Custom fee for a £5 item
Discussion
A few months ago I bought a component from Hong Kong costing the grand total of £10 (£5 plus £5 postage)
Anyway fast forward two months and I have now got a letter from some 'Collections Agency' demanding £16.68 outstanding customs fee on behalf on FED EX.
Now i have no problem paying customs fees and do so on a weekly and sometimes daily basis and usually if i'm getting the item half or third of the UK price I factor that in and i'm still getting a bargain.
What is getting me is, they have demanded I pay £17 on a £5 item, An item which does not incur a fee at such a pitiful amount. Secondly they have demanded i pay it to this agency. Thirdly the letter is of quite a threatening nature and states they will take the matter further (to court/ bailiffs etc)
Now I could pay the £17 but the fact they went straight to a "collections company" before contacting me directly is ridiculous. The fact it is for a £5 item is ridiculous.
I know they probably won't take it to court but might use some other tricks which might pop up in the future on credit checks when for example leasing a car or getting a credit card.
I'm not in debt and have never been but sending out letters for £17 months after the item arrived is a bit cheeky.
Anything i can hit them with.
Anyway fast forward two months and I have now got a letter from some 'Collections Agency' demanding £16.68 outstanding customs fee on behalf on FED EX.
Now i have no problem paying customs fees and do so on a weekly and sometimes daily basis and usually if i'm getting the item half or third of the UK price I factor that in and i'm still getting a bargain.
What is getting me is, they have demanded I pay £17 on a £5 item, An item which does not incur a fee at such a pitiful amount. Secondly they have demanded i pay it to this agency. Thirdly the letter is of quite a threatening nature and states they will take the matter further (to court/ bailiffs etc)
Now I could pay the £17 but the fact they went straight to a "collections company" before contacting me directly is ridiculous. The fact it is for a £5 item is ridiculous.
I know they probably won't take it to court but might use some other tricks which might pop up in the future on credit checks when for example leasing a car or getting a credit card.
I'm not in debt and have never been but sending out letters for £17 months after the item arrived is a bit cheeky.
Anything i can hit them with.
Edited by tbc on Thursday 27th March 23:12
You may have only paid £5 for it but its entirely possible the paperwork given to Fed Ex in HK had a different value. When i bought some stuff a few years ago they offered me free shipping but when it arrived the actual shipping charge was added to the invoice so i had to pay Vat on that too.
Being petulant about the fee shows an embarrassing lack of understanding. If they didnt pay on your behalf, dealing with C&E and loaning you the money, then you would have to engage your own customs agent. The best deal I have ever got is about £35 per transaction and they didnt lend me any money.
You shouldnt pay any duty or VAT on a £10 item from HK. What did the customs valuation say? Id suggest taking it up with the courier and show them a copy of your transaction. If they have over-valued the item thats their look out, I think.
You shouldnt pay any duty or VAT on a £10 item from HK. What did the customs valuation say? Id suggest taking it up with the courier and show them a copy of your transaction. If they have over-valued the item thats their look out, I think.
Past consideration is no consideration.
By not giving you the opportunity to pay at the time, and only demanding money later means they have a problem - basically in contract law (but bear in mind IANAL) you can't revisit a contract after it's finished.
You could of course write back and inform them that answering such material incurs a fee, which they have agreed to pay if they write again.
By not giving you the opportunity to pay at the time, and only demanding money later means they have a problem - basically in contract law (but bear in mind IANAL) you can't revisit a contract after it's finished.
You could of course write back and inform them that answering such material incurs a fee, which they have agreed to pay if they write again.
just had the same...
bought a cheap £38 inc postage. video camera from fleabay.
(can be used on the pedal bike,but also car mounts etc etc...)
(there postage valuation fee was £15 i found out later).
.
but yep...even though the ebay advert said "free post" in 3 different positions..
i had the Royal Mail card though the post chasing £11.60.
in the end I got the sender in Hong Kong to pay the £8 Royal Mail handling fee and I paid the rest....lifes to short...
The sender was alarmed by the photo i sent them about postage/customs costs and were going to chase things from there end....interesting conversations considering English was a second/third/fourth language...haha...
bought a cheap £38 inc postage. video camera from fleabay.
(can be used on the pedal bike,but also car mounts etc etc...)
(there postage valuation fee was £15 i found out later).
.
but yep...even though the ebay advert said "free post" in 3 different positions..
i had the Royal Mail card though the post chasing £11.60.
in the end I got the sender in Hong Kong to pay the £8 Royal Mail handling fee and I paid the rest....lifes to short...
The sender was alarmed by the photo i sent them about postage/customs costs and were going to chase things from there end....interesting conversations considering English was a second/third/fourth language...haha...
Why should the vendor pay? He lied on the form yes, but the item was undervalued and VAT and duty was due.
This is completely different to the OP whose amount inc postage was under the threshold, (paid, not just declared).
I cant get over how many whining posts like the one above there are, where people buy items which are over the duty threshold and then whine that they have had to pay the duty due along with a charge from the shippers, in complete ignorance of what would happen without this service and the costs and trouble that they would face (employing a customs agent and paying C&E yourself).
Do I want to pay it? No, of course not, but I understand how the system works and don't cry like a spoilt child when charged.
If you buy something from outside the EU which costs more then £15 then you should expect to pay and regard every instance where you don't have to as a little victory and take the bills on the chin.
This is completely different to the OP whose amount inc postage was under the threshold, (paid, not just declared).
I cant get over how many whining posts like the one above there are, where people buy items which are over the duty threshold and then whine that they have had to pay the duty due along with a charge from the shippers, in complete ignorance of what would happen without this service and the costs and trouble that they would face (employing a customs agent and paying C&E yourself).
Do I want to pay it? No, of course not, but I understand how the system works and don't cry like a spoilt child when charged.
If you buy something from outside the EU which costs more then £15 then you should expect to pay and regard every instance where you don't have to as a little victory and take the bills on the chin.
but I understand how the system works and don't cry like a spoilt child when charged.
.
Is a little harsh.
this was only the second item I've purchased from overseas. The first went smoothly cost £80 (car part) and all fees paid item from the USA....
.
this second item said free post all over the adverts, so wasn't expecting any extra costs...not upset about the purchase but i guess a little uneducated on postage costs/fees.
.
Paul.
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Is a little harsh.
this was only the second item I've purchased from overseas. The first went smoothly cost £80 (car part) and all fees paid item from the USA....
.
this second item said free post all over the adverts, so wasn't expecting any extra costs...not upset about the purchase but i guess a little uneducated on postage costs/fees.
.
Paul.
"Free Post" means they are shipping it for free to the UK. It doesn't mean the handling agent won't slap on a fee when it lands in the UK. That fee is not a cost of shipping, it is a VAT/duty/handling fee and you can either pay it and get your goods or choose not to pay it and not get your goods or be chased by debt collectors.
Arguing about the amount of the fees is pointless as you can't change them.
Simples.
Arguing about the amount of the fees is pointless as you can't change them.
Simples.
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