uk customs charges help

[mista_khan]

Hi

I ordered a parcel from china, on the label it said shoes and value was 10 usd.

yet I got charged customs fees which I cant understand why as they haven't opened the parcel either.

im sure uk customs charge for over 18.00 pounds value , so how have I been charged 19.00 from customs and obviously 12.00 pound handling charge from parcel force if value of parcel was 10 usd which is about 5 to 6 pounds?

thanks

[JamesNorth101]

You would need to talk to MHRC about that...

Was the item actually valued at $10?

[richie2065]

Hi, It sounds like they have misread the value of the package as Duty and VAT are calculated as a percentage of the value of the imported goods so your figures dont add up??
Duty and VAT are normally due when a minimum value threshold of £15 is reached within the UK - although depending on type of contents i think??

Was the package also marked as a "gift"

[mista_khan]

hey thanks for the replies

on the label on the parcel it says

shoes - 1 piece
value 10 usd
and no it doesn't say gift,

so shall I call up hmrc tomorrow or go to my nearest parcelforce depot and let them sort it out?

[JamesNorth101]

The question is though is that actually what was in the package and was that actually the price you paid? Or has it been under declared.

If it has been under declared then I would just let sleeping dogs lay

[Bunneh]

your item wasn't declared as a gift?

Commercial goods do incur custom fee's.

I would just be glad you actually received an item bought from china lol..

[mista_khan]

lol okay so I shall let it rest

[Play]

I always import from countries outside the UK, not china, but this advice still applies:

1 - dont bother calling HMRC, they are helpless and clueless.
2 - dont bother calling the courier, also helpless and clueless.
3 - just pay whatever they have asked, I truly believe this is a random number they just pluck out of thin air. There seems to be no formula! I sometimes have same shipment + same declared value + same contents etc. shipped to me, and I get charged different amounts each time, only by a small margin, but still happens.
4 - be glad you got your item.
5 - finally, the customs fee you get charged can be way more than what you actually paid for the item. Customs base it on their own judgement of the value in this country, as oppose to what it says on a piece of paper (for obvious reasons)

[wired]

If this is EMS which converts to Parcelforce - these are the worse for customs charging, mainly because a huge portion of their annual profit is made up from their 'handling fees' imposed on all parcels with charges to be paid.

The problem is, not so much the duty and charges from customs, which yes I agree they do tend to pick a figure out of random, but more the 'ransom' charges imposed by PArcelForce.

Technically, by law , they are not allowed to 'hold' your parcel waiting for payment of their charges, but they do, because they know no one will take them to court over it, as by the time that happens, your parcel will of been sent back and a huge portion of your life dedicated to bringing them to justice.

Unfortunately, the law does state they can charge what they want. £15.00 is the current rate I believe for their express handling service, and £8.50 for the 'not express' service.

The VAT can sometimes be as little as 89p as was the case for one of my parcels, but Parcelforce wanted their £15.00 as well, which is where it annoys the life out of people!

Dont mind taxes, do mind PArcelforce fee's!