DHL 'Admin' Fee

[davepoth]

Old Merc said:

We may be stupid and ignorant (bit harsh?) but how are we to know about these charges unless its there in black and white on the traders site.?? Most people are not customs/import/courier experts so its up to these companies to make it clear when ordering that there will be extra fees UK side.A full and final payment that includes delivery should mean what it says.
When I said the Chinese trader should pay I was meaning to add LOL or a smiler,but if they trick you into thinking there nothing extra to pay thats wrong.

It's not a case of tricking you - they actually can't offer you a "Delivered Duty Paid" (DDP) price in most cases. The reason for this is that the EU Customs Code requires any customs declarant to be an EU resident person or corporation. Most Chinese companies won't be.

Added to that, a DDP shipment then makes the exporter responsible for sorting out any customer clearance queries, which is never fun in a country you don't know a lot about. Ask anyone in the export business and they'll tell you that shipping DDP to a country is fraught with risks, and is best avoided if possible. You can't be an expert in 220 countries' import regulations.

Edited by davepoth on Monday 31st August 13:14

[Nickyboy]

Old Merc said:

We may be stupid and ignorant (bit harsh?) but how are we to know about these charges unless its there in black and white on the traders site.?? Most people are not customs/import/courier experts so its up to these companies to make it clear when ordering that there will be extra fees UK side.A full and final payment that includes delivery should mean what it says.
When I said the Chinese trader should pay I was meaning to add LOL or a smiler,but if they trick you into thinking there nothing extra to pay thats wrong.

I've yet to buy from a company overseas that doesn't have a section about import duties and that it's up to you to ensure you know you may be charged it, even the Chinese sites.

And for someone who frequents the internet i find it hard to believe that import duties etc are an "unknown"

[GC8]

Old Merc said:

GC8 said:

Agreed. The stupidity/ignorance displayed in comments like these really antagonises me though.

We may be stupid and ignorant (bit harsh?) but how are we to know about these charges unless its there in black and white on the traders site.?? Most people are not customs/import/courier experts so its up to these companies to make it clear when ordering that there will be extra fees UK side.A full and final payment that includes delivery should mean what it says.
When I said the Chinese trader should pay I was meaning to add LOL or a smiler,but if they trick you into thinking there nothing extra to pay thats wrong.

Second edit of the day made, principally because you seem like a nice chap.

[Jasandjules]

GC8 said:

Agreed. The lack of worldliness displayed in comments like these really antagonises me though.

If you buy a product and it says "£10 delivery" - is it wrong to expect the delivery charge to you to be £10? You expect the vendor, a professional company, to know the real costs to ship and to have accounted for that in their charges.

[GC8]

Yes, when you are importing it and it is over the duty and VAT threshold.

[velocefica]

GC8 said:

Yes, when you are importing it and it is over the duty and VAT threshold.

This is my point

[GC8]

velocefica said:

GC8 said:

Yes, when you are importing it and it is over the duty and VAT threshold.

This is my point

I understand your point (see my earlier posts), but as is usually the case on PH, it has gone all 'forum'.

[Steve H]

I'll avoid quoting bits and summarise if that's OK.

I can see that import duty has to be charged at times and that's fair enough as an added cost, the admin charges that the couriers add on should be included in their original fee.

[GC8]

Massively impractical.

The OPs goods were under threshold value though, so there is no justifiable reason for charging.

[Steve H]

if they can include the air transport, handling, delivery, tracking etc, I'm pretty sure they could include an amount for the import admin as well. Sure, it could be slightly different for each package but things like delivery costs will vary according to the exact location but they use a single charge to keep things simple, and practical, this could be the same.

[mph1977]

Nickyboy said:

Old Merc said:

DHL must be seriously out of pocked chasing payments.How many people pay up on the dot? not many I bet.

Which is why UPS opt to collect and duties on delivery

and why PFW send you a note asking for payment before releasing the package

[Super Slo Mo]

Steve H said:

if they can include the air transport, handling, delivery, tracking etc, I'm pretty sure they could include an amount for the import admin as well. Sure, it could be slightly different for each package but things like delivery costs will vary according to the exact location but they use a single charge to keep things simple, and practical, this could be the same.

