UK DVDs arrived and I was charged shipping???

[Naomi]

I pre ordered by DVDs because I did not want to pay shipping. And warning going to rant mode here but I am a struggling uni student and cannot afford to be jerked around like this. I have been scrimping and saving all year just to make ends meet and afford the DVDs. And I know some people have had a really bad time with AU but to be honest I didn't even realise there was a problem until recently. I got the occasional e-mail from someone called Jason telling me the DVDs were due on a certain date and they never arrived. I am (or rather was) the type to shrug off such things so I just figured the DVDs were running late and didn't get too stressed. But now I am seriously f***ing annoyed!
My mum calls me about half an hour ago screaming and yelling that she got charged over £28 shipping. That might not sound much but 30 odd quid is like $50 I think. If you think I can afford that you are having a laugh! My mum has insisted I write her a check to cover the cost and now I feel so unbelivably shitty I cannot stop crying. I am already overdrawn and in so much debt this was the last thing I needed. I need my money back really soon as I won't be able to even afford very good xmas presents otherwise. I wasn't supposed to be charged shipping right?
I cannot even watch my DVDs as I am at uni and won't be getting home to Oxfordshire for about 3 weeks. I was so thrilled at getting the DVDs so I could drool over Jorden all over again and watch my favourite character Rickie and now I am just having the worst day I wish I'd never ordered the f***ing things in the first place. Maybe I come across as whining and overdramatic but I only just found this site and seriously need to vent. I am annoyed because I didn't even want the free luchbox that presumedly was included. I just wanted the DVDs and the bonus disk. I can't see I will get any use out of the luchbox and it probably added like £10 to shipping costs from what it sounds like.
AU can't do this right? They said they wouldn't charge shipping can they really get away with this? Can someone please advise me on the fastest way I can get my money back. Thanks.

[andrewgd]

Unfortunately, you've just been introduced to the AnotherUniverse.com method.

The sad thing is, you didn't even get the lunchbox and bonus dvd. Those are supposedly shipping later. Which probably means more shipping charges.

As for getting your money back, there's not much to do. You could call your bank and tell them that they did not ship the entire order, and see if you can contest the charge. Also file reports with any consumer agency you can find. Probably the best thing is to also file a report with the http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp Even though you're not in the US, it will make sure that authorities go after AnotherUniverse for lying to its customers and stealing money.

I hope things turn out alright for you.

[Naomi]

I am no way paying seperate shipping costs for the "free" lunch box which I didn't particularly want in the first place. But I do want to see the bonus DVD as I'm hoping it will have commentries and documentries with all the cast interviewd. What can is say I'm an optimist. Will I seriously have to pay seperately for that. Well f*** AU they can keep their bonus DVD as I cannot even afford to have it shipped to me if I get charged the extortinate money I have already paid.
I seriously thought shipping would be free as I cannot afford this and I feel like AU have just ruined by christmas with all this extra money I have been charged without warning. s**t I've started crying all over again this has been the most horendous day. I am already working my arse off to get through uni as my parents cannot afford to fund me. This was the last thing I needed.
Thanks for your help anyway.

Unfortunately, you've just been introduced to the AnotherUniverse.com method.

The sad thing is, you didn't even get the lunchbox and bonus dvd. Those are supposedly shipping later. Which probably means more shipping charges.

As for getting your money back, there's not much to do. You could call your bank and tell them that they did not ship the entire order, and see if you can contest the charge. Also file reports with any consumer agency you can find. Probably the best thing is to also file a report with the http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp Even though you're not in the US, it will make sure that authorities go after AnotherUniverse for lying to its customers and stealing money.

I hope things turn out alright for you.

[Jim]

My mum calls me about half an hour ago screaming and yelling that she got charged over £28 shipping. That might not sound much but 30 odd quid is like $50.

Technically speaking, the money your mother had to pay was for duty and taxes, not shipping. Pretty much everyone outside the US who received a set from AU had to make a similar payment, although the exact amount varies from country to country.

Jim

[Naomi]

Did the company warn international customers of the charges? Did it offer to hold back the DVDs if requested and wait until the full order was available. They didn't do that with me and I didn't even realise it would cost me more as they kept talking about free international shipping making it sound like they had such a great deal. I wish I ordered from amazon.com now. Is there any way AU can be held responsible for withholding the information about the costs? I simply cannot afford to pay for my bonus disk now and it has really upset me that I will never recive it. I would so have waited if given the choice. Can AU be held liable for that?

My mum calls me about half an hour ago screaming and yelling that she got charged over £28 shipping. That might not sound much but 30 odd quid is like $50.

Technically speaking, the money your mother had to pay was for duty and taxes, not shipping. Pretty much everyone outside the US who received a set from AU had to make a similar payment, although the exact amount varies from country to country.

Jim

[hurtstolookatyou]

well, i don't know how often you order goods from other countries, but it is common practice for a "home" country to charge tax and customs charges on an import from a "foreign" fountry.

you're legally obliged to pay the tax, i don't know about the obligation of AU to tell you that though...

but even if you'd bought the set from amazon.com, you would have had to pay the same charge, if the customs officials caught it- sometimes they miss shipments.

[Jim]

A lot of mail-order merchants include a disclaimer somewhere to the effect that international customers will be responsible for all applicable duties and taxes once the package arrives at its destination.

I don't recall seeing anything like that from AU, but I doubt there's much you can do about it.

Whether or not we'll have to pay a similar amount for the bonus items (if and/or when we finally see them) remains to be seen. I guess it'll depend on how they fill out the customs declaration.

