What to do - just been asked to pay import tax.

elsmandino

This thing just gets better - despite DHL e-mailing me and telling me that they would not deliver until I had paid them the fee and would otherwise send the computer back in three weeks, I had a delivery guy turn up at my house and demand the payment from my wife - who is now annoyed at me as this disturbed one of her work meetings!

She refused to pay and he said he will be back, tomorrow, for the money.  If it is not paid by then, DHL will immediately return the item.

I get that DHL are stuck in the middle here - i.e. they have paid the duty upfront and are worried that they might not be reimbursed.  However, to essentially lie and say that they will return it tomorrow (rather than within three weeks as stipulated in their e-mail) is unreasonable in the circumstances.

I am just going to pay the thing and be done with it - hope this helps others avoid ending up in the same position.

Edit - btw, thank you for the update re £135.00 limit.  Had no idea about this and will definitely bear this in mind, whenever I buy anything at all in future.

jon81uk

elsmandino said:

Edit - btw, thank you for the update re £135.00 limit.  Had no idea about this and will definitely bear this in mind, whenever I buy anything at all in future.

Bear in mind although the seller should have to collect the VAT upfront when under £135 it might not always happen.
The government guidance states the seller should do it but it is worth paying attention when ordering to ensure the seller has charged the UK VAT. Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad: Tax and duty - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
But for over £135 it will always be collected via the courier and any applicable duty will also be added.

pinkshoes

elsmandino said:

This thing just gets better - despite DHL e-mailing me and telling me that they would not deliver until I had paid them the fee and would otherwise send the computer back in three weeks, I had a delivery guy turn up at my house and demand the payment from my wife - who is now annoyed at me as this disturbed one of her work meetings!

She refused to pay and he said he will be back, tomorrow, for the money.  If it is not paid by then, DHL will immediately return the item.

I get that DHL are stuck in the middle here - i.e. they have paid the duty upfront and are worried that they might not be reimbursed.  However, to essentially lie and say that they will return it tomorrow (rather than within three weeks as stipulated in their e-mail) is unreasonable in the circumstances.

I am just going to pay the thing and be done with it - hope this helps others avoid ending up in the same position.

Edit - btw, thank you for the update re £135.00 limit.  Had no idea about this and will definitely bear this in mind, whenever I buy anything at all in future.

Before paying, I think I would speak to your card provider (assuming you paid with debit/credit card).

As you bought from the website, and the ONLY address mentioned is a UK address, along with a UK business number, then it's fair to assume that the company should have made clear that the item was being imported and any costs associated with this which they did not.



Your card provider will then probably advise you to reject it and you can then seek a refund. 

I would also complain to BeeLink stating that no import charges are listed so ask them to refund £XXX to cover the cost of the import fee and you will be refusing the item if they do not and seeking a refund from your card provider. 

sheramber

DHL have paid HMRC  the customs duty and want reimbursed. Regardless of what the OP does the customs charge is payable by him as importer.

If he does not accept the item  he needs to still pay  the customs charge and try to reclaim it from  HMRC.

If he doesn't pay DHL they can go to court for the outstanding money.

He can, of course, ask the supplier to refund the charge. 

DullGreyGuy

jon81uk said:
But for over £135 it will always be collected via the courier and any applicable duty will also be added.

Not true... sellers can choose to sell at a fully landed price and they pay the courier the taxes instead of the sender but there is no obligation for them to offer this and most couriers only offer the service to larger clients. Macys.com was always one that gave you this option even pre-brexit and the new £135 rule... their website is now odd as the help text says you have the option but cannot see how to deselect it. 

It should however always be your assumption that for orders over £135 you will be paying vat and customs duty. 

elsmandino said:

btw, thank you for the update re £135.00 limit.  Had no idea about this and will definitely bear this in mind, whenever I buy anything at all in future.

Be aware that there is an exception that has caught a few people on here out which is for any goods that attract excise duty (eg alcohol) in which case the under £135 order is still taxed to the importer and not the sender... a few have bought some cheap EU wine online and found it not to be so cheap after UK taxes were added.

MikeWhite

I guess I was lucky to choose to buy one of these from Amazon...

elsmandino

Bit of an update on this one.

I contacted Beelink and they immediately offered to refund me 50% of the import tax, which I accepted and received within 24 hours.

£25.00 extra for the tax is much more palatable than £50.00, so pretty happy with the outcome - shall make sure I am lot more careful in the future!