Outrageous uk customs charge!

TheBigBagAddict · Jul 21st, 2008, 08:21 AM

I recently bought a bag from the US (I'm in the uk) The seller shipped the bag with insurance of $350 and today the tracking shows as "we tried to deliver your item" which is complete rubbish as nothing has arrived!!
So I give the shipping company a call and they tell me "oh yeah there is a customs charge" (I always expect there to be a charge when buying from oversea's so no surprise there for me) but the next bit did shock me....
the shipping company then went on to say "that's £113.95 to pay" WTF?!!?

The bag was only for 350 dollars and now customs want me to pay 250 dollars in customs fee? I don't understand it at all. When I asked why the charge was so high the only response I got was "that's customs for you"

Now I don't know what to do, should I bite the bullet and pay the ridiculous charge and write it off as a bad experience? My business head tells me not to be insane and to refuse delivery and have the parcel sent back to the seller. The customs charge is nearly the whole cost of the bag!

What do you guys think?

print*model · Jul 21st, 2008, 08:43 AM

That's ridiculous! $250.00 customs charge on a $350.00 bag sounds insane! I would call them again and ask them how they came up with that amount.

joeyjimmy · Jul 21st, 2008, 08:52 AM

Woah! That's really excessive! Do you think that maybe the seller claimed a different amount on the customs form?

TheBigBagAddict · Jul 21st, 2008, 09:07 AM

I know it absolutely sucks!
The only thing I can think of is that customs opened the parcel and based the charge on what they thought the item to be worth rather than the declared value and insurance.
I really don't know what to do, all the shipping company will say is that that is what customs have charged.
I bought a swarovski bangle for 200 dollars from the US acouple of months ago and was charged £23 (about 46 dollars) so how on earth they came up with this charge for an item of 350 dollars god only knows.

declaredbeauty · Jul 21st, 2008, 09:12 AM

You might as well just pay for it. It sucks, but you already paid for that bag. Unless you can get a refund?

That's why I don't understand why it's illegal to check gift.

TheBigBagAddict · Jul 21st, 2008, 09:16 AM

I'd feel quite bad if I refused to accept delivery and the bag went back to the seller (after all it's not the sellers fault) just dam customs!
I just don't understand how they came up with such a high charge, it doesn't make any logical sense to me.
But I think I'll have to begrudgingly dig into my purse and hand over the fee (god I hope the bag is worth it after all this!)
Thanks everyone!

Lakritze · Jul 21st, 2008, 09:29 AM

That's a ridicolous charge. I would print out the auction site and/or PayPal payment mail and ask the customs office to recalculate the charge.

nickkyvintage · Jul 21st, 2008, 09:53 AM

Give them a call and ask how they came up with such a high charge. The first LV bag i bought from overseas cost £100 and i go thit with a £40 customs charge - which works out that i paid waaaay over the value for the bag.

If you refuse delivery and the bag goes back to the seller they might refuse to refund you - so cantact them first. Also check in the listing if it says they are not responsible for customs charges. If it does say this and then you will have to pay the charge - which totally sucks.

Try this link for some more info on how they work out the charges.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsP...yType=document

Also if you ship the item back out of the UK again - im sure you are entitled to get some of this money back, so long as you can prove it is the same item that came in as is being shipped out. If that makes sense?

siri anne · Jul 21st, 2008, 10:49 AM

Sounds to me like they taxed you on a value of £350 rather than $350 USD. I think you need to keep calling them and ask them how they came up with this figure? Good luck to you!

stefyp · Jul 21st, 2008, 10:57 AM

[quote=nickkyvintage;7199295]G Also check in the listing if it says they are not responsible for customs charges. If it does say this and then you will have to pay the charge - which totally sucks.

quote]

Custom fees are on the buyer,even if the seller didn't state anything in the auction...

TheBigBagAddict · Jul 21st, 2008, 11:11 AM

Thanks so much every one for your help!

I've called the shipping company again who just basically tell me that "that is what customs have charged" (although there is also included a £15 fee from the shipping company for handling the parcel and telling me of the charge!)
I'm going to call customs and see what they say, I cannot believe they can seriously charge so much in taxes, nearly the cost of the bag.

