Delivery from USA to UK - Import duty and Brokerage Surcharges.

[Guest]

I just ordered some ironmongery from the USA as I couldn't find a UK supplier for the types of cabinet handles I was after.

The actual price of the items was actually approx £2 more than buying from the UK including a crazy shipping charge of $45 dollars (more than the cost of the items), the handles were solid cast brast with a nickel plated finish, similar ones in the uk were just cheap press steel ones... (Insert suitable comment about RIP-OFF Britain here)

Anyhow the point of my rant is - when the items were delivered I had to pay VAT, which was expected but I was also charged a Brokerage Surcharge of £11. What exactly is this? Because I bought 24 small doorhandles there's an extra tax of 50p on each handle? Is this like a doortax charge? Will I be charged eachtime I open and close the draw or something?

[wonwinglo]

Alan,it sounds like a customs charge,recently I ordered some software from the U.S.A which came via Fedex,they billed me an amount which they said was the customs they had paid on my behalf,it seems normal practise,the only thing is they also charged me another £14 which was put down as 'Admin' made for expensive way to get the software,buyers beware,it happens all the time.

If they were delivered by Fedex or similar then it sounds as if your purchase could have been the same ?

I just ordered some ironmongery from the USA as I couldn't find a UK supplier for the types of cabinet handles I was after.The actual price of the items was actually approx £2 more than buying from the UK including a crazy shipping charge of $45 dollars (more than the cost of the items), the handles were solid cast brast with a nickel plated finish, similar ones in the uk were just cheap press steel ones... (Insert suitable comment about RIP-OFF Britain here)

Anyhow the point of my rant is - when the items were delivered I had to pay VAT, which was expected but I was also charged a Brokerage Surcharge of £11. What exactly is this? Because I bought 24 small doorhandles there's an extra tax of 50p on each handle? Is this like a doortax charge? Will I be charged eachtime I open and close the draw or something?

[Guest]

The "brokerage charge" is the the delivery companys charge for paying the taxes on your behalf to allow the package to clear customs. It varies frot company to company.

[Guest]

It was nice of them to charge me an extra £11 quid ontop of the 9 quid vat though.

I think i'll ask the seller if they can just mark the item as a "gift" in future.

[Guest]

That is something else. I just bought some paints and a model from a company in the UK and it was pretty reasonable when it came to the shipping charges and all.

[wonwinglo]

Be aware that many of the big shippers use this system,they certainly pay the customs charge on your behalf,however also bill you for this money spinning brockerage charge which you were not aware of.

I got caught out the same way,unaware that in my own case Fedex were doing the delivery,whilst a first rate fast service you pay highly in the end,sometimes making the purchase not viable,be careful !

Many companies refuse to mark items as 'gifts' so check first if you do not want any nasty surprises.

[Guest]

Last year I had occasion to buy some replacement parts for a sub from the USA. These arrived quickly and with no customs charges despite being described correctly on the padded envelope. They were admittedly not terribly expensive (under $30 from memory). I have considered buying other more expensive items but have been kind of put off the idea by the post/customs charges. Does anyone know if there is a specific item cost that triggers customs interest - or should all such imported items from the USA be subject to these charges. And if so - how does one work out what they are likely to be? Is it simply the standard British VAT rate or are there additional import duties? And is that additional 'brokersge charge' calculated as a % of the purchase price or is it a flat fee? Maybe there's a site somewhere that explains all this - haven't found it yet though.

Andrew

[Guest]

Hello all, my good lady is n Optometrist, Her work would normally provide all of the equipment required to do the job. On this occassion she wanted an unusual Volk lensfor checking the retina while the eye is dilated. The lens was comparably cheaper fron US or ex UK but not available in the Anodised colour she wanted. Import duty was £64 in addition to the VAT and import duty. This took a $200 product up to £350 after all of the charges. A really Mad way to keep Gordon Brown in a job..

cheers

Jim

[Guest]

It could be worse, it could be keeping Prescott in a job then you would get hacked off with it all!!!!

[Guest]

The Delivery companies are effectivly charging something similar to import duty when goods are sent to the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Even when the south of England and into Northern Ireland is further in distance. The bug,,, are happy to use our oil and gas though without paying the same surcharge.

[Guest]

hi all - get the supplier to mark the customs form as 'a gift' if they will - this normally avoids any clearance charges - dave

[Guest]

how can i avoid customs duty in ireland???

hi there

i need your help. at the moment iam solving my internship in ireland, dublin. now i saw an item on ebay, conacted the dealer from the usa and we agree that he is going to sell me the item without doing it on the ebay plattform.

but now i dont now how often the irish customs check the delivery boxes?? in germany they got very hard controlls. the item got total cost of 315 euro and normally i think i have to pay a lot of tax.

so my question to you are:::::

1)is the irish customs open every delivery box from the US.......do they hard controlls????

2) are there any suggestions how we (dealer and i) should prepare the delivery (worth of the item under 45.-euro(signed on delivery box), taking the private adress from the seller, making a bill in worth of 40 euros and put it in the box, deliver it as a gift)??????????????????????????

please guys and girls need your help---- it would be grateful of you (student-no money)

[Guest]

The customs charges kick in at anything over £18, then it is liable to the normal VAT charge.

You can't get around the brokerage fee by using snail mail either.

The PO will send you a postcard that tells you your item can be picked up at a sorting office in your area. They will charge you £8 for the postcard, on top of any duty payable. They will not deliver duty to be paid items any more, as they see they are putting the postmen at risk by having to carry cash around with them.

Sometimes, it just isn't worth the bother to buy from outside of this country any more.

I bought some items from Smallparts in the US, the items came to $45. By the time all the handling and other bits were added on, it came to well over $100, and that all came in a medium sized jiffy bag.

Things from other countries look cheap, but in the long run, most things end up costing a lot more than can be bought locally. As soon as the order hits the magic £18 marker, just forget it.

Bogs

[Guest]

The customs charges kick in at anything over £18, then it is liable to the normal VAT charge.You can't get around the brokerage fee by using snail mail either.

The PO will send you a postcard that tells you your item can be picked up at a sorting office in your area. They will charge you £8 for the postcard, on top of any duty payable. They will not deliver duty to be paid items any more, as they see they are putting the postmen at risk by having to carry cash around with them.

Sometimes, it just isn't worth the bother to buy from outside of this country any more.

I bought some items from Smallparts in the US, the items came to $45. By the time all the handling and other bits were added on, it came to well over $100, and that all came in a medium sized jiffy bag.

Things from other countries look cheap, but in the long run, most things end up costing a lot more than can be bought locally. As soon as the order hits the magic £18 marker, just forget it.

Bogs

do you think i should make the worth of the delivery about 20 euro on the envelope of the box. then they might not open it at all???

[Guest]

do you think i should make the worth of the delivery about 20 euro on the envelope of the box. then they might not open it at all???

or will they open it up just when they have suspicion on it?? because the seller told me that he can notice that kind of wotrh on the envelope!!!!