Royal Mail "handling fee"

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Getragdogleg

Original Poster:

8,768 posts

183 months

Friday 3rd July 2015
quotequote all
What is the legal mechanism that allows the Royal Mail to add an £8 Handling fee to a small parcel that arrived from the US ?

It had a £2.00 customs fee but the Royal Mail fee put the total over the value of the goods.

I did not enter into a contract with Royal mail when I bought the item from the seller in the US but he sent it USPS so it got handed to the Royal Mail.

They didn't even deliver it ! I had to collect and pay after they sent me a little note with the demand for money !

Getragdogleg

Original Poster:

8,768 posts

183 months

Friday 3rd July 2015
quotequote all
mph1977 said:
yet another thread on this

see innumerable other such threads with full and complete descriptions of the process ...
Why don't we just make all the boards read only and make them a searchable archive then ?

Oh, that's right, its a discussion board.

You took the effort to post but there was no actual content, happy ?



Getragdogleg

Original Poster:

8,768 posts

183 months

Friday 3rd July 2015
quotequote all
paintman said:
http://ask.ofcom.org.uk/help/post/mailhandling
"Post
Why do I have to pay a handling charge on items I ordered from outside the UK?
If you order goods worth £15 or more from outside the EU and you have not paid the Import VAT in advance, you will have to pay Import VAT on these goods when they arrive in the UK.

If the goods are worth more than £105, customs duty is also payable.
However, whichever UK postal operator delivers your goods will pay these customs charges and will then charge you both the customs charges and a handling fee before you can claim your goods from them.

For example, Royal Mail charges an £8 handling fee on top of the customs charges owed. See Royal Mail's website for more information regarding customs charges on items ordered from abroad."
Thanks, it seems unfair to be hit with a charge of £8 (+ the vat) for a £15 item but hey, life aint fair !

Getragdogleg

Original Poster:

8,768 posts

183 months

Sunday 5th July 2015
quotequote all
I'm over it now, its paid and fitted to the car so its all good.

The item was a set of shims for a rear axle, only made in the US, for a US rear axle, part was about £8, post took it over the £15. Then I got hit with £8 and a couple of quid customs.

I paid more in post and charges than the item cost.

I was annoyed because the charges compounded, and also because I cant get the item here so I had no option than to buy in the US.