Recieving a parcel from USA question

Complete list of UK customs charges here. At least there is no duty tax on PC's/laptops. :)
You will have to get a new power lead/plug and hopefully you will be alright with the power and that your laptop can handle 110V-240Vac. Most can.
 
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You get charged by HMRC depending on the type of good.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channels...yType=document&resetCT=true&id=HMCE_CL_001454

On laptops, there are no import or excise charges. So you will have to pay 15% VAT on both the price of the item and the cost of delivery. Then the company handling your delivery within the UK will slap on a handling fee for paying the VAT on your behalf. So you will end up paying the VAT + handling fee (only the VAT goes to HMRC). The cheapest are Royal Mail/Parcelforce who only charge an £8 handling fee.
 
You will have to pay VAT and any handling charge imposed by the courier (for pre-clearing the item on their deferment account)

Couriers have different ways of doing this. Some need cash on delivery. Some will deliver and then invoice you for the import fees later. Some will need you to pay in advance before handing the item over.

Actual customs clearance can vary, and the courier has little (if any) control over this. We regularly have US imports arrive in the UK, clear customs, and then go out for delivery the same day. Or they can choose to drag their heels and not clear it for weeks and there isn't a lot you can do about it.
 
I had something held in customs for nearly a week once.

Last thing I bought was a fan controller, couldn't find it anywhere in the UK, cost just under £30 delivered think I got charged about £15 all together, I was very annoyed and it made the fan controller way over priced.
 
As said, you will probably have to pay duty, vat and admin charges.

Note too that UPS tend to want these paid on delivery instead of invoicing afterwards, (like Fedex). Get your cheque book ready ...
 
codec said:
Well the guy used usps :/ not sure if that matters?
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USPS is completely different to UPS...USPS is similar to the royal mail that we have here in the UK...they are the American version of royal mail.

Anytime ive had stuff shipped over by USPS ive always had to pay duties so id imagine you will be paying duties...you will get a letter or something from Royal mail saying they have your package and you need to pay such and such amount in order to collect it.
 
It depends who your parcel is delivered by in the UK. If it is Royal Mail your postman will put a note through saying how much you have to pay in total (inc. the handling fee) and then you have to go and collect it from your local depot and pay the charges while you are there.

If it is sent by DHL the last I heard was that they will deliver the item to you and pay the fee's for you and then they send you a bill about a month or so later asking you to pay back the fee.
 
Its been released from customs at 11:15 but it says

03-07-2009 11:50 International Hub En route to delivery depot
03-07-2009 11:01 International Hub RELEASED WITH CHARGES
02-07-2009 22:11 International Hub AWAITING CUSTOMS CHARGING
02-07-2009 22:11 International Hub AWAITING CUSTOMS CHARGES
02-07-2009 22:06 International Hub Arrived in destination country
30-06-2009 20:36 Delivery Agent - SAN FRANCISCO Left origin country
29-06-2009 14:50 Delivery Agent - UNITED STATES AMERICA Collected from customer
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which basically means they added charges of some sort and Im skint at the moment - I hope they bill me :( if they add the 15% vat Im expecting around 115 charge :(

can I collect from the delivery depot? apparently the "international hub" is in coventry.... should be there by now and they *SHOULD* put it through in the next hour or so....

Its being sent by parcel force so anyone know the process on that?
 
ghost101 said:
You get charged by HMRC depending on the type of good.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channels...yType=document&resetCT=true&id=HMCE_CL_001454

On laptops, there are no import or excise charges. So you will have to pay 15% VAT on both the price of the item and the cost of delivery. Then the company handling your delivery within the UK will slap on a handling fee for paying the VAT on your behalf. So you will end up paying the VAT + handling fee (only the VAT goes to HMRC). The cheapest are Royal Mail/Parcelforce who only charge an £8 handling fee.
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Thats what they say...

But I'd be completely unsuprised if he has to pay around £150 extra by the time he gets it based on my experiences... plus how much hes quoted for VAT above.
 
Rroff said:
Thats what they say...

But I'd be completely unsuprised if he has to pay around £150 extra by the time he gets it based on my experiences... plus how much hes quoted for VAT above.
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I've bought many items from the US. It is always exactly correct. The conversion between $ to £ might vary a tiny bit depending on the day its calculated.
 
Well I've never bought anything from the US thats cost more than £100 - but even on stuff thats not supposed to have duty, etc. I've often paid more than handling + VAT.
 
Of course I was expecting a fee but when you pay for shipping that specifically states delivered in 3-5 working days, I expect it at my door in 3-5 working days. Not 3-5 days depening on when I pay customs! That's just stupid. The charge should be included in the shipping fee not from the recipient. I would be happy to pay the extra at the point I paid for the product not the moment I recieve it!

I'm gonna be a very sad panda if they want money before I can have it :(
 
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Customs always take their sweet time, they are public servants after all.

I import a lot of goods from around the world, especially the US.

You should have contacted Customs before hand to find out the charges, different charges apply to different products.

Customs is always a bit of hit and miss, ive shipped in massive boxes of equipment from the states and its came through with no extra charges and at other times ive orderd one bottle of bee-pollen that weighed less than a packet of ciggaretes and they decided to hit me with customs charges.

Officially anything over £20 will get VAT charges and possibly Import/Excise Duty; you have to ask Customs what charges apply to laptops.

For instance my Water filter was subject to 15% VAT and an extra 2.5% import duty for being a water filter.

i would be suprised if you see your laptop before the end of next week.

OH and yeah, what i find MORE annoying than customs charges is the charges that the postal services charge YOU for customs charges...

let me explain, if you are hit with VAT or Import Duty yopur courier will phone you up and demand payment, say £11.00 - you pay this charge and recieve your pracel. Upon reading the customs documents you realise that your Customs charges were only £2.00 BUT the courier charges YOU £8.00 because they argue that they (the courier) paid the customs charge on your behalf and they want some compensation.

In my experience UPS, Fed Ex etc... arent so bad, i think they have charged me £4.00 for this in the past... but if its the Royal Mail they ROYALY SHAFT YOU. They will always charge you a minimum of £8.00 extra regardless of what your customs charge was... ive literally had a £1.00 customs charge and royal mail demanded an extra £8.00 from me... if this happens to anyone complain to the postal ombudsman, i think its criminal.

I have been soo close to leaving my products with the royal mail to return and getting a refund from the company for my product because paying the royal mail £8.00 for bugger all just pains me everytime.
 
When I ordered RAM from the USA the courier (UPS) brought the delivery to my home, but wanted payment before they gave it to me.

As above, I've also ordered the very same RAM, from the same retailer and not paid anything.. it's very hit and miss!!

I imagine it will be the same. You can always ring the courier (Parcelforce) and find out how much you've been stung.
 
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