The seller stated in her listing that any custom taxes are the responsibilty of the buyer which I totally understand and have no qualms in paying custom taxes at all, just not so extortionately high!
I told the shipping company that I am querying the charge with customs which I will do tomorrow first thing and they said that they will hold my bag for 16 days, after that they automatically ship it back to the sender.
Has anyone ever managed to get customs to lower their charge?
I'm going to fax them the Paypal invoice so that they can see it's 350 dollars and not pounds.
I really hope they do something about it?!

mikscloset · Jul 21st, 2008, 12:29 PM

Have you contacted the seller? I would make sure that they didnt overstate the value, there was a post not long ago from someone saying something to the extent of they wanted to put the value at what it would cost them to replace the bag, rather than the value that the buyer paid. I'd make sure the seller didnt do something like this.

JA_UK · Jul 21st, 2008, 01:10 PM

I am in the uk and recently bought a couple of items the value around the £300 mark and I only paid around £36. Who is the shipping company? If you dont want to post that on this board PM me and I'll see if I can help. That is an extortionate amount they expect you to pay.

alliemia · Jul 21st, 2008, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by declaredbeauty

That's why I don't understand why it's illegal to check gift.

It's illegal because if you are taking money for an item as a sale, but then claiming it's a gift, you are evading Customs, which is illegal.

allison

maria28 · Jul 21st, 2008, 01:52 PM

wow! that's really high...i hope the custom officer would re-calculate the charges.

Jul 21st, 2008, 08:21 AM	#1
TheBigBagAddict Member Joined: Jul 2008 Location: UK Posts: 346	Outrageous uk customs charge! I recently bought a bag from the US (I'm in the uk) The seller shipped the bag with insurance of $350 and today the tracking shows as "we tried to deliver your item" which is complete rubbish as nothing has arrived!! So I give the shipping company a call and they tell me "oh yeah there is a customs charge" (I always expect there to be a charge when buying from oversea's so no surprise there for me) but the next bit did shock me.... the shipping company then went on to say "that's £113.95 to pay" WTF?!!? The bag was only for 350 dollars and now customs want me to pay 250 dollars in customs fee? I don't understand it at all. When I asked why the charge was so high the only response I got was "that's customs for you" Now I don't know what to do, should I bite the bullet and pay the ridiculous charge and write it off as a bad experience? My business head tells me not to be insane and to refuse delivery and have the parcel sent back to the seller. The customs charge is nearly the whole cost of the bag! What do you guys think?

Jul 21st, 2008, 09:12 AM	#5
declaredbeauty LV.Chanel.JC <3 Joined: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Posts: 581	You might as well just pay for it. It sucks, but you already paid for that bag. Unless you can get a refund? That's why I don't understand why it's illegal to check gift. __________________ To Buy List: LV Mahina XL or XXL, Damier Azur Berkeley, Keepall 55 or 60, Galliera GM, Chanel Modern Chain Tote, and Chanel Jumbo Flap XL.

Jul 21st, 2008, 09:29 AM	#7
Lakritze Member Joined: Jun 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 448	That's a ridicolous charge. I would print out the auction site and/or PayPal payment mail and ask the customs office to recalculate the charge. __________________ ____________________________________________ Wishlist: I think I might need a MJ Christy

Jul 21st, 2008, 09:53 AM	#8
nickkyvintage DO NOT ENABLE! Joined: Feb 2006 Location: UK Posts: 2,929	Give them a call and ask how they came up with such a high charge. The first LV bag i bought from overseas cost £100 and i go thit with a £40 customs charge - which works out that i paid waaaay over the value for the bag. If you refuse delivery and the bag goes back to the seller they might refuse to refund you - so cantact them first. Also check in the listing if it says they are not responsible for customs charges. If it does say this and then you will have to pay the charge - which totally sucks. Try this link for some more info on how they work out the charges. http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsP...yType=document Also if you ship the item back out of the UK again - im sure you are entitled to get some of this money back, so long as you can prove it is the same item that came in as is being shipped out. If that makes sense? __________________ Welcome to Ban-City...Population 1...

