An Post returning packages from outside the EU-See 1st post

Nodferatu

I bought studs to customize clothing off eBay a while back from a very well rated good feedback eBay seller from the USA.  According to tracking the package arrived at An Post in Dublin on the 13th July. Heard or seen nothing and no updates for 10 days then after almost 2 weeks waiting I see as of yesterday July 23rd they have gone back to New York US, really annoyed about this. Is there any reason this would happen? Has anyone else experienced this before? Is there anyone I can contact. An Post never contacted me, no attempted delivery, no missed attempted delivery or anything. Need advice please.

MOD- Changed the total as this is happening a lot from all countries. There is a separate thread here: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058200515/an-post-returning-packages-from-outside-the-eu#latest for packages being returned by An Post for parcels from outside the EU. Please keep the 2 threads separate.

TomOnBoard

Was the package posted from US to your address directly, or were you using An Post's Addresspal service?

con747

You had a tracking number, you knew it was in Ireland and An Post had it for 10 days? Why did you not just question the delay before it was sent back? AFAIK An Post hold international parcels that are undelivered for 16 days before sending back to sender but to be honest you should have been more vigilant knowing it was in the country and rang to see what the hold up was. It most likely was a wrong address and contact details as to the reason it was returned.

Nodferatu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117654704#Comment_117654704

So your saying its MY fault An Post didn't contact me? Theres an invoice and they would've had my postcode and phone number aswell. If the address was wrong a postcode and or my phone number should have been checked. I buy all the time from USA and European countries. I've had this happen before a good few times where things get held in Dublin for a week or two weeks before eventually getting delivered to me (only ever happens with items bought outside European Union). I didn't see how this would be any different! It could have been covid delays and parcel centre delays for all I knew as we've expected from the last year and a half due to the pandemic. Some post gets delayed. This had an invoice with my details. No contact from An Post in any manner.

Nodferatu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117654703#Comment_117654703

It was posted to my address directly. I've used AddressPal before but this was through eBay and through their global shipping programme and it had track and trace.

fritzelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117654704#Comment_117654704

You obviously have no idea of the delays in deliveries by An Post since the start of the lockdown and customer service saying it will be there tomorrow or the day after. Their service has gone to the dogs in the past year

TomOnBoard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117654710#Comment_117654710

I would open a case with e-Bay, and let them deal with it.

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117654711#Comment_117654711

I receive plenty of parcels from China the USA and the EU all delivered by An Post and lockdown or no lockdown how hard is it to ring or email a query as to the status of a parcel sitting in a sorting office? I have had to chase up numerous parcels over the lockdown with no major issues in getting a response either by phone or email. Parcels can easily be missing a vital piece of an address that a system cannot recognise and is why if a parcel sits unmoved for more than a few days I always follow it up. So, yes I do obviously have an idea of An Posts delivery issues over the past year or so.

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117654709#Comment_117654709

If the address was not correct on the parcel and as you say it was sent by a different carrier than you normally use then yes, it is your fault you did not follow up on where your parcel was. Just because there is an invoice and post code supplied to a courier does not mean they will put the exact information on the parcel so An Post can deliver it. The amount of orders from UK companies that I have to chase up because of companies and couriers not putting correct eircode and contact information is unreal. So I always check on a status after a few days and follow it up with the courier to ensure the correct information is there.

twowheelsonly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117655406#Comment_117655406

With no major issues getting a response ??? You're either having a laugh or you work for An Post PR Department.

I tried contacting them three times with similar issues over the last 12 months or so - parcels bouncing around different Dublin sorting offices for a week or two - and only once did I get a reply, and that was by email. Despite numerous attempts phoning never once did I get to speak to an actual human being. I know I'm not the only one experiencing this as my daughter lives for online shopping and she has just given up on trying to contact them. If it comes, it comes and there's zero point in wasting time trying to chase them. I've heard numerous people complaining about the same thing and even my postman, whom I know very well outside of his work, bitches about it !!

con747

Here we go, the you work for An Post brigade🙄 Sorry if you all had major issues with your parcels, I didn't! So this thread is unfollowed.

twowheelsonly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117655443#Comment_117655443

Irrespective of any issues with parcels you're the one that claimed you had "no major issues with getting a response either by phone or email"

You're either the luckiest person in Ireland or......

