UK Border Agency (Customs) have woken up

[BADWIN BING]

I've been collecting reps for two years now, receiving dozens from all over the world.....China, US, Canada, Australia, etc.

Never have I had a problem, not a hiccup, until my last two deliveries.

Both, this year, have come from the USA. Both have been subjected to customs charges. I had a card through the door today saying delivery would not be made until custom fees were met.

I went to the Post Office and greeted with a bill for £23.51, of which £15.51 was VAT and £8.00 was a handling fee.

I spoke with a young (and very good looking) lady at the PO. She was very apologetic, not that it was her fault, and explained that these fees are very much on the increase.

I'm guessing that this is another government funding exercise. It would seem that they don't give a flying fcuk what's in the package, just as long as we put some money in the coffers.

Are the days of lax UK customs a thing of the past? Thoughts..........

 

[jools]

I've been charged twice this year too , not great as I've only ordered two watches lol, did get them safe and sound like you, but had to pay about £30 of charges on each .... Gits,!

 

[Bonesey]

Dude, this is normal. You've just been exceptionally lucky in the past not to have to deal with this. It's down to declared value blah blah blah. It's also more likely to happen if the person ships using a private shipping company as these are not processed like regular mail is.

This is nothing to do with customs per say. They are not looking at confiscating replica items. They are there to collect customs duty on pieces bought from outside the EU. Inside the EU you have already paid taxes on the items. Buying from outside the EU and you have to pay VAT on the item. Of course there is a thresh hold for smaller items.

 

[BADWIN BING]

Dude, this is normal. You've just been exceptionally lucky in the past not to have to deal with this. It's down to declared value blah blah blah. It's also more likely to happen if the person ships using a private shipping company as these are not processed like regular mail is.

This is nothing to do with customs per say. They are not looking at confiscating replica items. They are there to collect customs duty on pieces bought from outside the EU. Inside the EU you have already paid taxes on the items. Buying from outside the EU and you have to pay VAT on the item. Of course there is a thresh hold for smaller items.

Don't call me dude. :angry:

Hehe.....yes, I hear what you're saying Bones. It just seems strange that, after so many stress free transactions, the last two have been subject to fees.

Maybe you're right and I've just got lucky in the past.

 

[Bonesey]

What's wrong with dude, dude.

 

[BADWIN BING]

 

[DeeKa]

Don't worry, be happy!
In the UK you are lucky that the items don't get confiscated as they would in many other countries! That's why I only buy from dealers offering UK transshipment option...

Dee

 

[Mickey Padge]

Get the sender to declare the item as a gift, value $30, then you will get zero import duty charges. You can have a package with a value of £36 imported from outside the EU to the UK without charges if the item is listed as a gift, otherwise you will get charged.....

 

[BADWIN BING]

What's wrong with dude, dude.

Bonesey, it was a tongue-in-cheek reference to this thread (posts 9 & 10) in case you're wondering what the fook I'm on about.

http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/puretime-tw-best-94519?p=935299#post-935299

 

[LaraA]

In sweden, if the value is under $40 , they dont charge you anything.

 

[Del]

That's really unlucky Badwin.

I've been ok so far but I guess you never know what's going to happen next time. It also might be worse for incoming parcels from the US, I'm not sure.

I've got two incoming from China so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!