Jim

[Tracy]

But isn't it more because they sent it by UPS? Didn't someone say that if they had sent it with the US Postal Service, the charges would have been a lot less and/or there would be no charges? I know that when people have sent stuff to me in London, they always send it USPS, because via UPS it's hella more expensive and USPS usually gets here pretty quickly. But those are gifts, not merchandise, so it never cost me anything. But couldn't AU have called the merchandise "samples" instead of "merchandise" and it would have been less, or something? I just feel like there must have been some way of shipping it (legally) where we wouldn't have to pay so much. Can someone who knows a lot about international shipping options and costs clear this up?

[Naomi]

I am just annoyed that AU did not have the common courtesy of informing international customers that it may be advisable to wait for your order and have it arrive in full. I haven't ordered from abroad before because like I said i don't have the money. The so-called life DVDs were supposed to be a one-off special treat as I havent seen the episodes for years now. I carefully worked out my budget and how much they were going to cost and now I am just really upset that I was not informed of these charges. Especially as I just signed the petition and someone on there mentioned they ordered from amazon.com and were charged £12 something. So I paid well over double for the shipping costs as well as more for the DVDs.

[wend74]

oh dear this is the joy of AU i'm afraid naomi
i know you are feeling shitty so i think we should all send you a great big hug stop crying and just dream of your xmas hols watching beautiful jordan
i haven't even got mine yet so i'm just twiddling my thumbs!
out of interest did you get a shipping number etc?
as mine isn't working grrr just tells me they have my billing info
these dvds better be worth all this grief seriously!
well i hope you can cheer up missus
just think of rickie in the girls bathroom and Angela with her crimson glow and jordan doing all that great leaning!
Wend in london dvdless

[so-called customer]

I can't say whether the charges are JUST due to shipping UPS (who are notorious for gouging on brokerage, COD and handling fees) or if it is just taxes. However, had you preordered from Amazon, aside from paying a lot less for the discs (half), the taxes (if any) would be less since the shipment value is smaller.

Another Universe shipped UPS to cover their asses with delivery confirmation, and like everything else with this company, the customer gets screwed.

[Tracy]

I, too, wish I was told about the additional charges. I live in New York, so I should not have to deal with international payments. But because of the delay in shipping to this fall, I changed my shipping address to London, where I am currently studying for the semester (only for another 3 weeks though). I figured it just meant $15-$20 in shipping. I had no idea I would need to pay $40 in customs. Had I known it would be this big of a mess, not to mention that my DVDs would get to London like a week before I go back to New York, I would not have changed my shipping address. And now I'll probably have to pay shitloads of extra money (in addition to the $100 which is more than other online retailers, in addition to another $100 from an overcharge...), all because AU shipped the sets 5 months late. I wonder if there's a way I can get them to reimburse me for any international charges? I do have emails from them saying the DVDs would arrive in June...

[Naomi]

Thank you. I'm feeling a bit better now. I am determined that I won't let AU ruin this for me as I have been looking forward to these DVDs for so long. And I realise some people have had a far worse time with AU with all these double charges. I am only just catching up on what has been happening now as I read through the messages. I can't believe the company is even still in business! The check of them having a new offer out for more DVDs.
I was going to ask if anyone knew of an e-mail address for AU so I could find out what the other orders might cost. I really can't afford to pay more for the bonus DVD but I am so desperate for it as I haven't seen some of the actors like Rickie in any other shows. I want it so bad I am almost thinking it would be worth getting into more debt to receive it. If I could just get an estimate of the cost. But it sounds like it would be a waste of time expecting AU to even reply.
I am feeling better though seriously. I have taken a few deep breaths and gone to my happy place and Jordon is there and Rickie and Rayanne are my best friends and Rickie is giving me a hug and Rayanne is telling me to chill the f*** out lol.

oh dear this is the joy of AU i'm afraid naomi
i know you are feeling shitty so i think we should all send you a great big hug stop crying and just dream of your xmas hols watching beautiful jordan
i haven't even got mine yet so i'm just twiddling my thumbs!
out of interest did you get a shipping number etc?
as mine isn't working grrr just tells me they have my billing info
these dvds better be worth all this grief seriously!
well i hope you can cheer up missus
just think of rickie in the girls bathroom and Angela with her crimson glow and jordan doing all that great leaning!
Wend in london dvdless

[Jim]

As MartinPierre mentioned in another thread, AU sent the international orders UPS expedited. This means that we didn't have to pay the brokerage fees that I was expecting when I heard that they were using UPS. I had to pay $23.68 Cdn to get my discs from UPS, and all of that was tax that goes to the Canadian government. I didn't have to pay anything extra to UPS.

Having said that - lots of parcels seem to slip through the post office in Canada (and other countries too, apparently) without being charged duty or taxes. So if AU had mailed the discs, some of us may have saved some money. And of course, the amount of duty and tax is based on the value of the package, so the fact that AU sold the discs for more than anyone else means that we had to pay more than if we'd ordered elsewhere.

Jim

[Naomi]

What is UPS. Why would AU ship by UPS to cover themselves? Sorry if I am coming across as naive but I have't a clue what's going on. I never expected these sorts of charges with more to come if I want to see the rest of the package that I ordered.

I can't say whether the charges are JUST due to shipping UPS (who are notorious for gouging on brokerage, COD and handling fees) or if it is just taxes. However, had you preordered from Amazon, aside from paying a lot less for the discs (half), the taxes (if any) would be less since the shipment value is smaller.

Another Universe shipped UPS to cover their asses with delivery confirmation, and like everything else with this company, the customer gets screwed.