Customs Charge; Fasttech £14 goods

[marksixysix]

I think I will just suck it up this time and pay.
I won't be using FT again even for low value items because they will put the value as $20 and then there is a good chance of extra fee's to pay or the faff of trying to claim it all back which is time consuming.

[Perpetua]

I've not bought much from Fasttech of late Pepperty . . . . but any orders I do now ( after Get Off My Cloud 's past experience ) I automatically request Special Processing in the form of a request, marking the parcel value at $15.00 or below, at the checkout stage - just to save opening a ticket.

So far, they've been accommodating.

( Like everyone else, I don't object to paying excess duty, but the £8.00 ' handling ' charge from RM, is OTT in my view. )

[unclegromit]

Not wishing to defend RM or the £8 fee. Just thought I’d post up a section of correspondence from them via an information request.

All mail 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 not required to be presented to
Customs.

Packages received from overseas (apart from another EU Country), may incur
customs charges. Any package assessed by HM Revenue and Customs as being
liable for Customs charges (import duty/tax) will also incur a Royal Mail
handling fee. The Royal Mail customs handling fee is charged for customs
clearance of items in respect of which import duty and/or tax is due.
Items in respect of which no import duty and/or tax is due will continue to
be cleared through customs free of charge. It is a legal requirement for
Royal Mail to segregate packets arriving from overseas (non-EU countries)
and to present to Customs those items that are liable for import duty/tax
under current customs regulations.

The £8.00 fee currently charged by RMG reflects the actual cost of clearing
items through customs. This includes the staff, facilities and handling
cost of presenting the item to customs.

[marksixysix]

I get the RM fee and understand that it's not free but feel it is excessive.
The issue is with FT if they are not stating the correct amount on packets that are under the value of £15 and then buyer gets hit with charges.

Anything over and it is a gamble and I understand that.
Saying that, the tanks I got will now cost me £32 each when I could have bought them in the uk for around £50 for both inc postage.

I do buy more bits from the UK now as the difference is not that much, but is handy from China as well for some things if you dont mind the wait

[Pepperty]

I generally buy nothing if its non UK, a few rare examples were EU based billet box bits, which I took a desperate punt on as there's so little I can buy locally, thankfully they have sailed through our postal service.

I do accept that you take your chances, and I've paid customs on USA based stuff (billet box vapour, £50+ for billet box) but I do begrudge being charged for China imports and especially when under threshold!

Thank God for classifieds I say, both forum and facebook, but then you run the gauntlet of trusting a random seller. We are very lucky here on AAEC that as a small and cosy group we know each other and there'very few incidents

[dave]

Just to add a point that is often missed; it is not just the stated value that is looked at, they add on the postage cost as well to the amount they assess on. I've been caught by that as adding the postage tipped something I bought from the USA just over the limit.

[skaramanga]

There's a thread over on Potv about this. It seems that the issue is to do with the pound being weak and making the $20 dollar value over the £15 threshold




www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/forums/ecig-discussion/general-chat/threads/custom-duty-on-a-pack-of-coils-from-china.165168/

[gill2009]

  The problem is if you want a tank over the piddly 2 ml...where else can you go?

[ghostrider1971]

Pepperty - Silly question, but did it come from a warehouse in HK rather than mainland China? (with the price in HK Dollars)

if so, could be a new warehouse/distributor and they don't know the score for the UK?

[buggritt]

Aug 1, 2018 16:23:05 GMT marksixysix said:

I get the RM fee and understand that it's not free but feel it is excessive.

Why, what do you feel is the right fee?

[stu1873]

When did all of this £15 limit start?

I received a rather large parcel from FT last week with the value on the packet at $20 and had no problems with it. Is it just a lottery if you get stung as i have another 3 parcels on order with them?

[marksixysix]

Aug 1, 2018 18:12:55 GMT buggritt said:

Aug 1, 2018 16:23:05 GMT marksixysix said:

I get the RM fee and understand that it's not free but feel it is excessive.

Why, what do you feel is the right fee?

Less than £8 maybe?

[marksixysix]

My 2 parcels came from two different areas from HK.
Both have the value of 190HKD so around 24USD.

[buggritt]

Aug 1, 2018 19:16:33 GMT marksixysix said:

Aug 1, 2018 18:12:55 GMT buggritt said:

Why, what do you feel is the right fee?

Less than £8 maybe?

DHL charge £11 minimum. Makes the RM look a bargain.

[Perpetua]

Aug 1, 2018 20:39:24 GMT buggritt said:

Aug 1, 2018 19:16:33 GMT marksixysix said:

Less than £8 maybe?

DHL charge £11 minimum. Makes the RM look a bargain.

FedEx are no better . . . . . however courier companies are easier to take to task when they get their sums wrong. It took me a couple of months . . . . nearly buckled at one point and considered offering half just to be done with the matter. Then I received this:

I'll admit to feeling a sense of achievement, as they were incorrect in applying excess duty/handling charges in the first place.