Chris-Napier

Being the festive season, I posted parcels to the UK. Something I have done since 2007. But this year I have been informed by two of the people who received the parcel that before the Royal Mail would let them collect the parcel they had to pay customs tax and handling fees. This amounted to sixteen pounds each time. This has never happened before so WHY I wonder. I emailed the Royal Mail to ask them and they replied that tax and handling fees have to be paid on all parcels into the country. I also asked them if this was a NEW rule and they said NO, it has always happened. NOW, is this true? As it has never happened before. have any of you had the same problem?

Purrball

From my limited experience, it seems to depend on what's in the parcel, how it's labelled on the customs form and where it has been sent from.

I've had things sent from New Zealand with no problems at all, once a huge bag of Kiwi sweets like chocolate fish, pinkie bars, pineapple lumps and jaffas. Think it was labelled as confectionary and as a gift.

However, on a couple of occasions I've had to import some medicines into the UK which were cheaper to buy online than obtain a private prescription and they were held at the sorting office until I turned up and paid about a tenner to have them released. Don't recall a handling fee, though... and of course, anything that seems to come from EU destinations like Amazon or through eBay doesn't attract any attention. In the past, I've had CDs sent from the States and just before Xmas had some things sent from Germany with no problems at all.

How big were the parcels and how did you label them? In the past few years, it seems Royal Mail have put some restrictions on the weight of parcels bound for New Zealand by air. I'm wondering if there has been some changes in any reciprocal arrangements. There's also a chance it could also have something to do with Royal Mail's recent privatisation, where the slightest excuse to raise revenues now becomes par for the course.

MrsFychan

maybe this will answer some questions or indeed raise more ?

http://www.dutycalculator.com/countr...nited-Kingdom/

Robbie2010

Handling fee? ... Royal Mail was privatized recently, got to make loads of money for its shareholders

jmh

It's sort of new but it isn't. Good answer eh?

Seriously though, for several years Royal Mail have been stopping items at the border and charging VAT. This has been fairly random though, so I had some items stopped and others got through. I don't recall being charged a handling fee though so that might be new.

In the past this has only been for items purchased overseas and shipped to the UK and since I was buying in the US, often there was no sales tax added. Now however they seem to be taxing gifts, which is a new thing. I'm not sure how this works, because you have already paid GST here and now have to pay VAT there. Doesn't seem fair to me. Maybe it is worth contacting them about this - can you claim back the tax you've already paid in NZ? Maybe they have some sort of reciprocal agreement.

Also, I note from link MrsFychan posted that there is a threshold which would make it worth posting smaller parcels if it brings the value of the item(s) below that. I notice that they don't mention gifts there - maybe they are no longer exempt.

I've given up on posting things to the UK - I just do internet shopping from UK businesses for my family living there. Amazon will take foreign cards, for example.

This reminds me of the argument here for charging GST on overseas internet shopping. It's doing nothing to help British retailers and it won't save NZ retailers either.

Snap Shot

I posted my Dad's Christmas present to him in Britain, I live in New Zealand.

He sent me a letter in his Christmas card in which he thanked me for my parcel and included the details of payment required by the UK government.

His letter was mostly him just ranting about this, that and the other. However, I digress. He basically said that he would not be paying the duty, in this case just shy of twenty quid and would rather send the parcel back to me.

Despite being upset by his attitude, I paid the duty and the parcel was delivered to him.

When I phoned him on Christmas Day he just asked casually if I'd paid the duty, I said I had. I also said that's a lesson learned. He can make of that remark what he wants to.

I have decided that in future I will send him twenty pounds cash for Christmas as that's what he sends for my husband and I. It's just easier as I'm not going through that again.

For the record, it seems to me that all parcels valued at over forty quid are subject to duty. So, rather than putting the two t-shirts and two sweatshirts in one package I should have sent them separately to avoid the duty. How much more in postage would that have cost ? Like said, lesson learned.

MrsFychan

I just did a calculation on dutycalculator for t-shirt worth $40 with $20 shipping and no insurance and it came out with import tax of £36.30 and with a shipping cost of $10 it still came out at £30.25 ridiculous

jmh

Definitely cheaper to buy it on M&S and have it posted then. We sent M&S hampers this year. Easier than queueing at the post office.

Snap Shot

Yup, we've sent M&S hampers to three individual addresses in Britain for Christmas for the three years we've lived in NZ. I use the M&S free delivery offer too. Which is exactly what I plan to do again for Christmas this year. I see no reason to stop sending M&S hampers should we return to Britain either.

I'm not sending anymore parcels to Britain for presents because of the duty payable.

I didn't get much change out of two hundred dollars to send my Dad's Christmas present to him i.e. the presents themselves (bought from Warehouse or Farmers, most likely in the sale), packaging, postage and UK duty.

So, nah, not doing it again.

Sparkleydiva

Not happened to me but did to one of my colleagues just before Christmas. She had sent and inexpensive handbag from Forever New and it cost her daughter 35gbp to collect.

Not sure what is happening but does look like they are looking more closely at parcels

kiwi wanna be

It's annoying when they are marked as gifts that the recipient the has to pay - I will be using UK companies and getting stuff delivers in future.

My Mum paid £30 to get her Christmas present, thankfully it was worth more than that but she did check before paying!

j19fmm

I sent a couple of them too!

j19fmm

I sent a shoe box sized parcel with NZ edible goodies and gifts to my friend in the UK. She didn't have to pay tax on it.

mickey_d

We sent 4 parcels, all worth well over 40 quid, no charges at other end.

Chris-Napier

Have read all the comments so far. It all seems pretty random when the parcel gets to the UK. The parcels I sent were not big and only had Christmas gifts, 'lollies' 'calendar', the usual 'gifty things'. Each parcel contents cost me 40 nz dollars or less, in fact the postage is a big thing on top of that. I wrote what was inside and the rough cost on the customs slip and 'gifts'. I felt dreadful when people told me they had to pay so much to collect the parcel. I think I will take the advice and use 'internet shopping' more in the future. What a shame though...... if Royal Mail is now privatized as someone said earlier, by making these charges they will lose so much business surely!!! It is a shame for NZ also as I know NZ Post are struggling and will be cutting staff in 2015. I just hope that NZ wont go the same way as the UK.