bluekarin Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 I ordered my ED a hoodie and a sketch book from the MCR/Warner Bros website for Christmas (last one). Today I got a card from the Royal Mail saying there is a charge to pay as there was a customs charge. The customs charge is £4.54 but the handling fee is £8.00! I cannot believe they can charge £8.00 handling. They've not had to do anything have they? I am furious. I have already paid $12.99 handling and shipping and to pay this extra is outrageous. I ordered from this same website last Christmas and had no extra charges to pay, so why do I have to pay more this time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sari Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 It depends who sends it...if its marked gift, they don't charge..I agree it's very annoying. Have you tried contacting RM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abwsco Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Can understand your irritation but given that customs duty has to be paid over a certain amount, and unfortunately a handling fee, I'd just be grateful that I hadn't had to pay it on previous deliveries. It's really luck of the draw whether things get picked up by customs or not. And yes, I've been both lucky and unlucky with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sari Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Can understand your irritation but given that customs duty has to be paid over a certain amount, and unfortunately a handling fee, I'd just be grateful that I hadn't had to pay it on previous deliveries. It's really luck of the draw whether things get picked up by customs or not. And yes, I've been both lucky and unlucky with it. Oh yes...I'd forgotten that..I tend to only buy cheapie stuff from theUS....I have had to pay on a large package of tee shirts from Hawaii...was abit annoyed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abwsco Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Can understand your irritation but given that customs duty has to be paid over a certain amount, and unfortunately a handling fee, I'd just be grateful that I hadn't had to pay it on previous deliveries. It's really luck of the draw whether things get picked up by customs or not. And yes, I've been both lucky and unlucky with it. Oh yes...I'd forgotten that..I tend to only buy cheapie stuff from theUS....I have had to pay on a large package of tee shirts from Hawaii...was abit annoyed... I did a mega order of Philosophy goodies before the shop was stopped from selling them to the UK and I got caught with duty. Still saved money though so didn't bother me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sari Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 OH NO>>>>>you said the P word....Please don't mention the P....I am trying to wean myself off I love it, but can no longer afford it. I have promised myself something if QVC have a good skincare set on Easy Pay...but they don't tend to do that any more...just the bath stuff which I don't like.....anyhoooo back to topic.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 I'd just be grateful that I hadn't had to pay it on previous deliveries. It's really luck of the draw whether things get picked up by customs or not. I tend to agree but also feel your pain. Some things get through when companies label things as a gift to sneak them through but Customs can choose to open a package and that's when you get hammered. The handling fee is a shocker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluekarin Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 The handling fee is what has upset me the most, not so much the customs fee. I think Royal Mail need to be more transparent on their charges for ordering from the US, or anywhere outside of the EU. It took a fair bit of searching to find out any info - a fair few links to pay your fee though Sometimes, you just can't get what you'd like to buy from here. The hoodie is a band merch one and I've looked and you can't buy it anywhere else. I will have to pay, as I can't bear my ED being upset by not getting it (she doesn't know what I've ordered, just where its from) and my sister is giving her the sketch book as a xmas pressie too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sari Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 ..and the really worrying thing is how much worse it will get when the RM is privatised! No more one price for all deliveries etc.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 It depends who sends it...if its marked gift, they don't charge..I agree it's very annoying. Have you tried contacting RM? It actually depends on the value of the goods......I think it is items over £18 that you have to pay import tax on,on a sliding scale. To have an item falsely marked as a gift when it is a purchased item and coming from outside Europe,is illegal. It's also down to luck. Many get through with no charges,but they do stop and open some,and if they are marked as a gift or the purchased value is falsey lowered it can lead to prosecution. You need to be aware of this when buying from overseas from a big site,or from eBay. Not just the US either..... Companies you buy from are generally pretty clear that the shipping costs they charge do not include import duty. The Royal Mail charges are to cover the costs of them having to collect the customs fee,as you can pay your postman direct. They then have to pass this back to HM customs,so there is a degree of handling done by them. Even if you pay online,they then have to process this plus redeliver the parcel. There are a few useful import duty calculators out there,if you Google it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sari Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 I wasn't saying get it marked as gift!! I was just saying if is, it isn't always subject to charges!! I have a lot of family overseas, so the children often get items sent....sorry if I wasn't clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 I wasn't implying that you did say that - just wanted to make the facts clear You couldn't get it marked as a gift if it was bought from a site anyhow..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 I had no idea of this - I've ordered a couple of things from US sites recently, one from Etsy and one from an Amazon seller (a book that I couldn't get over here) and I just assumed the postage fee was as it was, it didn't occur to me that there could be any other charges. They were both fairly low value items though, so perhaps they didn't trigger anything. It's frustrating to buy something and then find the actual delivery cost is much higher - not much you can do once it's been dispatched, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 When you send something abroad you have to fill out a little customs chit,declaring what it us,how much it is worth and if its a gift. So if it is worth less than £18,it won't be bothered with,unless they are doing spot checks to see if people are falsifying the customs declaration. Works the other way round too,for items sent here from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 My son once ordered some books from the US and was hit with a whopping £45 charge. A few weeks later, intriguingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 They can & do hold things up at Customs....whenever I send anything I have sold on eBay to the US or other non EU country & its late, the first thing I tell the buyer is that Customs probably have it. I have had things held for 6 weeks before now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 It sounds like they are clamping down. By doing this they are discouraging us from buying outside the EU. Goods bought within the EU are not subject to additional taxes as we all pay VAT. I have bought things before that were illegally marked as 'gifts' by the sellers - their choice not mine. They did get through (CD's or similar small low value goods). These can all get stopped by Customs and taxed if they fall into the right band. As the recipient you are responsible for all additional charges. This is rarely advertised in terms and conditions as often the tax makes the purchase much less of a bargain. Bulky items or heavy items a very likely to be stopped. The value of goods and the description should be clearly displayed on the 'Customs Declaration' on the front of every non EU package. If the sender illegally enters 'Gift' or puts a bogus price on the declaration there could be consequences (if damaged and entered as £10 value instead of £100 - you will get £10 compensation!). I had something held by customs too CInnamon but without my knowledge. I only found out when it arrived with all sorts of scribblings about tax on it. It was borderline so I wonder if they go fed up with it sitting around and sent it anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
