Post Office customs charges
Discussion
I ordered a Bluray from the States (Playusa) a few weeks ago and was starting to think it had got lost, but yesterday I arrived home from work to find a note from postie saying I need to pay customs charges of £13.99, £13.99 on something that only cost £17.99 in the first place!!!!!!!! Where do they come up with these figures!! how can it possibly be this much????
philwhite said:
I ordered a Bluray from the States (Playusa) a few weeks ago and was starting to think it had got lost, but yesterday I arrived home from work to find a note from postie saying I need to pay customs charges of £13.99, £13.99 on something that only cost £17.99 in the first place!!!!!!!! Where do they come up with these figures!! how can it possibly be this much????
I thought PlayUSA stuff shipped from Jersey and "got around" this requirement?Strangely Brown said:
philwhite said:
I ordered a Bluray from the States (Playusa) a few weeks ago and was starting to think it had got lost, but yesterday I arrived home from work to find a note from postie saying I need to pay customs charges of £13.99, £13.99 on something that only cost £17.99 in the first place!!!!!!!! Where do they come up with these figures!! how can it possibly be this much????
I thought PlayUSA stuff shipped from Jersey and "got around" this requirement?
Eric Mc said:
It always amazes me that people are surprised by this!
I think the advent of the internet has lulled people into the notion that the world is one big commercial operation - without national borders and national import duties and tariffs.
I'm used to it and don't have a problem playing on larger items, but I think £13.99 is a little extreme. I think the advent of the internet has lulled people into the notion that the world is one big commercial operation - without national borders and national import duties and tariffs.
philwhite said:
I ordered a Bluray from the States (Playusa) a few weeks ago and was starting to think it had got lost, but yesterday I arrived home from work to find a note from postie saying I need to pay customs charges of £13.99, £13.99 on something that only cost £17.99 in the first place!!!!!!!! Where do they come up with these figures!! how can it possibly be this much????
How was the value declared on the package ?If it was listed in as £17.99 then you have been charged by mistake. You will need to pay the charge otherwise they will end up destroying the package after a certain amount of time. You will then need to contact customs to dispute the charge (the post office can't and won't be able to do waive the charge until customs agree it's a mistake). Once they agree and refund the customs charge you can then contact the post office to arrange a refund of the post office £8 admin fee.
If the package was listed in dollars then you will need to look at the customs exchange rates on their website for the date of entry (slightly different to actual exchange rates). If it converts to less than £18 you can claim for the mistake. If it converts for more then £18 you will not be able to avoid the charges.
I got burnt by this last year.
If I recall correctly the charge is made up of two components:
This isn't too bad if the item's £500, but if it's £17, it's a bit of an arse.
If I recall correctly the charge is made up of two components:
- A flat £12 charge for them to notify you of the payment, store the item, collect payment from you, and sending the payment on to the government.
- A percentage of the item's value, which is the actual tax.
This isn't too bad if the item's £500, but if it's £17, it's a bit of an arse.
Play is based here in Jersey, the UK import limit is £18, anything under this is allowed into the UK free of charge, no import or VAT fees. I can comfirm this as I also work for a mail order company.
Some problems do occur though in that UPS which we use, the drivers occasionally mistake Jersey for New Jersey and that's why they say you are being charged duties. another problem can be that when it was shipped it had the wrong codes down, this can also cause problems. Play is definately based over here, they have a huge warehouse and a lot of staff working for them, PlayUSA I do not know about.
Some problems do occur though in that UPS which we use, the drivers occasionally mistake Jersey for New Jersey and that's why they say you are being charged duties. another problem can be that when it was shipped it had the wrong codes down, this can also cause problems. Play is definately based over here, they have a huge warehouse and a lot of staff working for them, PlayUSA I do not know about.
DCS01 said:
Customs base their charges on the value that the sender puts on the customs dec. Some people put the INSURED value and not the real value of the contents. Customs can only go on what is written on the dec.
Customs can pick any bloody value they deem fit !To the OP, ignore the delivery, and it will be returned to sender (sometimes at their cost), then order another.
Don't bother arguing with HMRC, or the PO, unless you enjoy wasting lots of time for no satisfaction.
cw2k said:
You will need to pay the charge otherwise they will end up destroying the package after a certain amount of time. You will then need to contact customs to dispute the charge (the post office can't and won't be able to do waive the charge until customs agree it's a mistake). Once they agree and refund the customs charge you can then contact the post office to arrange a refund of the post office £8 admin fee.
Well that's all right then. What could possibly go wrong?Jackpot said:
Play is based here in Jersey, the UK import limit is £18, anything under this is allowed into the UK free of charge, no import or VAT fees. I can comfirm this as I also work for a mail order company.
Some problems do occur though in that UPS which we use, the drivers occasionally mistake Jersey for New Jersey and that's why they say you are being charged duties..
Err Jersey or New Jersey it doesnt matter, they are both the same with regards Customs. Jersey, Guernsey, Switzerland & Norway although in europe are not part of the European Union and have the same customs limits as if ordering from the rest of the worldSome problems do occur though in that UPS which we use, the drivers occasionally mistake Jersey for New Jersey and that's why they say you are being charged duties..
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff