UK rip off again

[Lindus]

I mentioned that for the first time I have commisioned a shira saya,wood cost from Japan was going to be £50. Had an email on Saturday from the shira saya maker saying that the two piece's of Honoki had been impounded by HM Customs and that he had had to pay a £20 handling charge to the PO . So, customs find the need to check out a parcel,thats ok,it has a declaration saying "WooD",..... ex ray the bloody thing .........

I cannot send matchlocks,Swords well damn near anything,now put a huge % when they make a mistake

[John A Stuart]

So, you are saying that there was a surcharge for the opening of the parcel to check that it was legitimately wood? They could open a letter to check that it really is paper? Is anywhere peopled by the sane anymore? How much of the GNP is used up by the bureaucracy now as compared to before the 'War on Terrorism'? Gee!! John

[NihontoEurope]

It is actually possible to make both arrows and speers out of wood.

 

/Martin

[Kevin]

Umm! That's a bit garbled.

 

There's a handling charge payable to Parcelforce for doing the Customs processing. It's Parcelforce that will be carrying it, and it is basically an admin charge.

 

Customs will hold up the shipment for a while whilst they process it and decide how much tax you're going to have to pay. This can take 2 weeks, though they are usually quicker.

 

You'll then get billed for the handling charge, VAT and any duties. Once those are paid, your stuff is released and delivered.

 

And errm! I've got honoki round here, already imported. :-)

[Markus]

Something similar is just discussed on facebook:

 

So they don´t allow Magnolia wood and products out of the country?

 

[Ian]

that he had had to pay a £20 handling charge to the PO

 

Hi Roy

That's about right. 20% Vat, plus admin fee = £20. Anything over £18 will be charged at 20% unless it's over 100 years old, and then it's 5%

I'm sure they just want the money, and are not interested in what it is, and it will be released when the charge is payed.

very annoying though.

I just heard on the news that HMRC are getting a ticking off for bad service from the government.

Regards

[Alex A]

I have an item coming in to the UK this week, praying it goes smoothly. Sometimes i think you just need a bit of luck with the old customs folk, depends who deals with it and what kind of mood there in

 

Alex.

[Kai-Gunto]

We have same issues in Denmark.

The danish customs cant see the difference on a s**t and a meatball.

 

But I always win :lol:

[Adrian]

I'm not sure that I understand this correctly, is it that in the UK you get the package at home with the papers from the customs and if you have proof that they are wrong you need to pay what they asked for and then try to recover some of the money?

 

That sounds horrible.

[pcfarrar]

I'm not sure that I understand this correctly, is it that in the UK you get the package at home with the papers from the customs and if you have proof that they are wrong you need to pay what they asked for and then try to recover some of the money?

 

Yes it takes about 6 months to get your money back too.

[Brian]

I think it is the same as here. They get the parcel, they assess it any way they like. Then when you collect the parcel, you either pay what they are asking for, and try and claim it back later (also about 6 months here) or you dispute it, and they send your parcel back to customs, and you wait some undetermined time and maybe don't even get it back....so in most cases you just pay what they like and go home with your parcel.

 

Brian

[kusunokimasahige]

Imagine the hassle if they would actually have found those crates containing Spitfires in Birma...

 

 

But you are right, European post is getting ridiculous. Because of the "crisis" they now have put import duties on even more things.

 

KM

[Adrian]

I think it is the same as here. They get the parcel, they assess it any way they like. Then when you collect the parcel, you either pay what they are asking for, and try and claim it back later (also about 6 months here) or you dispute it, and they send your parcel back to customs, and you wait some undetermined time and maybe don't even get it back....so in most cases you just pay what they like and go home with your parcel.

 

Brian

 

 

Jeez, this sucks beyond imagination.

 

Where I live, all the mail for individuals (not companies) that may be subject to custom taxes and/or VAT comes to a special post office that has a small customs office. There the package is opened IN FRONT OF YOU, the papers are checked by the officer and he tells you what you have to pay. If there is an error you can present the payment proof and so on.

 

Having the package opened without your presence seems wrong.

[Lindus]

It is actually possible to make both arrows and speers out of wood.

 

/Martin

 

 

Wish you had not pointed that out!!Now our governments will organise an invasion of Japanese Forests to eliminate those "Weapons of minimal destruction" TREE'S.......SAS attacking chop stick factories and Mr Blair embarking on a well paid lecture tour of the US on the dangers of terror groups importing Honoki for dubious purpose.

All your fault Martin

Roy