UPS processing charge

Swampy

So I was waiting on a iphone cover and a screen protector to arrive in from USA. It was shipped through UPS. I paid $19.99 for shipping. $78 or so in total. I missed the 1st delivery attempt and a note was left in to arrange 2nd delivery and they would be looking for payment of €32.89.

Now thats another 50% on top of my invoice total. Now a quick calculation of Duty and VATTwas only €15. So I rang UPS, the breakdown is as follows:

VAT €14.17
Duty €1.50
Other Charges €14.00

Total charges 29.67 + VAT 3.22 = €32.89

These "other charges" according to UPS are a VAT processing fee. Having paid $19.99 for the shipping I would expect that to be included.

This Sir's is a stinking Rip Off.


Edit: The processing charge was never mentioned on the stores website (iskin) from whom I bought my order. I demanded that they refund me the processing fee or I would not accept delivery and would look for a refund. The made "an exception" for me and are refunding me it.

wmpdd3

As far as I know there is no way of avoiding this, you cant pay the customs before they see the item, you cant pay them directly. It's a pain.

wmpdd3

As far as I know there is no way of avoiding this, you cant pay the customs before they see the item, you cant pay them directly. It's a pain.

the groutch

Amazon.com let you prepay an estimate of the vat/duty.

And I think the real rip-off is €60 for the cover and screen protector

whiterebel

Swampy wrote: »

So I was waiting on a iphone cover and a screen protector to arrive in from USA. It was shipped through UPS. I paid $19.99 for shipping. $78 or so in total. I missed the 1st delivery attempt and a note was left in to arrange 2nd delivery and they would be looking for payment of €32.89.

Now thats another 50% on top of my invoice total. Now a quick calculation of Duty and VATTwas only €15. So I rang UPS, the breakdown is as follows:

VAT €14.17
Duty €1.50
Other Charges €14.00

Total charges 29.67 + VAT 3.22 = €32.89

These "other charges" according to UPS are a VAT processing fee. Having paid $19.99 for the shipping I would expect that to be included.

This Sir's is a stinking Rip Off.


Edit: The processing charge was never mentioned on the stores website (iskin) from whom I bought my order. I demanded that they refund me the processing fee or I would not accept delivery and would look for a refund. The made "an exception" for me and are refunding me it.

Do you think they are going to employ someone and buy expensive software to clear customs for you for free? Plus they pay out the VAT and duty up front first. You expect a lot for $19.99..........

Swampy

whiterebel wrote: »

Do you think they are going to employ someone and buy expensive software to clear customs for you for free? Plus they pay out the VAT and duty up front first. You expect a lot for $19.99..........

I expect a massive company like UPS to have that software already. They are an worldwide shipper. This is day to day work for them. Processing the customs is part of what they do. Any processing charges they have should be included in the price of the service. This is a hidden cost that people do not know about until they knock on your door.

Swampy

the groutch wrote: »

Amazon.com let you prepay an estimate of the vat/duty.

And I think the real rip-off is €60 for the cover and screen protector

In retrospect yes, especially considering it came with 2 free screen protectors that I did not know about.

http://www.iskin.com/store/i2shop_enigma.tpl

whiterebel

Swampy wrote: »

I expect a massive company like UPS to have that software already. They are an worldwide shipper. This is day to day work for them. Processing the customs is part of what they do. Any processing charges they have should be included in the price of the service. This is a hidden cost that people do not know about until they knock on your door.

Did you tell them the goods would be liable to VAT and Duty? No freight companies or couriers can quote you VAT or duty in advance as they won't know the tariffs or values. I doubt you're buying them the necessary software for $19.99, so everyone pays for it.....same with DHL, FedEx, TNT and all the others.

Swampy

whiterebel wrote: »

Did you tell them the goods would be liable to VAT and Duty? No freight companies or couriers can quote you VAT or duty in advance as they won't know the tariffs or values. I doubt you're buying them the necessary software for $19.99, so everyone pays for it.....same with DHL, FedEx, TNT and all the others.

You obviously work for one of the above companies.
It's obvious that goods shipped to another country over a certain value are subject to duties and taxes. Plenty of American companies, some of which I have bought from include taxes and duties when calculating the end price. None of these companies included a processing charge.

Swampy

Another point, how much do you think localized processing software would cost? Lets guess ups easily bring in 100,000 parcels that are subject to duty yearly. If its a flat rate of €14 a parcel that's €1.4million a year conservatively. If there own in house developers can't integrate a API for a very small fraction if that then they shouldn't be in the business they are in.

whiterebel

Swampy wrote: »

Another point, how much do you think localized processing software would cost? Lets guess ups easily bring in 100,000 parcels that are subject to duty yearly. If its a flat rate of €14 a parcel that's €1.4million a year conservatively. If there own in house developers can't integrate a API for a very small fraction if that then they shouldn't be in the business they are in.

I worked in the business for years, but not with UPS. Only one company did clearance software for Ireland for years, and it cost thousands years ago. You also need staff to be able to do an entry, check the correct tariffs, duty rates, send the info down the line to get it cleared. Again, they will have no idea of the value of parcels until they are given paperwork with the shipment. The won't know if it's valued at $1 or $1million, so how can they give a price including VAT and duty? An exporter such as Amazon knows the value in advance, and can calculate the costs before it ships. They ship if Free Delivered Cleared, so they take the clearance cost. This is how they can tell you in advance what a Kindle will cost.

5500

Why were you charged duty on something costing circa 61 euro when duty isn't normally charged unless something is over 150?

As for the processing fee, all the courier company's do it, even an post who appear to be the cheapest at a flat rate of €6, dhl recently charged me €20 processing fee and FedEx €15.

whiterebel

5500 wrote: »

Why were you charged duty on something costing circa 61 euro when duty isn't normally charged unless something is over 150?

As for the processing fee, all the courier company's do it, even an post who appear to be the cheapest at a flat rate of €6, dhl recently charged me €20 processing fee and FedEx €15.[/QUOTE

Isn't the dutiable amount €22 or €27?

5500

Ive never paid customs duty on anything under €150 before

If your online purchase costs more than €22 you will have to pay VAT. If your online purchase costs more than €150 you will have to pay VAT and Customs Duty. This will be collected by the company that delivers your parcel. The company usually have an administration charge. Methods of delivery and collection differ from company to company, so you should contact them directly for more information.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money_and_tax/tax/duties_and_vat/value_added_tax.html

ejmaztec

Duty isn't payable on all non-EU imports.

If you need to know whether duty is payable on an item, and what the rate is if it is, an email can be sent to tarclass@revenue.ie.