Post Office Customs charge

apang

Excise and VAT - you can't get away from paying this. It's the law.

Only 19 out of 20 packages get "caught" because they don't have the manpower to check every parcel. So if yours is selected, tough luck!

So far so good. What does MAKE ME VERY ANGRY is the extortionate amount that Parcel, UPS, DHL, and ALL THE DELIVERY COMPANIES charge for "handling" this. All they do is hand the parcel over to HM Revenue & Customs, pick it up and take the money from the recipient.

I ordered a digital camera from ebay, and Parcelforce charged me £18 to "handle" the excise charge. That's more than it would cost the sender to post the parcel in the first place!

My girlfriend once received an unwanted item from an ex-boyfriend in the post. Having signed for it, she received an invoice in the post and subsequent threatening letters from DHL billing her for the customs charge and handling fee even though she didn't even WANT THE ITEM.

I think it would be good if we could compile a list of the various "handling" fees that the couriers charge - it is completely arbitrary and wholly unnecessary. They get away with it, because we have to pay it if we want the parcel! But IT SHOULDN'T BE LIKE THIS.

Hermia

I couldn't agree more! I bought my friend a Birthday present from the US which was worth about £50 and I got a Customs Charge of £25! The parcel was sent by Fed-Ex (I didn't realise this when I ordered). I would rather have bought my friend a £75 pressie over here!

apang wrote:

I think it would be good if we could compile a list of the various "handling" fees that the couriers charge - it is completely arbitrary and wholly unnecessary. They get away with it, because we have to pay it if we want the parcel! But IT SHOULDN'T BE LIKE THIS.

appleblossom

I've received a letter today from Parcel Force, there is no import/export fee but there is a 10.32 VAT fee, + 8.00 parcel force clearance charge making a charge of 18.32, the goods cost 53.00 and that included 10.00 shipping charge, so I'm not sure on what they have based the VAT on. Yet to collect the parcel so will need to check what he has put on his packaging when I get it on Monday. I'm gutted as it was a present and has now cost a third extra, and not a lot cheaper than it could have been bought for here.

Wirenth

The delivery companies get 'creative' when calculating the VAT you owe them.

My dad sent me a birthday pressie from overseas. DHL calculated the VAT based on the following: the value of the gift, the amount my dad paid them for the postage, another charge for the cost of delivering it from the depot to my house and then a handling charge.

By the time they had finished, the VAT I had to pay them was around 50% of the value of the present.

Needless to say, I've asked Dad not to send me any more gifts - I just can't afford them!