Customs charges from DHL for an item I no longer own

liamw91

Hi all,

I'm a slight pickle so would appreciate any support

I made an eBay purchase for a Photo Booth machine back in April. The listing stated that the product was shipped from the UK. I paid a total of £1750. I was skeptical about the product being shipped from the UK as many of them come from China. I messaged the seller to clarify and asked if they are actually shipped from the UK. The seller said they are not shipped from the UK but that I only pay what is advertised on eBay and they take care of the taxes etc.

Anyway, since then I decided that it's much larger than I thought and made the decision to sell it as it was more hassle than I thought. I obviously made a loss when selling it as I had to sell for less than I paid. Anyway, a few days later and today I receive a bill in the post from DHL stating that I owe £705 in custom VAT!!

So here are my dilemmas:

• The seller specifically told me I wouldn't pay any charges, and If I hadn't messaged them in the first place, I would have believed the item was being shipped from the UK

• Even if I did have to pay the charges, the invoice suggests that the value of the goods is £3000, which is obviously much higher than I originally paid.

• I messaged the seller to ask !!!!!! basically, and he said he will contact DHL as I should not have to pay anything. I said I am happy to contact them as the invoice is in my name. He said OK if you do make sure you tell them that the item was $400. I replied and said 'yes but the item wasn't $400', and he replied to state that he put $400 on the order to avoid charges.

So now I'm facing having to pay an extra £705 in customs charges, for an item I no longer own and sold for much less than I paid for it. The seller is saying he's going to contact DHL to get the issue rectified. Someone please tell me I'm not screwed here??

powerful_Rogue

You've been screwed.

You could take the seller to court for this lie, however that would be to court in their country, so I doubt that's a viable option.

Contact DHL/Border Force in regards to the discrepancy in price paid vs price declared. Might not get you anywhere, but worth a try.

The seller won't be contacting DHL, they are fobbing you off.

The fact you have sold the item for less makes no difference, it's all to do with the importation which you are liable for.

liamw91

powerful_Rogue said:

You've been screwed.

You could take the seller to court for this lie, however that would be to court in their country, so I doubt that's a viable option.

Contact DHL/Border Force in regards to the discrepancy in price paid vs price declared. Might not get you anywhere, but worth a try.

The seller won't be contacting DHL, they are fobbing you off.

The fact you have sold the item for less makes no difference, it's all to do with the importation which you are liable for.

Thank you for this, I will try contacting DHL. I have a feeling though that the seller is indeed UK based, as on their listings they have items for ‘collection in person’ and the location is London. 

My guess is that they have sold it to me from a warehouse directly and they are just the ‘middle man’. Does this change things slightly with regards to taking them to court?

Also I know me selling it makes no difference, I think I just added that to add to the frustration I’m feeling.

thanks again 

Sandtree

Do you have a link to the listing?
What were the details on the label?

If they have falsified information on the listing and they are in the UK then in theory you can litigate to attempt to recover your losses. The probability of success will really come down to exactly what they said... if they promised to lie on custom forms to get it to you tax free then that isn't going to fly, you are liable for tax on its true value even if the merchant lies.

liamw91

This is the link to the item - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265620460355?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=uxJJpgNfQla&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=qML3r4lvQSa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

The only thing that was said prior to ordering was this -  ‘you only pay what is advertised on eBay nothing more. We take care of the taxes’ 

The whole lying about the value thing has only just emerged when I emailed the seller today to ask why on earth I’d received an invoice

powerful_Rogue

I reckon it's a hijacked ebay account.

tightauldgit

liamw91 said:

This is the link to the item - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265620460355?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=uxJJpgNfQla&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=qML3r4lvQSa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

The only thing that was said prior to ordering was this -  ‘you only pay what is advertised on eBay nothing more. We take care of the taxes’ 

The whole lying about the value thing has only just emerged when I emailed the seller today to ask why on earth I’d received an invoice

Have you contacted ebay about it? They may be able to help in terms of recovering the costs from the seller as it is explicitly listed as being in the UK.

I have had this often on items of Chinese origin where they ship from China but are listed as UK based - I don't know if the accounts are actually in London and just acting as middle men or whether they are just Chinese accounts being completely dishonest. It's bloody annoying because its often then several weeks wait to get the item and as you see they can be subject to customs charges.

I dont think all is lost at this stage as I have had success with such vendors in the past refunding me but never for such a large expense. 

I'd see what ebay say as step 1. I don't think DHL would be able to help you as their job is just to recover the appropriate fees and if the seller lied about it that's not their problem. 

  

tripled

I've never understood how the recipient can be liable for customs charges after an item has been delivered. I've had similar before with Fedex (albeit for a much smaller amount) and I wrote to them saying I had no contract with them and wouldn't be paying any fees, that was the last I heard of it.

DHL has a contract with the sender, not the OP.
DHL chose to clear the parcel through customs without agreeing with the OP they would pay any customs tariffs and service charges due.
DHL delivered the parcel to the OP, again without agreeing with them that they would pay any customs tariffs and service charges.
DHL subsequently sent the OP an invoice.

Had DHL notified the OP there were import taxes and service due, the OP could have refused the item, which would then remain DHL's problem to take up with the sender.

Is there any legal precedent where a courier has successfully taken a recipient to court when the recipient has not paid an invoice in this scenario?

powerful_Rogue

tripled said:

I've never understood how the recipient can be liable for customs charges after an item has been delivered. I've had similar before with Fedex (albeit for a much smaller amount) and I wrote to them saying I had no contract with them and wouldn't be paying any fees, that was the last I heard of it.

DHL has a contract with the sender, not the OP.
DHL chose to clear the parcel through customs without agreeing with the OP they would pay any customs tariffs and service charges due.
DHL delivered the parcel to the OP, again without agreeing with them that they would pay any customs tariffs and service charges.
DHL subsequently sent the OP an invoice.

Had DHL notified the OP there were import taxes and service due, the OP could have refused the item, which would then remain DHL's problem to take up with the sender.

Is there any legal precedent where a courier has successfully taken a recipient to court when the recipient has not paid an invoice in this scenario?

You're liable as the importer.

Fees can be recovered under s105 (3) Postal Services Act 2000 - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/26/section/105

liamw91

tripled said:

I've never understood how the recipient can be liable for customs charges after an item has been delivered. I've had similar before with Fedex (albeit for a much smaller amount) and I wrote to them saying I had no contract with them and wouldn't be paying any fees, that was the last I heard of it.

DHL has a contract with the sender, not the OP.
DHL chose to clear the parcel through customs without agreeing with the OP they would pay any customs tariffs and service charges due.
DHL delivered the parcel to the OP, again without agreeing with them that they would pay any customs tariffs and service charges.
DHL subsequently sent the OP an invoice.

Had DHL notified the OP there were import taxes and service due, the OP could have refused the item, which would then remain DHL's problem to take up with the sender.

Is there any legal precedent where a courier has successfully taken a recipient to court when the recipient has not paid an invoice in this scenario?

Exactly! I would have absolutely refused the package if this was the case. I mean I like to think I did my due diligence by questioning the legitimacy of the claim that it was UK based by messaging the seller for confirmation. 

I just feel disheartened, I should never have bought it in the first place as it was a business idea that ended up being more hassle than it was worth, so I managed to sell and recuperate a percentage of the cost, and now I've been hit with this.

I have contacted eBay and DHL but I'm certainly not going to pay willingly. 

BT_Broederbund

powerful_Rogue said:

I reckon it's a hijacked ebay account.

A hijacked eBay account that actually sends the product it's selling?  And a large product at that?  Are you sure?