Customs Charge; Fasttech £14 goods

[charliehorse]

So, having waded through the POTV thread it still seems unclear whether the true value is declared on orders that are lower than the $20 mark.

Anyone got any idea if this is what happens ie value above $20 gets marked as $20 and orders lower than $20 get marked with the true (lower) value

[marksixysix]

Aug 1, 2018 22:37:02 GMT charliehorse said:

So, having waded through the POTV thread it still seems unclear whether the true value is declared on orders that are lower than the $20 mark.

Anyone got any idea if this is what happens ie value above $20 gets marked as $20 and orders lower than $20 get marked with the true (lower) value

Always used to be $20 for pretty much everything but that was when the £ was better.

This is the first time I have received parcels that showed the value in HKD  and both were nabbed.

Each items actual cost were $27 USD and I paid £20.20 each parcel.

The parcel shows value of $190 HKD which is roughly around £18.50 so above the current threshold.

No problem paying the duty, that is cool, but the added RM fee bringing the cost to £12 for an item that costs £20 is excessive because it's a flat fee and not a percentage of the value of the item.

Mine are over the limit so I get it, but poor Pepperty and others are being stung for no reason other than greed.

[buggritt]

It helps a bit if you know something about how it's done. Duty is charged if an import is worth more than £15. That's not the case in the OP, it's fasttech putting the wrong price on. There's no greed here, that would be childish. There are millions of imports per week. Two years ago the EU threatened to fine the UK over a lack of procedure in charging duty on imports from outside the EU. It's protectionism, every country does it. Hence the increased scrutiny from HMRC.
The real problem is that unless you are registered as a business importer, you can't pay the duty before import, which would avoid a further charge.

[Pepperty]

I opened a ticket with fasttech, and tried to keep explanation as simple as possible and got their normal chinglish reply, they will resend parcel with correct (or lower) price stated.... they asked would my parcel get sent back to them, so I said yes, but I'm not sure if i'll be waiting for it to get back before they resend, but i'll give it a shot!

[stu1873]

I opened a couple of order requests with them last night and received a reply this morning stating that they will put $15 on my forthcoming parcels. They also stated that if the value of the parcel is bellow $20 the value under $20 will be on the shipping label. Will just have to wait and see if they hold up to what they have stated.

This may only last a wee bit anyway until the Pound picks back up to the Dollar. It seems to be the HK Dollar that is putting parcels way above what they should be.

[marksixysix]

Got my 3VF item delivered today and as usual no issue at all and item cost as much as my other tanks.
But look at the label

[djs]

I got done recently.

Fasttech are fully refunding me and so are UK customs.

Some numpty wrote 177$ hkd.

My PayPal says £14.98 so both are kissing my backside.

Fasttech need to sort it out. why even use $hkd?

[Pepperty]

Exactly djs I had all the paperwork to show mine was under threshold, the post office showed me my parcel but couldn't give it me I was tempted to go through all the hoops on principle but i couldn't face teh effort right on top of vapefest. Well done you on going all the way through the system and getting it sorted

[Perpetua]

Is it worth entering the lion's den and starting a thread on Fasttech's customer forums about this issue? If nothing else it might make them more aware of the problems using HKD's is causing in the UK . . . . unnecessarily so!

[ghostrider1971]

Perpetua - Is the HKD a new thing? (Shows how much attention I pay when I receive things!) - did they use US Dollars before?

Can't see them using Chinese RMB somehow

[Pepperty]

It was always USD and we pay in USD too so i've no clue why its changed all of a sudden

1 Hong Kong Dollar equals
0.13 United States Dollar

it doesnt even equate sensibly...?

[striker42]

Aug 2, 2018 16:07:03 GMT Perpetua said:

Is it worth entering the lion's den and starting a thread on Fasttech's customer forums about this issue? If nothing else it might make them more aware of the problems using HKD's is causing in the UK . . . . unnecessarily so!

On principal that sounds like a good idea but the practical side of doing so may be a whole lot different. I'm sure the last time there was a thread started by Get Off My Cloud it served as nothing other than a feast for a few arsewipes that think they're gods gift to Chinese shopping.Unless it impacts on them, then it would serve as nothing more than another platform for them to vent their bile. 

[Get Off My Cloud]

Aug 2, 2018 17:16:21 GMT striker42 said:

Aug 2, 2018 16:07:03 GMT Perpetua said:

Is it worth entering the lion's den and starting a thread on Fasttech's customer forums about this issue? If nothing else it might make them more aware of the problems using HKD's is causing in the UK . . . . unnecessarily so!

On principal that sounds like a good idea but the practical side of doing so may be a whole lot different. I'm sure the last time there was a thread started by Get Off My Cloud it served as nothing other than a feast for a few arsewipes that think they're gods gift to Chinese shopping.Unless it impacts on them, then it would serve as nothing more than another platform for them to vent their bile. 

Pretty much all that happened here is the thread from Jan 2017

www.fasttech.com/forums/shipping/t/2356099/getting-vat-charges-in-uk

[Perpetua]

Aug 2, 2018 16:18:01 GMT ghostrider1971 said:

Perpetua - Is the HKD a new thing? (Shows how much attention I pay when I receive things!) - did they use US Dollars before?

As Pep says ghostrider1971 . . . . it was always in USD. Why they've changed, who knows.

But it's clearly causing problems . . . . .

Aug 2, 2018 17:16:21 GMT striker42 said:

Aug 2, 2018 16:07:03 GMT Perpetua said:

Is it worth entering the lion's den and starting a thread on Fasttech's customer forums about this issue? If nothing else it might make them more aware of the problems using HKD's is causing in the UK . . . . unnecessarily so!

On principal that sounds like a good idea but the practical side of doing so may be a whole lot different. I'm sure the last time there was a thread started by Get Off My Cloud it served as nothing other than a feast for a few arsewipes that think they're gods gift to Chinese shopping.Unless it impacts on them, then it would serve as nothing more than another platform for them to vent their bile. 

Yep, I don't disagree - there's some right twonks who frequent their customer forums.

But! I still feel it's worth putting a spotlight on the issue for Fasttech's benefit, not theirs . . . . I'm happy to start a thread once Vapefest is over, even if calls on all my reserves as a Customer Service Desk person.

[striker42]

Topic for a little discussion over some Vodka Perpetua