DHL Clearance Delay - requesting 'proof of purchase' for customs?

makeorbrake

Latest: I asked for an update - and was told that there was a customs backlog in SHN.


If they think I will drop this....."From my cold dead hands"!

Celeron Media

I'm in the same situation at the moment. They over charged me on VAT again and refuse to refund me.

makeorbrake

Celeron Media wrote: »

I'm in the same situation at the moment. They over charged me on VAT again and refuse to refund me.

DHL or customs?

At the moment - it's DHL that i'm dealing with - and they are using customs as an excuse ie. customs are busy, blah, blah, blah.


Call me a conspiracy theorist but I believe this is a revenue generator within dhl.

I reckon they are doing this wholesale. Any chance we can all get together on this? Are there other readers here on boards in the same boat (or have been in the recent past)?

makeorbrake

I mailed in the early hours of this morning - and again this afternoon. In response to the second mail, I got an 'out of office' response. Resent the same query to the main dhl imports address - copying the original contact - and no 'out of office' response.


Don't allow yourself to be fobbed off by this lot!

makeorbrake

They responded saying (again) that this is due to customs - and that it's not their fault!

The whole things a joke!

sandin

Why do so many people blame the frontline?

Do you blame the gardai for a burglary or a nurse because an opertaion went wrong.

DHL's job is to collect, process and deliver. If a false invoice has been issued with the goods and therefore evasion of taxes, customs have the absolute right to destroy the goods without giving you a chance to change things.

HOWEVER, customs do give you an opportunity to provide absolute PROOF of the amount paid and if it still does not add up properly they will put their own estimated value on the goods.

As a business importing from China, sometimes they are small single box loads, I specifically tell suppliers that only invoices with full value should be included.

As for customs delays - its currently about 5 days.

Fault for this - is the chinese suppliers or those under declaring.

makeorbrake

sandin wrote: »

Why do so many people blame the frontline?
Do you blame the gardai for a burglary or a nurse because an opertaion went wrong.

Taking your analogy to task, if the Gardai didn't investigate in the aftermath - then that's an issue.
Where is the CUSTOMER in all of this?

sandin wrote: »

DHL's job is to collect, process and deliver. If a false invoice has been issued with the goods and therefore evasion of taxes, customs have the absolute right to destroy the goods without giving you a chance to change things.

Then they should destroy them! That's nothing to do with me - I gave no such instruction - and if they destroyed the goods, I'd quite simply invoke a visa chargeback.

sandin wrote: »

HOWEVER, customs do give you an opportunity to provide absolute PROOF of the amount paid and if it still does not add up properly they will put their own estimated value on the goods.

This is the point. I provided proof. They tell me that the 'first' paypal receipt I provided them with was the one that was used to calculate the duty. However, I only provided them with one - and one only (as there can only be bloody one)!

sandin wrote: »

As for customs delays - its currently about 5 days.

Try over a bloody month! And don't tell me that I haven't got the fob off from DHL as part of this process.

sandin wrote: »

I specifically tell suppliers that only invoices with full value should be included.....Fault for this - is the chinese suppliers or those under declaring.

As stated previously - and inferred above - that's none of my doing and none of my concern!

The bigger question.....


WHERE is the customer in all of this?

makeorbrake

Still no response or movement on this.....

makeorbrake

I've now been notified that a cheque will be sent out with a refund of €19.55. Awaiting clarification on the amount to ensure that it's accurate.

I had to ask once more for details on their internal complaints process (as hadn't been provided following a previous request). Not sure whether this had any bearing on getting things moving - but just wanted to mention it for the benefit of anyone reading this - and finding themselves in the same position.



IF you do find yourself in this position, don't allow yourself to be sidetracked. Many would say the $ refund doesn't justify the time and effort invested. However, on principal - this sort of thing simply shouldn't be tolerated.

Myles6670

its bloody annoying,, asking for proof of payment after the package has traveled half way across the world.. iv sent them 3 e-mails of proof and am still waiting.. ridiculous........

Jarren

emails tend to get ignored,ring them.

