Rip off England: Import duties and fees

[King Herald]

My sister in law sent my daughter an xmas pressie from the USA a few weeks ago. It arrived, by Fedex, addressed to me for some reason, and all was well with the world.

Last Friday I received a Fedex bill for £72 to cover import duty, VAT and admin charges from Fedex. The gift was valued at $200 on the paperwork on the box, labelled as clothing, and the shipping cost a ridiculous $120.

Shirley this can't be right: £72 duties on an Xmas pressie that is worth £100 max?

And why should they be asking ME to pay, as it was sent to me from afar, it is not something I personally imported?

[Kermit power]

I would imagine your sister in law got the paperwork wrong?

Out of interest, how much would you have been charged under the same circumstances in other European countries? I assume you have done the research ahead of deciding that this is "Rip off England"?

[chris watton]

We send a lot of parcels to the UK and US, the latter is just as cheap to use Fed Ex rather than the Italian post (which is just as expensive as the UK).

Talking of rip off, one tin of Heinz baked beans here in Italy is almost €2!

[Eric Mc]

Most countries impose tariffs, duties and somertimes VAT on imported goods.
I remember being stung badly back in Ireland in 1980 when I ordered an 8mm movie (remember them) from the US. (It was a film of the Apollo 17 space mission - in case you were curious).

As far as I know, "England" doesnt impose any tariffs at all - what would the Scots and Welsh think?

[peterguk]

King Herald said:

My sister in law sent my daughter an xmas pressie from the USA a few weeks ago. It arrived, by Fedex, addressed to me for some reason, and all was well with the world.

Last Friday I received a Fedex bill for £72 to cover import duty, VAT and admin charges from Fedex. The gift was valued at $200 on the paperwork on the box, labelled as clothing, and the shipping cost a ridiculous $120.

Shirley this can't be right: £72 duties on an Xmas pressie that is worth £100 max?

And why should they be asking ME to pay, as it was sent to me from afar, it is not something I personally imported?

Remember shipping and insurance is seen as part of the value of the goods.

If you check your FedEx invoice, it should show you the breakdown of duty/VAT/admin fee.

Get the money off your sister-in-law!

[branflakes]

Don't pay Fedex! I had something similar last year (although it was a different courier firm), and got a bill for VAT and import duties about a month after the package was delivered. I ignored it.

That was three months ago - I haven't heard anything since.

Edited by branflakes on Sunday 13th January 10:17

[peterguk]

branflakes said:

Don't pay Fedex!

Stupid advice! They have paid duty and VAT to Customs & Excise on the recipient's behalf and have every right to recover it!

Hopefully they will sue.

[eccles]

i imported some tools from the US and got stung with import duty by the firm importing (sorry can't remember their name), they wouldn't let me pick up the parcel until all duties, fees etc were paid.
that was over £100, which was quite a shock as i wasn't expecting it at at all. it still made buying the tools cheaper, but not quite the bargain i'd hoped for.

[siscar]

It's a fact of life pretty much everywhere in the world, if you think it is a rip off here try importing something valuable like a car into many countries around the world and see what duties you have to pay.

[Kermit power]

Aren't children's clothes VAT exempt anyway?

[siscar]

Kermit power said:

Aren't children's clothes VAT exempt anyway?

They are but need to be labeled as children's clothes and not just as clothes

[esselte]

Eric Mc said:

I remember being stung badly back in Ireland in 1980 when I ordered an 8mm movie (remember them) from the US. (It was a film of the Apollo 17 space mission - in case you were curious).

What else could it be Eric... :snigger:

[cazzer]

Use US Mail, you only get stung for customs on about 1 in 10 packages. Unlike FED EX which is everytime.

[Puggit]

So you've already received the goods some time ago, and now Fedex are trying to recover the money for customs?

I'd suggest giving them a ring and asking what agreement you have with them to pay this...

[tubbystu]

cazzer said:

Use US Mail, you only get stung for customs on about 1 in 10 packages. Unlike FED EX which is everytime.

And US Mail shipments get delivered this end by Royal Mail / Parcel Farce who's charges are fixed by statute rather than a private companies idea of what they can get away with.

If you decide not to pay the Fedex bill they can sue as it will have been implied when the package was shipped that any charges were to be paid by recipient, or your next package may not even be delivered until you have paid off the outstanding debt (and presumably extra admin charges).

Given this particular package was a genuine gift the OP's sister should have been more careful in how she labelled the description of contents. I guess she will know for next time, but it is an offence in the US (and probably everywhere thinking about it ) to mis-describe a package and its value hence why most retailers are less than willing to do this anymore.

Buying direct may initially seem cheap, but if you buy the same product here the relevant duties, vat and shipping costs have been included in the eventual retail price. 10 years ago most domestic packages got through the net, now many items get checked and charges get added - there is no formula for avoidance, it is a bit of a lottery. When you get away with it smile, when you don't you have to pay up.

[siscar]

Yes, you are paying taxes here not some other charge, you are legally obliged to pay. It's always possible that they won't pursue it if you don't, but that's a different thing.

[Parrot of Doom]

Puggit said:

So you've already received the goods some time ago, and now Fedex are trying to recover the money for customs?

I'd suggest giving them a ring and asking what agreement you have with them to pay this...

It'll be the one he signed upon delivery/collection.

[g_attrill]

£72 sounds rather high, do you have a breakdown of the costs? Worst case is 10% duty plus £15 and then 17.5% VAT?

[esselte]

g_attrill said:

£72 sounds rather high, do you have a breakdown of the costs? Worst case is 10% duty plus £15 and then 17.5% VAT?

Have they charged tax on the shipping as well?

[Chrispy Porker]

We quite regularly get clothes/shoes mailed from USA.
Never been charged anywhere near that much though.