Ridiculous post office charge...

Reginald

Reginald

Reginald

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Joined
24 Aug 2008
Posts
1,318
Location
London
Heya,

I recently ordered something from the US and the other day the postman left a slip saying "could not be delivered due to underpaid postage" or something to that effect.

I am being charged an additional £14.80... I will gladly pay whatever duty is required to get the item into the country but what I find unfair it that they have crossed out the £1 handling charge for "underpaid" items and changed this to £8... Surely it is unfair for them to charge so much when the postage was in fact paid correctly and it is the duty being added at the border that results in this extra fee... is there any way around this or do I have to lump it?

Cheers :)
 
Yes, I understand that. I dont see any problem paying the import duty but what is bothering me is the £8 admin fee for "underpaid" items (which was £1 but they crossed it out).. it's hardly underpaid if I paid the correct amount for international shipping etc then the duty is levied at the border.
 
Live and let live.
I had the same problem with Parcelforce delivering something I ordered from the states. £8 admin fees is 'peanuts' compared to FedEX's £20. Next time, buy stuff in the EU or import stuff under £18. Or buy from people who will refund taxed/admin fees (loads of HK dealers out there)
 
Reginald said:
Yes, I understand that. I dont see any problem paying the import duty but what is bothering me is the £8 admin fee for "underpaid" items (which was £1 but they crossed it out).. it's hardly underpaid if I paid the correct amount for international shipping etc then the duty is levied at the border.
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Have you called the local depot to dispute the charge? Did you contact the sender to ask about the postage amount?
 
sr4470 said:
Have you called the local depot to dispute the charge? Did you contact the sender to ask about the postage amount?
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No not done any of this yet.. the sender is a chain store across the US so I don't think they'll be of much help.. I'll contact the depot to dispute it.

Was just wondering if I have a leg to stand on or if I'll have to cough up!

Thanks ;)
 
Sounds like your gonna have to cough up....one of the reasons why i dont bother buying stuff from America as you usually get stung with admin fees and import fees.
 
The £8 is not actually anything to do with underpaid postage whatever has been noted on the card, (which they just probably used for simplicity).

It's their admin charge for paying vat and duty for you up front and invoicing you for them during delivery. Charging this sort of charge is normal for all post or couriers just that sometimes you are lucky with the post office and no vat and duty is charged so no admin charge is generated. Is it high ... yes, can you do anything about it .... no.

If you are going to import anything then you should look at this sort of thing in advance, it's been talked about it enough times on here .....

Your choice now is to pay it and get your package, or not pay it and not get it. The sender will have used the correct postage and should have indicated the value of the package on the declaration, you are responsible for any import fees which are then generated.
 
£8 has been the new charge for a while IIRC
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/...2IGVFFHQUHRA0WQ2K?catId=400044&mediaId=400362

All postal items that enter the United Kingdom may be examined by Customs, but normally letters, postcards and packets containing only documents or similar forms of correspondence are excluded.

If you are receiving a package from overseas (apart from another EU Country), please be aware that it may incur customs charges. Any package assessed by HM Revenue and Customs as being liable for Customs charges will also incur a Royal Mail handling fee of £8.
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One of the things I hate about this country, when I send things to people in america we never have problems with import charges but this country totally rapes you.
 
Energize said:
One of the things I hate about this country, when I send things to people in america we never have problems with import charges but this country totally rapes you.
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Lopéz said:
It's to protect the economy.
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£8 isn't rape, but then again not sure how it protects the economy, the US still get goods at a cheaper price than us and some areas have better wages.

Correct me if I'm wrong in thinking this. Cheers.
 
Gzero said:
£8 isn't rape, but then again not sure how it protects the economy, the US still get goods at a cheaper price than us and some areas have better wages.

Correct me if I'm wrong in thinking this. Cheers.
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It keeps money in the country and encourages people to buy from us. Importing everything just makes us poorer as all our money goes to other countries

- Pea0n
 
I would have bought it from the UK but it isn't available from here.. although in future I think I'll just wait until next time I go there..it's ended up costing about double the RRP....ish
 
Pea0n said:
It keeps money in the country and encourages people to buy from us. Importing everything just makes us poorer as all our money goes to other countries

- Pea0n
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But isn't that already the case since we hardly produce anything?

Isn't that what retailers and dealers are already doing for us just in bulk?
 
It does get annoying when something like a cheapo exhaust manifold made in China is on sale in the US for $30 delivered but over here they are around £70.
 
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