Myles6670

iv called 3 times today and have been put on hold,, left messages, and then my credit went.. not much else i can do:(

makeorbrake

Myles6670 wrote: »

iv called 3 times today and have been put on hold,, left messages, and then my credit went.. not much else i can do:(

Don't waste both your time and money on phone calls.

Stick with email. If you take further action at a later stage, the proof of their wrong doing is there in black and white - beyond doubt (and passing the parcel, sidestepping, ignoring you is unethical behaviour). They will ignore mails. Then I believe they can implement settings so that email from you comes back with an automatic response saying they are out of the office for X number of days. You will be given another email address - and the same might happen.

What they are looking for - is for you to give up and in that way, the problem is solved to their satisfaction (not yours). Get a good record of inaction via the collection of emails. Then - after an appropriate time has elapsed, ask them what their internal complaints procedure is - and ask them to send this on to you. At that point they're likely to act.

You may have to spend an disproportionate amount of time on this - but out of principal, you should see it through.

jamescd

Ordered some clothes from America and my tracking said Customs Clearance Delay for a day or so. I paid VAT/Duty in advance already so don't know why it was held in customs in the first place.

antocann

jamescd wrote: »

Ordered some clothes from America and my tracking said Customs Clearance Delay for a day or so. I paid VAT/Duty in advance already so don't know why it was held in customs in the first place.

how did you pay it already ? it wont be calculated till you send them the required paperwork to prove what it cost , once received over here

jamescd

I ordered from Aeropostale. They give you the option during checkout to pay VAT/DUTY in advance. DHL always declare everything so I just pay in advance everytime I order to avoid any hassle.

funkhouser

sandin wrote: »

DHL's job is to collect, process and deliver. If a false invoice has been issued with the goods and therefore evasion of taxes, customs have the absolute right to destroy the goods without giving you a chance to change things.-

What rubbish. Somebody makes a mistake on an invoice and you think customs have the "right" to destroy valuable goods? Come off it.

DYLF

funkhouser wrote: »

What rubbish. Somebody makes a mistake on an invoice and you think customs have the "right" to destroy valuable goods? Come off it.

Customs do have the right to destroy goods if they are fakes. but if they have an issue with an invoice being incorrect they HAVE to request an amended one. and if one is not provided they have to hold it for a minimum of 30 days before they can return it to the sender. its rare they'd destroy something for the invoice being incorrect

seanin4711

item delivered to shannon from china today and get the text from DHL to send a proof of purchase.
Grand sent invoice within 30mins of receiving text and no acknowledgement.
Whats the story do they on purpose not reply day one or two in order to charge you more?
total ****e if that's the case.
I don't mind paying my duty but come on everything is express until it hits these shores!

from dhl's website
"Receiving a Shipment
Shipments sent from outside the EU may be liable for Customs Duty, Excise Duty and VAT, which DHL is obliged to collect on behalf of the Irish Revenue Commissioners.
Goods are liable to VAT at the same rate as applies to the sale within the State of similar goods - usually 21%. VAT is calculated on the total of :
Value of the goods for customs purposes,
Amount of any other duty or tax applicable,
Any transport, handling or insurance costs between the place of introduction into the EU and the final destination within the State.
Gifts from one private individual to another up to the value of €45 and commercial shipments up to €22 are usually exempt from VAT. Import Duty is generally applied when the value of the contents exceeds €150. In all cases if the shipment is a gift then the accompanying proforma invoice should clearly state 'Gift' along with the usual details.
For one-off shipments where the value of the goods is less than €250 and the Import Duty due is less than €10 then an exemption from VAT and Duty may also be granted to customers who are VAT registered.
Note that these exemptions do not apply to gifts of alcohol, tobacco or perfume where standard charges apply, even when they are received from another EU country.
A copy of the recipient's passport or PPS number is required for shipments of personal effects received in Ireland from outside the EU.
For more information on Irish VAT and Duty please visit the Irish Revenue Commissioner website revenue.ie"

makeorbrake

@seanin4711: Have a read through the thread. Can't recall exactly but I think in order to firstly get the goods, I had to just pay whatever - and then come back and fight it out with them...which of course took forever!