Strumms

An Post make up to 3 million deliveries per week. While a private courier company, DHL or UPS will have resources to call in advance (not have anything approaching this volume) and discuss the likes of pre clearances of non EU originating shipments and payment of duties and taxes.... I’d seriously doubt An Post have that staff capacity and capability..

you probably needed chase it up.

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117655423#Comment_117655423

Possibly the most laughable post of the week, in a week of some doozies

mrslancaster

Also had several issues with An Post - got texts & emails confirming next day delivery nothing arrives. The OscarBot has no more information than Track & Trace on the website & trying to contact them by phone is very frustrating - be prepared to wait at least 20 minutes and then before 5.30pm. Pretty bad these days when so many are buying more online & An Post are benefitting from that in a huge way. Why they can't offer customer support until 8pm like others to faciliate working people is a mystery.

Eventually (if you are not cut-off while on hold) when you get to a person they are very helpful but can't always sort the problem as they seem to be limited in what they can do or who they can contact in the parcel hubs.

I was chasing up on a non-delivery for nearly two weeks until the last agent said the address had no Eircode so the parcel was going back & forth from sorting office and parcel hub. It may be a requirement now to include an Eircode (not sure) but I wasn't aware An Post wouldn't make a delivery if senders don't include it. I had a parcel sent from family in the UK and they used the old Dublin postcode & no Eircode which caused a problem.

AnPost had my email address & mobile & if the sorting office had a parcel with no Eircode, is it not possible to ring a customer instead of sending it back to the parcel hub or the original sender?

Nodferatu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117655423#Comment_117655423

I checked with the business I bought from the address they wrote and eircode was exactly correct no vital Information missing and no mistyped address. Everything was written correctly on invoice outside of package.

Grab All Association

Ebay GSP Pitney Bowes puts its own packaging and affixes a label with the buyers address.

Just lazy incompetent An Post here. Submit a complaint to Comreg as well.

the item isn’t restricted, VAT/Duties were already paid by OP to eBay/PB. Unless the label got damaged (highly unlikely plus the fact it has a tracking number with the address digitally recorded) i reiterate, lazy an post.

rf4c

An Post are sending parcel back wholesale and blaming Customs on it.

I have twice confirmed with Customs that my parcels were never sent to Customs.

An Post will receive a parcel, arbitrarily decide the customs declaration does not conform to the July 1st rules

and return it without ever informing the recipient. I've lost quite a few this way.

When you try to challenge them, they blame Customs. I've checked every statement they made to me and in not one, was Customs to blame.

Maybe we all need to pressure the decision and policy makers in An Post, starting with the Chief Executive david.mcredmond@anpost.ie

It’s not up to the receiver to chase up parcels sent to them. That isn’t how the system works at all.

Its up to the courier to deliver the parcel they were paid by the sender to deliver.

Also this stuff about how they deliver X parcels per week. So what? Tesco sell more groceries per week than my local corner shop, that doesn’t mean they should have less customer care. If anything, a bigger, busier provider should have a great economies of scale.

A lot of defensive nonsense on this thread.

Nodferatu

My package arrived but it was sent back to the US a second time, twice it went back and when it finally arrived there was no note explaining why. Just a sticker by An Post saying send back to sender. No reason given. They're a joke. Alps. I've had 2 Tshirts go missing recently and they've just disappeared. It's over a month now. One of them I got fully refunded by seller the other seller refunded me, minus the shipping cost.

The only issues I have with them are occasional delivery of letters that aren’t for me and are extremely obviously not my address. I don’t have a vague or inaccurate address and I’m in an urban area.

