DHL have not charged me customs charges (yet)

RebelScorned

I ordered some goods from the US and they were delivered via DHL today. Goods came to total of $225.98 and the invoices were included in the box which had been opened and checked (presumably by DHL). I have never had an item from US delivered by DHL before so I don't know what their process is and I've checked their website and I can't see anything specific.

I presumed the invoice for customs from would be in the box but when I checked after bringing the box into my apartment, there was nothing there, and of course by the time I realised this, the driver was gone so I couldn't even ask him.

I know I should have to pay customs charges and I was ready and willing to pay - what approach do DHL normally take? I understand from reading other posts on this forum that they hold your goods until you reimburse the customs charges but mine were delivered to me.

Has anyone ever experienced similar? Am I supposed to wait for a customs bill, and if so, how long does this take? I'm worried that DHL will charge some sort of daily rate for every day the customs go unpaid.

Thanks in advance

athtrasna

My sister got an invoice three weeks after the goods were delivered by DHL

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

RebelScorned

athtrasna wrote: »

My sister got an invoice three weeks after the goods were delivered by DHL

Thanks for the quick response - I was thinking there would be a follow up letter alright. I'm willing to wait but i just don't want to be charged a daily rate or anything from the date customs were paid (Which I understand was this morning) until the date i get the letter - did your sister have any such issues?

rubadub

Did they declare the genuine shipping costs in the invoice, if not expect a very expensive price to be used which you will have to pay VAT on.

dudara

Moved to Online Buying & Auctions

dudara

whiterebel

RebelScorned wrote: »

I ordered some goods from the US and they were delivered via DHL today. Goods came to total of $225.98 and the invoices were included in the box which had been opened and checked (presumably by DHL). I have never had an item from US delivered by DHL before so I don't know what their process is and I've checked their website and I can't see anything specific.

I presumed the invoice for customs from would be in the box but when I checked after bringing the box into my apartment, there was nothing there, and of course by the time I realised this, the driver was gone so I couldn't even ask him.

I know I should have to pay customs charges and I was ready and willing to pay - what approach do DHL normally take? I understand from reading other posts on this forum that they hold your goods until you reimburse the customs charges but mine were delivered to me.

Has anyone ever experienced similar? Am I supposed to wait for a customs bill, and if so, how long does this take? I'm worried that DHL will charge some sort of daily rate for every day the customs go unpaid.

Thanks in advance

You should get the invoice for Duty/VAT/charges shortly from DHL. There should be no daily rate as the gods have already been delivered. That normally would only be charged if the goods are being held in the warehouse waiting for paperwork or instructions to delay delivery.

Walter2016

Depending on what site you purchased the goods from - they may have priced them to included taxes and duties under a pre-clearance scheme than many US retailers selling into Europe operate. Effectively they do all the paperwork and pay the vat and duty for you and have charged you already in the price you paid.

What site was it from and it can be checked very easily.

Miaireland

As the above poster says some USA sites have a preclearance thing with customs in Europe (there is a fancier name for it that I cannot think of). I know JCrew does. Best thing is to check the company website and/or ring the courier company.

RebelScorned

Thanks for all your responses - there was no customs preclearance because i bought directly from a US website and had it sent to me via a parcel forwarding service. The invoices were included in the box that was checked and the all the individual prices and total was correct - $225 odd. I am relieved to hear there's no daily charge or the like - obviously will pay straight away but there is nothing worse than being an unknowing sitting duck :P

whiterebel

RebelScorned wrote: »

Thanks for all your responses - there was no customs preclearance because i bought directly from a US website and had it sent to me via a parcel forwarding service. The invoices were included in the box that was checked and the all the individual prices and total was correct - $225 odd. I am relieved to hear there's no daily charge or the like - obviously will pay straight away but there is nothing worse than being an unknowing sitting duck :P

US websites like amazon.com, dockers.com and Perry Ellis offer the option to pay customs charges etc in advance. Worth checking out if you're paying out that sort of money from the US.

RebelScorned

Thanks all for your advice above - I still haven't heard anything from DHL about customs but am coming up to the 3 week mark on Tuesday.

slow

Looks like you've had a customs waiver :-)