Jul 21st, 2008, 01:10 PM	#13
JA_UK Birkin Baby Yeaahhh! Joined: Dec 2007 Location: UK Posts: 161	I am in the uk and recently bought a couple of items the value around the £300 mark and I only paid around £36. Who is the shipping company? If you dont want to post that on this board PM me and I'll see if I can help. That is an extortionate amount they expect you to pay. __________________ My Collection Sofa King Banned from buying bags for the longest time!

Jul 21st, 2008, 08:43 AM	#2
print*model Member Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 3,092	That's ridiculous! $250.00 customs charge on a $350.00 bag sounds insane! I would call them again and ask them how they came up with that amount.

Jul 21st, 2008, 08:52 AM	#3
joeyjimmy Member Joined: May 2006 Posts: 728	Woah! That's really excessive! Do you think that maybe the seller claimed a different amount on the customs form?

Jul 21st, 2008, 09:07 AM	#4
TheBigBagAddict Member Joined: Jul 2008 Location: UK Posts: 346	I know it absolutely sucks! The only thing I can think of is that customs opened the parcel and based the charge on what they thought the item to be worth rather than the declared value and insurance. I really don't know what to do, all the shipping company will say is that that is what customs have charged. I bought a swarovski bangle for 200 dollars from the US acouple of months ago and was charged £23 (about 46 dollars) so how on earth they came up with this charge for an item of 350 dollars god only knows.

Jul 21st, 2008, 09:16 AM	#6
TheBigBagAddict Member Joined: Jul 2008 Location: UK Posts: 346	I'd feel quite bad if I refused to accept delivery and the bag went back to the seller (after all it's not the sellers fault) just dam customs! I just don't understand how they came up with such a high charge, it doesn't make any logical sense to me. But I think I'll have to begrudgingly dig into my purse and hand over the fee (god I hope the bag is worth it after all this!) Thanks everyone!

Jul 21st, 2008, 10:49 AM	#9
siri anne Member Joined: Dec 2006 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Posts: 2,989	Sounds to me like they taxed you on a value of £350 rather than $350 USD. I think you need to keep calling them and ask them how they came up with this figure? Good luck to you!

Jul 21st, 2008, 10:57 AM	#10
stefyp Member Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Sunny Italy Posts: 2,792	[quote=nickkyvintage;7199295]G Also check in the listing if it says they are not responsible for customs charges. If it does say this and then you will have to pay the charge - which totally sucks. quote] Custom fees are on the buyer,even if the seller didn't state anything in the auction...

Jul 21st, 2008, 11:11 AM	#11
TheBigBagAddict Member Joined: Jul 2008 Location: UK Posts: 346	Thanks so much every one for your help! I've called the shipping company again who just basically tell me that "that is what customs have charged" (although there is also included a £15 fee from the shipping company for handling the parcel and telling me of the charge!) I'm going to call customs and see what they say, I cannot believe they can seriously charge so much in taxes, nearly the cost of the bag. The seller stated in her listing that any custom taxes are the responsibilty of the buyer which I totally understand and have no qualms in paying custom taxes at all, just not so extortionately high! I told the shipping company that I am querying the charge with customs which I will do tomorrow first thing and they said that they will hold my bag for 16 days, after that they automatically ship it back to the sender. Has anyone ever managed to get customs to lower their charge? I'm going to fax them the Paypal invoice so that they can see it's 350 dollars and not pounds. I really hope they do something about it?!

Jul 21st, 2008, 12:29 PM	#12
mikscloset Member Joined: Mar 2008 Posts: 58	Have you contacted the seller? I would make sure that they didnt overstate the value, there was a post not long ago from someone saying something to the extent of they wanted to put the value at what it would cost them to replace the bag, rather than the value that the buyer paid. I'd make sure the seller didnt do something like this.

Jul 21st, 2008, 01:52 PM	#15
maria28 loving H... Joined: Jun 2006 Location: cambridge,UK Posts: 3,398	wow! that's really high...i hope the custom officer would re-calculate the charges. __________________