In one case the letter wasn’t even for the correct county! The top line of the address was vaguely similar to mine, but the name wasn’t any the other 3 address lines weren’t.

I can appreciate that machine sorting might misread addresses occasionally, but surely, given it’s manually handled, they’d notice at some point before shoving it in the letter box.

The J Stands for Jay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117774673#Comment_117774673

They don't even use the eircode, but still write on the envelope if it's missing.

They do use it for automatic sorting, but not locally.

MrCouperin

I had a package arriving from Japan recently, and after it arrived in Dublin and was sorted, I heard nothing. A week later, I had the dreaded message "we could not deliver your post. we will try to return it to the sender.", like some of you have recently too.

I've spent a week emailing, calling and webchatting. An Post told me it was Revenue's fault, Revenue told me it was An Post's fault, and I spent a full week being bounced back and forth between the two like a demented tennis ball. It's only just now I've actually found out what the reason is.

The answer I finally found is that An Post have a new system since the 1st of July, and if any one field is incomplete, the package is returned to the sender instantly without being looked it, as far as I can tell. In my case, the HS Tariff Codes were missing. Most international retailers don't have systems that allow them to include these on the CN22 forms, since most countries will still import the packages if they're missing. That seems to be what's tripping people up recently with packages being returned.

There's no obvious solution, and a lot of people are being caught out with this, sometimes very badly. There should be some mechanism to allow items like that to be imported, even if it means they have to be opened and there's a delay in the process.

hammerheart

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117781633#Comment_117781633

Same thing happened to me, from Japan too. An Post is a garbage service. They don't answer customer emails and their fancy new webchat is just outsourced AI, as is their Twitter 'support'. The only reason I knew it was even being returned was because I had heard of the same thing happening to others recently. They made no attempt to contact me.

Guy in Japan told me he filled out all the customs stuff correctly, and even sent me a photo of the package.

Have you any more information from them, OP? Mad how customers are just meant to figure this stuff out. Shipping cost me 30 quid and the contents weren't cheap. Are we just supposed to be stung for the shipping cost too?! I won't be using An Post for the return service, and I would suggest people use couriers when shipping international.

Darc19

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117781633#Comment_117781633

That's utter garbage. Items are not automatically returned because one information field is missing. For goods under €300 a standard cn22 form is still valid.

If the goods are over €300 a more detailed CN23 form is required.

And frankly, whilst call centre staff can be good for mundane queries, they will not know exact reasons for returns and will fob you off with whatever line will suit you.

My guess is that no information was provided, or it was over €300 delivered value and correct form was not attached. - Basically my guess is the shipper is the issue and if a retailer is shipping internationally, they should learn the very basics of how to do it. It's not that difficult.

hammerheart

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117787640#Comment_117787640

This is not an isolated case. This has been happening to hundreds of people recently. I know that in my case, all customs forms were correct.

blade1

Motorcycle part from Japan sent back.

part was €70.

Shop fees, national shipping and international shipping cost €60.

I buy rare items from Japan fairly often and this is the first time i've had an issue.

All I'm told by Japanese Auction site is reason unknown.

6 fortnightly magazines I get from UK sent back since the start of June.

They have had the customs declaration on the outside of the box since January.

Again sender can't tell me the reason.

Last week a switch I need badly was ordered from Amazon.

Get a text an post an Thursday to contact them to pay Irish vat and handling even though Amazon apply this automatically.

Had to send on proof of purchase and invoice on to them.

Get message back saying to be patient as they are dealing with heavy load of requests.

Things are gone to shīte since especially June.

PenguinForce

My mum had relative sent over baby clothes and books from Hong Kong and everything was declared. There was three parcels. One is on the way back to Hong Kong just left Heathrow. The other left Portlaoise and mostly likely going back to Hong Kong. The other one just has been sorted in Dublin Parcel Hub in Dublin 12 since 8th of August.

