Forum Topic

Why Pay Postage When royal Mail Charge you again

For a couple years now 2 friends of mine in the USA, have gotten me Signed Photos and sent them to me but several months ago i had to pay a fee of nearly £15 to get my Package and today ive had a card for another package saying i have to pay just over £22 to get my Package.The charges are Custom handling Charges. I don't understand this because you go to your Post Office, you weigh you package and pay the costs and that should be it. If there is a Custom charge why don't they tell you this before you send your Item.Its disgusting and just Royal Mail trying to get more money out off us in my Views. The Custom Charges cost more than the Package to send.

Simon Anderson ● 4494d3 Comments

I am being charged £14.99 custom charge and the other £8 is to Royal Mail because they paid the £14.99 Custom charge so the £8 is their Handling charge. Surely even if you purchase goods, the seller charges you the Postage required you shouldn't have to pay more? Its like i am paying 2 people here Customs and the Postal Service to get a Package. If there is a custom charge of £14.99 then why not add that to the Postage before the package gets sent out. For example you go P.O they weigh package it comes to say £5 to post it to the USA then add the £15 Custom charge so you get told its £20 to send then you at least get the chance to not go ahead with the transaction first. To some people £23 is nearly half of their weekly Benefits it is outrageous as i am not making money from my Package.

Simon Anderson ● 4494d

I think the issue here Simon isn't anything to do with Royal Mail, but solely a HMRC issue.

Adam Beamish ● 4494d

was the package declared a gift?? Found this info2.4 GiftsGoods sent as a gift that are over £40* in value are liable to import VAT Customs duty also becomes payable if the value of the goods is over £135 but is waived if the amount of duty calculated is less than £9.*Please note this limit will reduce to £36 with effect from 1 January 2013.To qualify as a gift:■the customs declaration must be completed correctly■the gift must be sent from a private person outside the EU to a private person(s) in this country■there is no commercial or trade element and the gift has not been paid for either directly or indirectly by anyone in the UK■the gift is of an occasional nature only, for example, for a birthday or anniversaryNote: if you purchase something from outside the EU to give as a gift to a relative or friend, whether or not addressed to that person, it is treated as a ‘commercial consignment’ for which the import VAT relief threshold in paragraph 2.3 applies.

Sarah Thomas ● 4494d