Parcelforce = Robbing B*****ds

[craigosh]

Just got a customs charge card from Parcelforce for something i ordered from Champ in Japan and they want £19 for £28 worth of goods...

There is about £5 Vat to pay but then they want £13.50 for a handling charge, which they are claiming is a Customs charge!!! not theirs

I phoned them and HMRC ages ago to find out likely charges and HMRC said i would only have to pay VAT, and parcelforce said their handling would be between £8-11.50. So where the hell has £13.50 come from!!

When i phoned to question it the woman started to shout at me like i'd smacked her round the head of something, which i would love to do right now, so i put the phone down.

Paid it cause i want the goods, but has anyone else had this kind of charge for something about the size of an A4 envelope and weighing less than 1kg!!!!


Furious

[jim76]

oh dear. would have been cheaper to get it in the UK no doubt.

[Lee]

Parcelfarce are ace aren`t they, i think they are the best company at getting stuff 90% of the way to your door

I hate them with a passion.

[craigosh]

Not wrong Jim, and i would of had if i could of got the bits here. All for helping the UK shops.

Thing that gets me as well is that i got a parcel through the other week which was worth more and they didn't stop it...

Its daylight robbery. But i'm not sure whats annoying me more now, the charge or the bint that started shouting at me!!! If their offices were local i'd be straight down their to shout back!!

[DCM]

I can't remember how they work it out, you pay PF a handling fee, as they pay HMRC the customs charge, which they then bill you for.

HMRC will assess the value of the item, and then if it isn't a gift, you will pay import duty on the value of the item PLUS the shipping cost, you will then pay VAT on the value of the item, plus shipping cost, plus import duty. Nice and simple aye..... if it is a gift, you pay a lower import duty and they don't take the value of the shipping into account either.

I have had the same issue with RC Champ, so I no longer use them. There are two other good Asian sellers who got very good EMS rates, and on EMS you rarely get billed.

[bigred5765]

they always do that if its had vat or customs charges put on, same charge if you had bought 300-400 quids worth though

[craigosh]

Cheers guys.

HMRC said that i should only pay the VAT, no customs charges.. Though i may have that confused with no Excise duty...

I guess whoever at Champ sent it didnt mark as a gift which is why it got collared.

Wont be ordering anything for a while from Jap but i'll be wary next time I do.

[jimmy]

Parcel farce are total crap and indeed incompetent theiving liars. I've had things 'attempted delivery' before - where they only ever brought the card, no actual parcel. I've also had customs charges that they couldn't add up!!! - the customs charge + their handling charge were clearly written on the box, but the 'total' was something else completely different.
It's great that they no longer deliver items with a charge and you have to either pay the charge over the phone or appear in person at their collection counter.