Import Charges

Keito64

Hi there, long time reader, first time poster.

I've read through this forum and the import charges page on MSE, which generally relates to if the item is held by the shipping company. What if the item has been delivered, and months later (3 in this case) an import charges letter has been dropped through my door?

The item was just over the £135 threshold (by about £20, including shipping) and I'm being charged £43.67. I'm  generally 'happy' to pay the charges, but is there any way I can:
a) Not pay this, or
b) If not paying leads to a debt recovery company getting involved (which I can imagine it would) - can I pay the import charges direct to HM Rev and Customs rather than paying this admin company?

Full disclosure, the company in question is Customs Clearance Ltd. working for GLS.

Thanks for any pointers.

RFW

Keito64 said:

Hi there, long time reader, first time poster.

I've read through this forum and the import charges page on MSE, which generally relates to if the item is held by the shipping company. What if the item has been delivered, and months later (3 in this case) an import charges letter has been dropped through my door?

The item was just over the £135 threshold (by about £20, including shipping) and I'm being charged £43.67. I'm  generally 'happy' to pay the charges, but is there any way I can:
a) Not pay this, or
b) If not paying leads to a debt recovery company getting involved (which I can imagine it would) - can I pay the import charges direct to HM Rev and Customs rather than paying this admin company?

Full disclosure, the company in question is Customs Clearance Ltd. working for GLS.

Thanks for any pointers.

a) Yes, but you'll get harassed for payment.

b) No.

A long time ago I had a dispute on something like this, the courier sent a bill long after receipt of goods. As I disputed it I refused to pay and would have been happy to end up in court but they never did. They sent a few letters and then stopped bothering. It was a similar amount.

If you think you are liable for the money then you should probably pay it. Of course check if it isn't a scam before that.

Spoonie_Turtle

Were you charged any VAT when you bought it?  If not, then you're liable and should pay. 

If you did pay VAT at the time, then the retailer clearly messed up and it'll be more complicated - in principle you should only owe the difference between what you actually paid and what was chargeable 

Weird that the charge should come through so long after delivery though. 

RFW

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Were you charged any VAT when you bought it?  If not, then you're liable and should pay. 

If you did pay VAT at the time, then the retailer clearly messed up and it'll be more complicated - in principle you should only owe the difference between what you actually paid and what was chargeable 

Weird that the charge should come through so long after delivery though. 

A few of the couriers deliver the parcels and then sort the customs charge afterwards, especially around Christmas. I used to import a fair bit and it wasn't that odd for a FedEx customs bill to arrive a few months after delivery.

I often get told off for sharing the opinion, so I won't say all I've said before, I do think the whole system of who pays and when is in a bit of a mess. They do seem to be moving towards the sender paying everything beforehand and then refunding the difference, if there is one. The sooner that rolls out everywhere the better.

Keito64

Thank you all for your responses, it's really appreciated. Looks like I should just pay these guys (after checking for hoaxes), and be extra careful in the future. I've heard elsewhere that the paperwork alone on imports is a nightmare so this is just going to be one of those things.

Keito64

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Were you charged any VAT when you bought it?  If not, then you're liable and should pay. 

If you did pay VAT at the time, then the retailer clearly messed up and it'll be more complicated - in principle you should only owe the difference between what you actually paid and what was chargeable 

Hi, it was an eBay purchase, and I can't see any specific VAT charges in the cost... just the sale price and then postage. So I think I'm liable. Good thought though.

superbigal

One thing for sure is GLS have to make the payment (Excluding the handling charge which is probably around £12 or 15 Euros) of the 20% Import Vat to HMRC.  
Must admit I have not had any courier chasing up Import Vat & handling months after the event since Brexit.
They all tightened up at that point as previously it affected far less deliveries.

Keito64

Update:
I emailed CCL (Customs Clearance Ltd.) when I received the initial letter, and I have just had a very courteous reponse, which has laid out all the charges, and their attempts to get in contact with the seller and courier. I believe this to be an honest cost of import and something to be wary of in the future when purchasing from overseas.
It may be possible to ignore this, but I don't feel that's an honest decision.

DullGreyGuy

Keito64 said:

The item was just over the £135 threshold (by about £20, including shipping) and I'm being charged £43.67. I'm  generally 'happy' to pay the charges, but is there any way I can:
a) Not pay this, or
b) If not paying leads to a debt recovery company getting involved (which I can imagine it would) - can I pay the import charges direct to HM Rev and Customs rather than paying this admin company?

a) You can not repay any debt if you dont want be that your mortgage, credit card or importation charges to but you in theory risk a CCJ on your credit history for years to come... in practice its highly unlikely they'd bother to go to court for such a small debt but you will potentially have years of them writing to you, phoning you, turning up on your doorstep etc

b) HMRC has already been paid, the courier does this on your behalf to clear the parcel, thats why they are entitled to charge a fee which covers both the administration of doing clearance and extending you credit (and therefore the credit risk that someone doesnt pay what they owe). Your opportunity to do clearance yourself and pay HMRC directly is long gone

RFW

DullGreyGuy said:

a) You can not repay any debt if you dont want be that your mortgage, credit card or importation charges to but you in theory risk a CCJ on your credit history for years to come... in practice its highly unlikely they'd bother to go to court for such a small debt but you will potentially have years of them writing to you, phoning you, turning up on your doorstep etc

A couple of things from that, which I largely agree with.

A debt collector can call in person and on the doorstep but you can request that they don't and if they do so they can be reported to Trading Standards. They can then only contact you by mail.

As far as I know the CCJ risk is only if you end up in court and don't pay. If a judgement was issued and you paid up it doesn't affect you. I may be wrong on that but I'm sure that used to be the case.
As I mentioned earlier I had a case that was in no way my responsibility but the courier were chasing me for it. I let them know and kept all the documents I needed to prove they were wrong. They sent a few letters and then gave up. I suspect part of their fee covers the percentage who don't pay.

martindow

RFW said:

DullGreyGuy said:

As far as I know the CCJ risk is only if you end up in court and don't pay. If a judgement was issued and you paid up it doesn't affect you. I may be wrong on that but I'm sure that used to be the case.
As I mentioned earlier I had a case that was in no way my responsibility but the courier were chasing me for it. I let them know and kept all the documents I needed to prove they were wrong. They sent a few letters and then gave up. I suspect part of their fee covers the percentage who don't pay.

And if you let it go as far as a claim going to court, the court fee would be added to the debt.