Import tax on dress ordered from the USA

Officechick

Hi, my daughter ordered a prom dress online not realising it is coming from the USA. A week after the purchase she got an email from DHL saying £97 import tax was due (the dress was only £200!).
I can see from the DHL history the dress is being returned to the seller (its a normal retailer / website not a ebay seller) but i cant get hold of the retailer (emailed them) and their website says they dont do returns, just a credit note! Any help would be appreciated. Many thanks

user1977

Her consumer rights will be those of whichever state the retailer is based in. I doubt those necessarily entitle her to a refund if she effectively refuses delivery by failing to pay the import duties (I presume she had a chance to pay the £97 before DHL returned it?).

DullGreyGuy

Officechick said:

Hi, my daughter ordered a prom dress online not realising it is coming from the USA. A week after the purchase she got an email from DHL saying £97 import tax was due (the dress was only £200!).
I can see from the DHL history the dress is being returned to the seller (its a normal retailer / website not a ebay seller) but i cant get hold of the retailer (emailed them) and their website says they dont do returns, just a credit note! Any help would be appreciated. Many thanks

Importation taxes are based on the total landed cost not just the cost of the item... shipping from US to UK tends to be fairly pricy

As it's over £135 you'd expect to pay import duty, VAT (which is paid on the landed cost plus duty) and an admin fee from DHL for clearing customs for you. 

It's not clear from your account what's happened such that you've been invoiced but now appear to be returning an unreturnable item. 

Officechick

Thanks for your comments.

Yes - she had a chance to pay the import tax but by the time she had admitted to me what had happened (it was my ccard!) DHL had started the return process.......

Obvs my preference is a full refund when the item gets back to the seller. Is the "ChargeBack" process applicable in this case? 

eskbanker

Officechick said:

Thanks for your comments.

Yes - she had a chance to pay the import tax but by the time she had admitted to me what had happened (it was my ccard!) DHL had started the return process.......

Obvs my preference is a full refund when the item gets back to the seller. Is the "ChargeBack" process applicable in this case? 

Chargeback sounds unlikely here, but if your daughter essentially choose not to pay the import fees and that's resulted in the dress being returned to the retailer, then I suspect that hoping for a full refund of the purchase cost may be ambitious if she's basically changed her mind, but if she checks the retailer's terms (and any consumer legislation in the relevant state) then the order cancellation policy should be clearer.  Who is the retailer?

ArbitraryRandom

I assume you gave your daughter permission to buy the dress? (and if you did not, I'm assuming like most parents you would not wish to report your daughter for fraudulently purchasing an item without permission...) 

Otherwise, your entitlement to a charge back will depend on the consumer rights of the state the business is registered in (In the UK the business would not be able to enforce the no refunds policy, but you are not protected by UK consumer law when purchasing an item from outside the UK )- can you provide a link to the shop and we might be able to give better advice?

DullGreyGuy

Officechick said:

Thanks for your comments.

Yes - she had a chance to pay the import tax but by the time she had admitted to me what had happened (it was my ccard!) DHL had started the return process.......

Obvs my preference is a full refund when the item gets back to the seller. Is the "ChargeBack" process applicable in this case? 

Chargebacks process will be applicable but will factor in the sellers location and if you had any right of return. @born_again will be better to opine on the likely outcome but I wouldn't be liking your chances. 

The more likely outcome is the seller will contact you and offer to reship it to you if you pay the shipping cost for a second time. 

born_again

Refusal of delivery is not a chargeback reason. 
You also still have the import duties to sort out. As they are still owed to DHL who are collecting on behalf of customs etc. So DHL will chase & engage debt collection if not paid.

Officechick

Aw thanks to you all for your responses and advise.

Yes i was aware that my daughter was purchasing the dress on my card. This has been a huge learning curve for her though, to make sure any company she uses in the future is UK based!!

The DHL part frightens me, looking at the DHL history it looks like the dress / parcel is being returned to the retailer so hopefully that wont be the case.

Will try the retailer again and plead that they allow the refund. Fingers crossed. Thanks again for all your help. xx

Hoenir

Officechick said:

The DHL part frightens me, looking at the DHL history it looks like the dress / parcel is being returned to the retailer so hopefully that wont be the case.

That's the default position.  If there's no communication from the intended receiver. DHL are simply acting as tax collectors for the UK Treasury. They won't want the goods cluttering up their warehouse.

ArbitraryRandom

If the customer refuses to pay and the goods are returned, it's normally the shipper who is charged when they receive the item back... and they can then seek those costs from the customer (depending on the T&Cs the customer agreed to at point of purchase) - in this case most likely in defence of any charge back attempt or reducing any credit note issued. 

This thread may be of interest as a similar issue: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6285071/am-i-required-to-pay-import-duty-if-i-refuse-delivery-of-the-package


https://send.dhlparcel.co.uk/parcel-delivery/understanding-taxes-and-duties#

OP, I ask again if it would be possible to at least confirm the STATE the company is based in as it's relevant to your options.