumption is that as the importer you are aware of the costs (or ought to be) and thus prepared to pay them.

Its actually one area where there is no nanny state protection for consumers and businesses/consumers are treated equally.

It is an area where some sympathy can be given as there are circumstances where its reasonable to assume products will come from within the UK but in practice they come from overseas however it was clear in this case the OP knew the products were coming from Germany before they were dispatched. 

Yes you're right I wasn't meaning to suggest the OP would have a case if he purchased as a consumer

Sandtree

Nearlyold said:

Sandtree said:

Nearlyold said:

Sandtree said:

Orders under £135 then Amazon charges the importation costs up front, anything over £135 it is like it always has been and you as the importer has to pay the importation costs. (Pre-Brexit importation was relative to the EU rather than UK)

It is not for the seller to tell you your country's importation costs but for you to know before buying

Particularly so if it was a Company/Business purchase - in the absence of any  offer by the supplier/exporter to cover your import costs the assumption is that as the importer you are aware of the costs (or ought to be) and thus prepared to pay them.

Its actually one area where there is no nanny state protection for consumers and businesses/consumers are treated equally.

It is an area where some sympathy can be given as there are circumstances where its reasonable to assume products will come from within the UK but in practice they come from overseas however it was clear in this case the OP knew the products were coming from Germany before they were dispatched. 

Yes you're right I wasn't meaning to suggest the OP would have a case if he purchased as a consumer

No worries, was in two minds as to if you were implying there was some difference between consumers and business when it comes to import charges or if you meant a business should know better whereas a customer may be more understandably naïve to how importation works.

I am guessing the OP doesnt work in the importation department of a multinational conglomerate and whilst protections broadly fall off a cliff as soon as you operate at a business unfortunately many starting out have little more knowledge (or budget to pay for lawyers) than joe public

RachGW

Did you buy the stereo from Amazon.CO.UK or Amazon.DE (ie the German site, prices in EURO)

if you bought from UK, and a German retailer is advertising on UK site then Amazon seller rules state it should be shipped DDP (duty paid)  - this is the only chance of recourse, but you will have to be quick for Amazon A to Z 

if you bought on Amazon.de then unfortunately you have bought from EU, UK is not in EU so customs duty / vat applies - This is not a new thing, before most people got caught out with USA

I am an Amazon seller who also sells on Amazon.de so know the headache that Amazon rules and Brexit caused.

Sandtree

RachGW said:

if you bought from UK, and a German retailer is advertising on UK site then Amazon seller rules state it should be shipped DDP (duty paid) 

Can you point to this @RachGW? That is the case for parcels up to £135 but never seen anything over this

TELLIT01

Bottom line is that whether the OP likes it or not, they are liable for payment of the fees.