Buyer says they have to cover purchase costs "insufficient postage paid at dispatch"

qchucka

Full message

"Hi
I’ve received the item, however I had to pay £13.92 to cover purchase costs as there was insufficient postage paid at dispatch.
Would it be possible to reimburse me the additional cost of postage"


Hello,

I am seeking guidance as I have sold lots of packages internationally and this is the first time a buyer, in the UK, claimed that they had to pay more for "insufficient postage paid at dispatch." It is a first time buyer as well...

The purchase was for a Deadpool figure totaling £28.20 (US $37.08). From what I gathered from past transactions with people in UK have to pay customs for orders over a certain amount. It seems like they are confusing extra shipping with customs fees, is that correct or incorrect?

Thank you,
Quinton

Jay37

Hi Quinton, that sounds about right. I've checked on the UK's government website regarding customs and it seems to say that goods totalling less than £135 (including shipping) incur no customs duty, but any goods with a value of £15 or greater will be liable for VAT charges. The VAT is levied on the total amount, including shipping. Now, I don't profess to being an expert, nor to do I know exactly what charges they may add, but £13.92 does seem a bit steep as VAT is charged at 20%. They may have added a handling fee, but I would ask your customer for a breakdown of the charges. Either way, I believe these additional charges are the responsibility of the recipient, not the sender, and I believe it's an offence to falsify the value (although how one determines the 'value' of a minifigure is open to debate!). Providing you've sent at the correct shipping rate (and given your feedback I see nothing to suggest otherwise), and assume you have to attach a customs declaration form, and it has arrived in the UK, your part of the deal has been fulfilled. In the past I have been caught out by these extra charges, but you live and learn. Not to do you out of a sale, but if they didn't want to be stung with additional charges why didn't they buy from a UK seller?

Not sure how much help this is to you, and hopefully their are others out there who may be able to correct or clarify anything I may have got wrong.

Good luck!
James

Hoddie

Definitely Import VAT added to Royal Mail's administration charge for collecting the money. Postman will attempt to collect it at their door, if no answer, it would have been taken to local post office for collection. Either way, Royal Mail would not attempt to collect money because of insufficient postage on an international item. The postage is paid in the outbound country, and the national carrier of the inbound country delivers it as part of international reciprocal agreements.

Hoddie

This post may help your buyer :

https://www.brickowl.com/forum#/discussion/1134/non-eu-sellers-sending-packages-to-the-eu-import-charges

The rates and figures may have changed but the info is still correct. I suspect, however, that your buyer knows what's happened and is simply hoping you'll reimburse the fees to avoid a negative.

Colorado Bricks

That sounds about right for import fees, I was confronted at the same issue, there was an handling fee of about £8 + VAT.

TheSkirrid

Yep Quinton, £8 of that will be a Royal Mail handling fee. Other importers like DHL/UPS charge similarly. They're trying to get you to cover the fee and the import duty, both of which are their responsibility unless you explicitly agreed to cover it in your billing.

qchucka

Thank you everyone for confirming my suspicions. I have requested relevant documentation from the buyer and they have yet to respond. Appreciated.