This shouldn't be that difficult, although bear in mind that it's likely that each DHL/UPS/FEDEX operation exists as a separate business entity in each country.
Not that it makes it any more complicated, but it just means they'll cross charge each other for various services (i.e. DHL China will receive a charge from DHL UK for instance).

I suspect that all the courier companies would have to get together to agree to charge the fee simultaneously, otherwise if just one does it, they'd suddenly appear quite expensive compared to the competition.

It's going to take one of them to break cover and go for it, with a load of marketing to go with it, for it to happen.

[Nickyboy]

Steve H said:

if they can include the air transport, handling, delivery, tracking etc, I'm pretty sure they could include an amount for the import admin as well. Sure, it could be slightly different for each package but things like delivery costs will vary according to the exact location but they use a single charge to keep things simple, and practical, this could be the same.

There isn't a single charge though, every package is different. Different commodities, different rates, different fees for different types of clearance. There is so many variables within the customs industry that adding a charge at the time of shipping is impossible. And the price you pay for shipping isn't always what the shipper pays the delivery company, they might charge you more, they might offer you free shipping etc etc

Ebay do a global shipping program where duty costs etc are calculated before you pay then added to your invoice, any difference in the actual amount are absorbed by Ebay, that's fine for multi billion dollar companies but not for small traders, a lot of who rely on selling their goods worldwide

[mph1977]

Super Slo Mo said:

Steve H said:

if they can include the air transport, handling, delivery, tracking etc, I'm pretty sure they could include an amount for the import admin as well. Sure, it could be slightly different for each package but things like delivery costs will vary according to the exact location but they use a single charge to keep things simple, and practical, this could be the same.

This shouldn't be that difficult, although bear in mind that it's likely that each DHL/UPS/FEDEX operation exists as a separate business entity in each country.
Not that it makes it any more complicated, but it just means they'll cross charge each other for various services (i.e. DHL China will receive a charge from DHL UK for instance).

I suspect that all the courier companies would have to get together to agree to charge the fee simultaneously, otherwise if just one does it, they'd suddenly appear quite expensive compared to the competition.

It's going to take one of them to break cover and go for it, with a load of marketing to go with it, for it to happen.

stuff posted via DHL in Germany will in some cases come to the UK and be delivered by RM /PFW

[voyds9]

So DHL are charging you for not doing something they don't have to do.

[essayer]

I've never seen an amount that low, are you sure it is legit?

"With effect from 1st May 2014, we will charge a flat rate of £8.00 where the total Duty and VAT charge is less than £400, or 2% of the total Duty and VAT amount incurred, if the charge is greater than £400"
http://www.dhl.co.uk/en/express/shipping/customs_s...

[Nickyboy]

mph1977 said:

stuff posted via DHL in Germany will in some cases come to the UK and be delivered by RM /PFW

And Yodel as i found when i ordered Lego, it shipped via DHL and was handed to Yodel at this end

[mph1977]

Nickyboy said:

mph1977 said:

stuff posted via DHL in Germany will in some cases come to the UK and be delivered by RM /PFW

And Yodel as i found when i ordered Lego, it shipped via DHL and was handed to Yodel at this end

i donlt know aobut that, but the german DHL stuff ending up with RM / PFW was stuff that was routed through the 'postal ' agreements AIUI ... as DHL run deutsche post ...

[Nickyboy]

mph1977 said:

i donlt know aobut that, but the german DHL stuff ending up with RM / PFW was stuff that was routed through the 'postal ' agreements AIUI ... as DHL run deutsche post ...

Other way around, Deutche Poste own DHL, DHL uk was also rebranded Yodel when they were bought out so they've obviously got some arrangement for the ground shipments from Europe.

[velocefica]

• PLOT TWIST*

Arrived home today to find a DHL box in inserted in my 'safe place' (oh matron)

I didn't pay the fee, so probably a nice letter will turn up soon despite my protests to the DHL helpline