Parcelforce customs charges ?

[Guest]

[RoscoLabri]

Anyone know who I'm supposed to pay if paying via a cheque ?

I got charged for a huge Muppet Show action figure collection I had bought from the US which has annoyed me a bit...I may just go and live in the US, a lot cheaper

Anyways, I would have thought the cheque would be payable to Parcelforce, but something got me thinking that it would be Royal Mail Group PLC...any ideas ? (there isn't any such info on the letter I received).

[Nienna]

Well the recent Duty I paid on one of my items had the cheque made out to Royal Mail - I asked the postie. The only thing is, I can't recall who delivered it so it could be different.
I think you need to give Parcel Force a ring to find out for certain - you don't have to go into the specifics, just say you want to pay for the import duty charges using a cheque and who do I make it payable to?

Here's some more info from their website for you:~

Introduction
Importing into the UK is usually straightforward, but there may be times when it becomes more complicated given the contents of the packages, or the reasons for import. We suggest that you contact HMCE for detailed information on import Customs procedures and charges.

If we receive a parcel from overseas, we will pay any Customs duties and taxes on your behalf to HMCE. However, we will require payment for this, together with our Customs clearance fee, before the parcel can be delivered to you.

Import value thresholds
For goods moving within the EU, import duties and taxes do not usually apply. However, for goods imported from non-EU countries, Customs charges do apply, these may include import duty, excise duty and import VAT. Goods with a value exceeding £18 (for commercial items including internet/mail order purchases), or £36 in the case of gifts between private individuals, are generally subject to Customs charges. Normally charges are calculated upon the declared value (plus shipping costs for commercial items). Further general information can be obtained by contacting HMCE.

Queries about specific import parcel duties / taxes
If you have a specific query about the duties / taxes for an imported parcel through Parcelforce Worldwide, then contact the Customs team on 02476 212860.

Please quote the charge number and date from the Customs Charge Label (OE94) and retain outer wrappings and all documents, as they may be required to resolve your enquiry. Note also that this charge label is your proof of import for VAT purposes.

Queries about the Parcelforce Worldwide clearance fee
Parcelforce Worldwide charges a Customs clearance fee which helps cover the costs of additional handling, administration, collection of monies and provision of facilities for Customs clearance of packages. We have two levels of clearance fee for import parcels; a higher fee is for express parcels imported through the Express Mail Services ( EMS ) or General Logistics Systems (GLS) networks and for all parcels valued at over £600, the lower fee is for all other imported parcels. For current charges, please see the Parcelforce Worldwide website www.parcelforce.com. Please note that all charges and thresholds are liable to change.

Storage awaiting Customs clearance
We would recommend that you respond promptly to any Customs queries to avoid storage charges; we will not levy a fee for the first 10 days. After 10 days however, storage fees will be charged, please see the Parcelforce Worldwide price guide. All parcels valued at over £600 are placed in secure storage until completion of Customs formalities.
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Good luck!

[RoscoLabri]

thanks, that does make sense because whilst searching through the FAQs on the parcelforce.com website, it redirects me to Royal Mail.

The address itself is

Royal Mail Group PLC
Parcelforce Worldwide

etc etc.

So I guess I'll do the same as you,

[Nienna]

Yeah, it's not always straightforward finding out the info you want and you tend to end up going round in circles!
When I asked where to pick up my package, my postie told me that because it had been sent via Parcel Force then I had to go to the counter to get it, whereas if it's something that Royal Mail have tried to deliver then I have to go to the main Sorting Office next door.
That's when he told me to make a cheque payable to Royal Mail ...
You can also pay them in unused stamps, postal orders, cash .... probably even blood (only joking! ) if you want to - hope you get it sorted anyway.

[m.o.b.]

Parcelforce and Royal Mail Letters are (usually) two separate delivery systems, that is why you have to collect them from different places.
Also, unless it has changed recently, the part of the surcharge levied by the Post Office is a lot more for a Parcelforce item than it is for an item delivered by Royal Mail Letters.

[RoscoLabri]

After hours of being on hold through the phone line, I decided to just send a cheque to Parcelforce Worldwide.

I thought that would be the end of it, but I received another letter today, and again it's another letter saying I need to pay x amount of VAT on an item imported from the US. Thing is, I think it's for the same item I've already paid for, so obviously I've sent them an email querying this.

The only thing I can think of is that the guy I bought the stuff off on ebay said he would post the lot in 2 seperate boxes. I'm guessing that he put the total value on both boxes or something and they've been seperated

One things for certain, I'm not paying another lot of %17.5 VAT, otherwise I would have paid a total of 35% VAT on something that cost me £280...not nice   

[Roz]

Have you factored in Parcelforce's £10 fee for handling the import tax for you?

[Nienna]

Royal Mail charge £4

[Geek Boy]

These customs charges REALLY annoy me too    I buy quite a bit of stuff from abroad.  I wouldn't mind if I was intending to sell the items on but if they are for a private collection then you shouldn't really have to pay import duty.  Fanciful thinking I know but it just seems like another way for HM Customs (and Parcelforce/Royal Mail) to make more money.

They don't seem to have any set rules for charging either.  There are different duties applicable depending on what type of item you are buying but most of the time I think they just pick parcels at random.  I've been fairly lucky in that a lot of parcels have escaped duty but it's annoying when they don't.  Fedex, UPS etc bill the duty immediately and WITHOUT exception so there's no escape with them.

If I buy something from outside Europe, I ask the seller to describe the item as "literature" or "used" and declare a nominal value on the export form.  It shouldn't affect any insurance you pay for because that is seperate from the declared export value.  The post office won't bother to check if the insurance matches the export value.

I've also noticed that if the item has a business address for the sender, it will almost ALWAYS get a customs charge.  If it's a private address, it's more likely to be deemed as a gift.  There's no harm in asking the seller to help out in these respects.  They can only say no...

[RoscoLabri]

thanks for the replies all,

I've decided to just bite the bullet and pay both lots of the Customs charges, after working it out I'm paying £14 more then I should, but I just can't be bothered with all the hassle to change it...afterall, I am getting a rather nice set of muppet figures which I will try to post a picture of once they are on display 

I've always known that buying from the US over ebay is a bit of a gamble, as ifs hit or miss if you get charged with VAT, import duty etc on the more expensive items. Its just a shame that I got hit on something that cost me £290ish squid