Clobbered by customs and royal mail

[Buckeye]

Postie has just delivered a card saying there is a fee of £18.83 to pay which includes £8 for RM. I tried to register with RM so I could pay the fee and have the package delivered, but the site just says there is an error when I get to the last step, so it looks like I have to take a trip there next week. The contents from the US only cost $49/£31 so how do customs charge over £10. I have 2 more packages from the US to come so not looking forward to yet more daylight robbery. I wouldn't mind so much if they gave a breakdown of how the charges were arrived at.

Peter

 

[bassethound]

Welcome to Rip Off Britain!

 

[Bigblackdog]

i feel your pain, but the flip side is that it protects uk businesses against cheaper foreign imports. so I do have some sympathy

 

[Penpal]

Thems the breaks Peter our dollar has depreciated from par with the US dollar.

Peter.

 

[Buckeye]

i feel your pain, but the flip side is that it protects uk businesses against cheaper foreign imports. so I do have some sympathy

It doesn't really as I could get cheaper foreign imports without any charge from Customs. I really want to find out how they arrived at the amount they did, maybe the package will have details.

Peter

 

[Bill Mooney]

As Ted says Peter.

 

[Terry]

This is why I don't buy from the States !!

 

[ray7]

It seems you have to pay VAT on the postage and any insurance as well as the goods.
See here https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

Ray

 

[silver]

It's exactly what Ray said Peter.

If you look at the recent Group Buy I explained there what taxes and import charges you have to pay. It's a privalidge of living in the UK.

The post office started charging the standard £8 charge quite a few years ago so I won't be supprised to see that go up at sme point in the near future.::nonono:

In reality the charges from hm customs include the shipping and insurance costs as well. So it's not just on the items you buy.

You have to pay import tax which is usually 8% and the vat at the current rate..

But if anyone reads this thread and knows they have not paid it or know ways of not paying it you might want to keep it to yourself as it is fraud and as the forum is a public forum then you may well find yourself on the receiving end of something you don't want..

To avoid the big costs of import taxes then import from EU friendly countries..

 

[Buckeye]

This is why I don't buy from the States !!

I thought I would give it a whirl. I know I have one coming that was $25 + $11 postage so $33/£20.95 if the Vat is 20% that will be £4.19 and I assume still £8 from RM, does RM stand for Robbing Mail, maybe.

It seems you have to pay VAT on the postage and any insurance as well as the goods.
See here https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

Ray

That's nice and clear, thanks for that.

Peter

 

[silver]

I thought I would give it a whirl. I know I have one coming that was $25 + $11 postage so $33/£20.95 if the Vat is 20% that will be £4.19 and I assume still £8 from RM, does RM stand for Robbing Mail, maybe.



That's nice and clear, thanks for that.

Peter

Don't forget the 8% import tax as well...

 

[Buckeye]

Don't forget the 8% import tax as well...

There was no mention of 8% import tax in the link I was given, not that I could see.

Peter

 

[Jim]

Sometimes the US is the only place we can get the goods, or of course we can do without ..

 

[silver]

There was no mention of 8% import tax in the link I was given, not that I could see.

Peter

That's right Peter, its only if the value is above £135. but in the link the first paragraph states

"You’ll be contacted by Royal Mail, Parcelforce or the courier company explaining how to pay any VAT, duty and fees for dealing with customs.,

There is a comment after the VAT that says "duty" .. A lot of people don't notice that little bit and only see the vat..and think that vat is the duty they have to pay.

 

[Neil]

Don't forget the 8% import tax as well...

Eamonn,

You should only have to pay import tax once the goods exceed £135. The import tax is then applied first and then Vat as well on the import tax.Import tax is variable according to the type of goods and the degree of assembly required before onward sale, the more complete the item, the higher the tax. It varies between 3 and 9%. There does not however appear to be any consistency whatsoever, and it is a bit like the lottery. The only thing for certain is that if they get the assessment wrong you have more chance of getting to the moon than having it reassessed or getting your money back.

 

[Neil]

OK Forget all that above, didnt see the last post Eamonn!

 

[Steveinyeovil]

I have been caught out like this on several purchases from PSI, Berea and Exotic Blanks so i don't buy from USA now unless absolutely necessary. I now just buy from Turners Retreat, Turners workshop and PenCrafts in UK and Timberbits in Australia which has proved a lot cheaper but needs more time to deliver. As I am the newbie to this site where do you guys buy you're kits from.

Steve.

 

[Phil Dart]

The import tax is then applied first and then Vat as well on the import tax.

Neil's remark is an important one and worth highlighting. - The cost of the goods AND the shipping AND the insurance (if any) are lumped together in order to calculate duty. Duty is them lumped in as well in order to calculate VAT, so you pay VAT on the duty. It is also wise to realise that whereas you may have got yourself a good exchange rate when you paid the supplier, customs don't care what the exchange rate ACTUALLY was, they apply their own in order to do their sums, which in my experience is ALWAYS less favourable. Typically from the US, you may pay the supplier through your bank at perhaps 63p or 64p to the dollar, but customs will use a rate of perhaps 67p or 68p to do their sums.

It's a fact of life I'm afraid, and if you don't pay because you don't agree, the goods will either be destroyed or returned from whence they came, for which you will also get a bill.

 

[silver]

I have been caught out like this on several purchases from PSI, Berea and Exotic Blanks so i don't buy from USA now unless absolutely necessary. I now just buy from Turners Retreat, Turners workshop and PenCrafts in UK and Timberbits in Australia which has proved a lot cheaper but needs more time to deliver. As I am the newbie to this site where do you guys buy you're kits from.

Steve.

Hi steve, welcome to the forum. Why don't you introduce yourself in the intro thread.. But if you search for pen kits you will probably see that this question has been asked before.. But rather than hi jack this thread if you need any more info then by all means ask..

 

[Buckeye]

Sometimes the US is the only place we can get the goods, or of course we can do without ..

Yes, two of the packages I bought I have not seen over here, the 3rd one may have been a mistake, only time will tell. Do you know if the RM fee is fixed at £8 or does it rise if the Customs bill is higher?

I have been caught out like this on several purchases from PSI, Berea and Exotic Blanks so i don't buy from USA now unless absolutely necessary. I now just buy from Turners Retreat, Turners workshop and PenCrafts in UK and Timberbits in Australia which has proved a lot cheaper but needs more time to deliver. As I am the newbie to this site where do you guys buy you're kits from.

Steve.

Timberbits, Rizheng and Dan.

Peter