No contact about being sent back to or anything. I tried call them today but the phone doesn't even ring and I don't even see the web chat option anymore?

I'm wondering if this new system was the whole cause of parcel being returned as some of my mum's friend who had stuff sent over are being sent back without any information.

MrCouperin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117787640#Comment_117787640

The total value of the package was just over €26 (depending on the conversion rate you use) including shipping. The package contained two secondhand vintage watches (both from the 1970s) that cost about 1000 JPY (about €8) each. I was sent a copy of the shipping label when the package was dispatched. The information given on the CN22 form listed each item, and gave the value of each item separately along with the country of origin.

The only field missing was the TARIC codes, and I was informed by the relevant department in An Post that this was the reason for the package being returned. Additionally, the information I was given states that this is due to the new automated system in place since the 1st of July and that it's happening often now. Because they're used to calculate import duty, the TARIC codes are only used if the total value of the package is more than €150 including shipping costs. And yet packages worth sometimes as little as a few euro are being sent back now because of missing codes that are not even needed.

whiterebel

TARIC or Tariff codes are needed for any import. It gives it the classification of what the goods are, and duties or prohibitions and is used by the CSO to give figures on all our imports and exports to govt and EU. All customs entries require TARIC codes

MrCouperin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117787183#Comment_117787183

As far as extra information, I was sent the shipping label as usual when the package shipped, and it was identical to all the other ones apart from the listed contents and their value. Those other ones arrived between April and July. My package contained two secondhand watches I bought off Yahoo Auctions Japan using Zenmarket as a proxy service. The other five packages I've had from them this year all got to me without any trouble. The last one that was delivered actually reached Dublin on the 4th of July, so after the new system came into force. I wasn't asked to pay VAT either, oddly.

Zenmarket have heard nothing and weren't even aware of the issue. I contacted other proxy services too, who all said packages being sent to the EU are being delivered fine at the moment, including Ireland apparently. The spiel I had from both Revenue/Customs and An Post's eComm Charge Query people is that TARIC codes are now mandatory for all non-EU packages regardless of value. Since packages from Japan are being delivered fine to Ireland at the moment, apparently, it might be that An Post and Revenue are telling a bit of a tall tale. My guess is that some packages are being selected at random for this kind of inspection and that you and I simply got unlucky.

I'll be using a courier to get the package back to Ireland as well, probably UPS or maybe Fedex.

hammerheart

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117792837#Comment_117792837

Tall tale? Yeah, I think you're right. My guess is they are so backlogged that they are just literally sending stuff back to clear space. Topped up my phone with €15 to call them this morning, spent an hour on hold before my credit ran out. I've also sent 4 emails to no response. Pathetic service.

Thing is, customs told me that they had no interaction with my goods, so they got through customs fine. An Post are lying.

hammerheart

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117792555#Comment_117792555

My advice would be to not even attempt to contact them, you'll wait and wait only to get some depressed woman or a robot on the other line. Just use couriers anymore.

whiterebel

They might be going on the AN Post tracking system, which looks like it might be on delivery. In fact, it seems to mean it is being returned. I have one like that at the moment from Australia. If you looked at the tracking it has "Left An Post". Last time they told me in An Post that this was being returned. Then in turned up at my doorstep 2 days later, with no request for VAT.

MrCouperin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117793018#Comment_117793018

Well, initially An Post were telling me the parcel had been "extracted" by customs (like a rotten tooth, I guess, hah) and that it was their fault. Customs told me An Post handle all of that and that they had never had any interaction with my parcel. If it had been Customs, like in the old system, I'd have been asked for proof of purchase, etc, to prove the declared value was real. They'd have been welcome to open it - they'd have seen two watches, just like the label said.

