Letter from Fedex, awww

Associate
Joined
31 Jul 2005
Posts
894
Location
Edinburgh
Just got a wee letter from Fedex wanting payment of vat n dooty of about £23 for the Canon 18-55 IS I bought from Hong Kong a while back. Anyone else ever had a demand like this AFTER the item has been delivered?
 
Just got a wee letter from Fedex wanting payment of vat n dooty of about £23 for the Canon 18-55 IS I bought from Hong Kong a while back. Anyone else ever had a demand like this AFTER the item has been delivered?
Nope. I either get the letter in advance telling me they're holding it and won't release the package until the duty is paid or i get one with the item requesting the amount to be paid ASAP.

I HATE DUTY! :mad: :(

gt

P.S: How have you found the 18-55mm IS?
 
when I had stuff come from america (£2ks worth) the bloke wouldn't let me have it until I paid the customs and excise duty on it, which was £450.... stood in my doorway brandishing a chip and pin machine with my parcel.... robbing swine.
 
Just got a wee letter from Fedex wanting payment of vat n dooty of about £23 for the Canon 18-55 IS I bought from Hong Kong a while back. Anyone else ever had a demand like this AFTER the item has been delivered?

i got exactly the same letter yesterday :(
 
I also remember reading that the UK is one of the countries which makes the most money from customs and excise duty compared to other countries, its a total farce, you pay UK premium or lose out during the import, unless you're very lucky or know the loopholes..
 
certain delivery services, such as Hong Kong speedpost will simply deliver your item to your country, and leave it to customs to either; Forward it to you via Parcelfarce ::OR:: slap a duty tax on it and THEN forward it to you via Parcelfarce. parcelfarce will then pay customs the duty charges, and get them back from you before delivering your item, along with a £13 PF fee.

more professional delivery services (like Fedex and DHL) will deliver your package direct to customs for invoicing (you will almost always get taxed if you use these services) pay it and deliver the Item to you. they will invoice you for the tax sometime later.

they do this so that you do not have to wait for your item while paying Duties.
i had an item shipped to me from HK via DHL. it arrived very fast, and not a mention of duties. almost a year later the invoice turned up. i didn't even have the item anymore!
 
Well nobody like taxes do they? Just a bummer when you think you've got one over "The Man".
Oh and I like the new IS version, TBH I've really not noticed much of a difference in quality over the old one, maybe I just had a good un but the IS is pretty handy. I'm actually starting to wonder if the AF on my 350 is a little off cos all my lenses, including the big 100-400L zoom look just a little soft. Could just be me being hyper critical...
 
Well nobody like taxes do they? Just a bummer when you think you've got one over "The Man".
Oh and I like the new IS version, TBH I've really not noticed much of a difference in quality over the old one, maybe I just had a good un but the IS is pretty handy. I'm actually starting to wonder if the AF on my 350 is a little off cos all my lenses, including the big 100-400L zoom look just a little soft. Could just be me being hyper critical...

post some examples then.
 
what happens if you don't pay the relevant taxes? they'll just hold the item until you do? is there a time period for how long the item is kept before they either destroy it or send it back?
 
I know at least one Hong Kong based retailer will reimburse you for any duty you had to pay. I've never bothered reclaiming it though as its a bit of a hassle and I've still got the stuff for cheaper than if I'd bought it in the UK
 
what happens if you don't pay the relevant taxes? they'll just hold the item until you do? is there a time period for how long the item is kept before they either destroy it or send it back?

depends. if it was delivered by EMS speedpost or something, who have no commitment to delivery after its reached the UK, and its being held by Parcel Farce awaiting charges, then i think that they will hold your item (awaiting your monies) for three months, then return it to sender, where the sender will refund you (hopefully!)
 
I've had that happen before. Except I didn't find the letter (messy students) for quite a while. And they had sent another, threatening letter. :) Phoned 'em up in the end and got it sorted thankfully.
 
I know at least one Hong Kong based retailer will reimburse you for any duty you had to pay. I've never bothered reclaiming it though as its a bit of a hassle and I've still got the stuff for cheaper than if I'd bought it in the UK

parcel force gave me 30 days to pay the duty or they would return the goods to the states.

I think that HK seller relies on the fact that people don't claim any duty back from them on the lowish price high volume stuff..
 
Just got a wee letter from Fedex wanting payment of vat n dooty of about £23 for the Canon 18-55 IS I bought from Hong Kong a while back. Anyone else ever had a demand like this AFTER the item has been delivered?

Yep, I've had similar when I imported a Nintendo DS ages ago. I got a letter 3 months later saying I hadn't paid the import fees... that they hadn't told me about.

They got a letter saying don't bother waiting for it.
 
was at work when my UPS delivery this morning from HongKong of a 24-105mm f4 IS came, my mother answered and the guy wanted £39 and some pennies, not sure how much

UPS guy had no change so my mother wouldnt pay him, now i have to wait till wednesday :(

at least my auction was a vat refunded type
 
parcel force gave me 30 days to pay the duty or they would return the goods to the states.

I think that HK seller relies on the fact that people don't claim any duty back from them on the lowish price high volume stuff..

That's why I like Fedex, they pay the import duty, deliver the item to you and then invoice you for the duty. Once paid you can send the invoice to this seller who reimburse you for it
 
Just had a fed ex letter myself for my 18-55IS and a sigma 70-300apo from hong kong, they both came in the same box , they want £17.51 off me, not to bad really.

£10.71 vat
£6.80 admin
 
Back
Top Bottom