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"FEE TO PAY"
Posted: Nov 26th 2002, 6:12 am
by Debs
Hiya,
I just woke to find a card from Royal Mail telling me that they're holding a parcel for me but I have to pay £12.15 to get it.
Has anyone (not living in the US) ordered from Amazon and had to pay a fee? If this is MSCL from Amazon then fine, I guess I will pay. But what should I do if the parcel has been sent by AU? I cancelled with AU and never received a tracking number but I've got a feeling it's from them.
Help please!
Re: "FEE TO PAY"
Posted: Nov 26th 2002, 6:26 am
by mephisto
Debs wrote:I just woke to find a card from Royal Mail telling me that they're holding a parcel for me but I have to pay £12.15 to get it.
Has anyone (not living in the US) ordered from Amazon and had to pay a fee? If this is MSCL from Amazon then fine, I guess I will pay. But what should I do if the parcel has been sent by AU? I cancelled with AU and never received a tracking number but I've got a feeling it's from them.
this is the customs fee you have to pay if you import any goods - how high customs is depends on the value of the parcel
it most certainly comes from Amazon since AU uses UPS, not normal Mail
Posted: Nov 26th 2002, 6:49 am
by starbug
I got the same card yesterday. I went to the post office and paid, then they handed over my parcel. It's a customs charge from Amazon (although I suppose it could be AU because I'm sure customs charges don't suddenly not apply if you use UPS).
If you're not sure, ask to check the parcel for what it is before you pay. You will easily be able to tell if it's from Amazon; their logo is all over the outside of the box.

Posted: Nov 26th 2002, 6:53 am
by Debs
Brilliant. Thanks for your replies mephisto and Starbug. Obviously I'll pay if the parcel is Amazon. I'm just so surprised because it wasn't dispatched until the 19th. But woo-hoo! Who cares? I'm booking the TV tonight.
Posted: Nov 26th 2002, 7:02 am
by canavan23
I got mine from Amazon on Saturday, with the same customs charge.
I also recieved a set today from deepdiscountdvd, with no customs charge.
I think the whole import charge thing is pretty random.
Still waiting to see about the AU set. Got a tracking number, even though I cancelled 6 weeks ago!
Sent more mail to ross telling him not to send them, got the usual response (or lack of)
Never mind, as said above, if it was from AU it would be delivered by UPS, not by the post office.
Good Luck!
Posted: Nov 26th 2002, 7:36 am
by Baby_G
I ordered from Amazon and had it delivered to my work, the post office guy came in and asked for the £12.15. I was expecting it as I've had it before when I've ordered something from Amazon in the US, although not always, so I to think it is random.
Posted: Nov 26th 2002, 7:41 am
by Concettina
Some US & Canadian companies ship via EU countries (to the UK) - if that's the case that's why you won't be paying customs. I'm pretty sure I read on one of the DVD forums that Deep Discount have been shipping via France lately? You NEVER get hit by customs if you order from DVDBoxOffice.com (Canadian) as an example, no matter how big the order.
But yes, even at that, customs are pretty random as you said.
Concetta
Posted: Nov 26th 2002, 7:44 am
by higgy
canavan23 wrote:I got mine from Amazon on Saturday, with the same customs charge.
I also recieved a set today from deepdiscountdvd, with no customs charge.
I think the whole import charge thing is pretty random.
I've been reading lately that the Amazon logo is like a magnet to UK customs & excise. Really wish I'd switched my order to DDD, now, but my Amazon.ca order was shipped yesterday. Fingers crossed that they'll be too busy to notice everything with Christmas approaching.

Signature on Petition Online
Posted: Nov 27th 2002, 9:01 pm
by Debs
Just for the record, I wasn't "whining" about paying the £12.15 customs charge. As the note did not tell me which company my package was from, I was merely checking here for some advice if it had been sent by AU. It wasn't thank God, and I've now endulged in 4 episodes of crystal clear viewing courtesy of sharethelove@Amazon.
Peace and chocolate x
Posted: Nov 29th 2002, 10:34 am
by Paint it black
Anyone in the UK who bought through DeepDiscountDvD and had to pay custom charges? Read earlier that someone said that I might get lucky, that DDvD ship via france or something therefore avoiding the charges. Guess only time will tell but it would be nice to have a heads, so that I can give my parents advanced warning, and so that i can start saving now.
Posted: Dec 1st 2002, 2:00 pm
by KrokRos
I ordered from AU and I have recieved a bill for $51 for shipping etc!! Give me a break!!
Posted: Dec 1st 2002, 2:39 pm
by higgy
My amazon.ca MSCL order turned up yesterday and the customs gestapo had completely missed it!

Posted: Dec 1st 2002, 6:41 pm
by giuditta
what??!! I ordered from AU and had to pay a whopping £28!!!!
Posted: Dec 2nd 2002, 7:40 am
by higgy
giuditta wrote:what??!! I ordered from AU and had to pay a whopping £28!!!!
Because they used UPS. You don't have a chance with UPS, everything's registered automatically *and* they tack on their own damn fee.
With regular mail, however, stuff can sneak through... not that I wish to deprive our good government of it's much needed taxes or anything...

Posted: Dec 9th 2002, 3:31 pm
by Foggy

Yep, got a note saying my DVD's are waiting to be delivered to my door, but I have to pay £29.99 for the privilege, shittttttttttttte. So all you guys in the UK like me, be prepared with the cheque book for the delivery man. S'pose we could write/email au, (excuse my choise of words) but that would be like pissing in the wind. Whoops no, thats wrong, at least when you piss in the wind, you get something back, which is more than you get from au.