What I can't figure out is if every parcel is being sent back or only a sample. I had a package arrive at my house on the 5th of July after arriving in Dublin the previous day, so it certainly wasn't happening then. The package I had this month arrived on the 9th and was sent back on the 15th, which is nearly a week. So it wasn't sent straight back.

mrslancaster

Most packages have a contact number so why can't AnPost let customers know there is duty/vat to be paid before they return the package? It must be costing AnPost to send all those packages back to China or Japan...

MrCouperin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117794004#Comment_117794004

That's what I wonder myself. Not only do they have transport costs, but there's admin work to be done too and other things, and the people who do that need to be paid. And every package sent back means VAT revenue lost by the State.

Esel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117793018#Comment_117793018

€15 gone on hold? What mad network deal are you on?

Gabriel

This is going crazy!!! I never have problems until now, as said: 4 packets sent back! This is something new from EU rule or the goverment. I repeat I never had issues before just now 4 packets sent back and its looks that there is another coming from US that is in limbo. I thinks they are pushing so people only buy stuff in the EU, that is only think I can think of.

Gabriel

Be very careful and take screenshots of An post tracking system becuse they are removing the history of the packet. I have two packets that now it says " we dont have your packet yet" and the original courier one says it is in Dublin :( another says it departed a airport in Dublin almost 10 days ago :(

This is insane really!

hammerheart

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117794758#Comment_117794758

A vodafone one from about 10 years ago. Probably the only one alright haha

whiterebel

Another one being sent back now, to Australia. An Post can't tell you what's wrong, Customs won't tell anyone what's wrong. Absolute joke trying to bring anything in at the moment.

jbv

Got an sms on Sunday night about my parcel from Amazon being on hold until customs are paid.

There are no customs to be paid. I have the invoice to prove it.

Sent messages through the website, on hold to chat for about an hour.

Phone calls are getting disconnected.

It looks like the parcel will be sent back and probably Amazon will refund me.

Told Amazon that involving AnPost in delivering process it's not a good idea.

They are always late and creating problems.

Ger Roe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117796230#Comment_117796230

Between increased costs due to brexit and the various tax/importation/ handling/ whateverwecanaddon charges, Ireland is being frozen out of the online buying market and we will be left with no alternative than to take limited range options at high cost from domestic suppliers. Fiscal O'Donoghue will be delighted.

When the National Broadband scheme is completed we will be the most connected country with the most expensive internet infrastructure and the most expensive and complicated online purchase options.

blade1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117791455#Comment_117791455

So looks like proof of purchase and invoice isn't enough to release my item ordered on Amazon.

Probably is no ioss number provided by sender.

Could this be the cause of my and everyone else deliveries being sent back.

Here's a screenshot

MrCouperin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117796475#Comment_117796475

In my case, it wasn't. I hadn't paid VAT yet, An Post should have charged me that. I'm sure that's the case for a lot of others too.

Hippodrome Song Owl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117796475#Comment_117796475

No, not the issue for me either. I needed to pay VAT through An Post, so some other reason has caused the customs declaration to be deemed 'insufficient'. I think it's the omission of the TARIC code in my case.

I would like to pay extra for the item to be delivered using a different courier now to avoid An Post, but it seems the company will only use Royal Mail and then it just automatically goes to An Post. I don't think I will ever get what I need.

blade1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117796941#Comment_117796941

Yes me too with other deliveries.

I'm just wondering must that number be provided on all parcels now and isn't???

I'm after been on to seller again and they say this number is linked electronically between royal mail and Amazon so maybe an post have no way of knowing it.

Just a theory but I think it's safe to safe something is missing regarding documentation on lots of parcels arriving here.

cnocbui

Maybe Revenue and the government should ease off their infatuation with trying to scrape every last cent of tax and do something sensible like not bothering for goods less that €50 or €100, that's basically what Australia did.

whiterebel

Its the EU that are pushing this. Maybe they are fed up watching China's economy growing while we get no taxes from it. We had €22 lower limit and scrapped it. Maybe they should have communicated it better to countries outside the EU, because it seems to be happening to all packages coming in.