bloody customs charges!!

[Guest]

ive finally received an order from hobby link in japan, but then i got stung an additional £20 for customs and post office handling charges!

The total value of the order was for about £60 inc international shipping (which has taken a month)...Ive never been charged for purchases from Japan before..what a rip off.

Anyway, now ive finally got the parts i begin the arduous task of hand building a 1/12th motorcycle chain amongst other dubious pleasures!

[Guest]

Eventually, they get you... just a matter of when..

[AlanG]

If you order from overseas then you know the risks if you don't declare it to customs. Take the hit and move on lol

[Guest]

One thing is for certain if you do not have taxes the community will not exist. Greece is a good example.

Also for every thing that gets in free of Customs VAT etc it is detrimental to those who produce within the UK. Or taxes will rise.

Laurie

[Ian M]

We could really use a "can of Worms" icon.

You pays you money you takes your chance.

In Denmark they calculate the duties on the price INCLUDING post!!!!

I buy vary rarely from out side the EU. and have been nabbed two out of three times. One of which was a purchase from flea bay UK. Bugger sent them from China, even though he was "in the UK".

Yes I did report it.

Ian M

[John]

I get it all the time, £13 custom fee's and the rest VAT, I've just paid £120 to get some stuff through customs, up to a certain value they won't charge but once you reach that they take the p1$$

[stona]

I've had similar experiences with stuff from Japan. I'll grit my teeth and pay the customs duty but the "handling" charge really ticks me off.

Steve

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

My VAT free 2 pence worth,,,,,

Most stuff I order from USA I try to keep to near £20 max, I'm talking T-shirts hats etc That way I never seem to pay any import tax.

Am I wrong in thinking taxes were originally introduce to fund the Crusades, if so I want a refund we havent had any Crusades for a number of years !!!

Finally for 4 years I was on the wrong tax code with 2 different employers, the tax office came back to me this year and demanded it all back within a year ! My pay packet is meager now till April next year !

Adrian

[Guest]

Methinks they'll claim the Libyan Op was a crusade.....

[Guest]

My VAT free 2 pence worth,,,,,Am I wrong in thinking taxes were originally introduce to fund the Crusades, if so I want a refund we havent had any Crusades for a number of years !!!

Adrian

I would imagine that tax started in small communities. Probably in goods/barter rather than money & probably to support the local top man or church etc.

Crusades are still with us as each Political Party goes on one or more every time an election appears & then they disappear after the result.

Taxes are necessary no sane person would dispute that. The problem occurs with who pays the tax what amount & who gets the proceeds & how much.

Laurie

[Guest]

If i remember my history ............

Income tax was started in the 17th century by that "Pitt the younger" bloke, this was so we could afford the weapons and stuff needed for the Napoleonic war.

There was a "land tax" started around the same time which was to be the main earner for the government if memory serves.

Up till then the church had the monopoly on issuing certain taxes and procuring interest rates on loans etc.

[BarryW]

CDW, not the 17th Century, the 18th century.

It was in the budget of 1798 where Pitt introduced income tax coming into force in 1799. The Napoleonic Wars started after the French Revolution in the mid-1790's and ended at the battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Sorry to be pedantic!

Actually I could be even more pedantic. The Napoleonic War is stated as starting in 1803, before that they were the French Revolutionary Wars. There is some disagreement over the actual date at which the revolutionary wars gave way to the Napoleonic wars.

[Guest]

Yeah you're right Barry, was going to put the 1700's as i couldn't remember the actual date ... but obviously put century instead like a plonka, should have checked first eh?

no problems in being pedantic if you're correcting an error mate ... i dont mind at all.

[Guest]

This is what I love about this forum, a moan about customs charges, turns into an interesting history lesson!!!!:goodpost:

Cheers, Andrew

[Guest]

I love pedants always gives me an excuse.

Matter of interest on tax affairs.

I went to school in Kingston upon Thames. Also my interest & later career was in architecture. I found it fascinating that so many of the period houses in Kingston, belonging I imagine to wealthy traders, had some of their windows blocked up. The window had been removed but it still resembled a window with cill but recessed where the window had been removed stood the brick.

I found later that a window tax had been introduced through out Britain. Tax was levied on the number of windows. And so Owners of some properties had those windows beyond the untaxed limit windows blocked to avoid payment of the tax. If you look around your district with houses in the approx 1700 to 1800 you are bound still to see the results of this tax. Then abandoned in favour of income tax. The window tax was introduced due to the populations dislike of personal income tax. This window tax brought about a lovely saying.

"Daylight Robbery".

Laurie