AddressPal & Lockers - An Post's Parcel Service SEE MOD WARNING FIRST POST

Wheety · 27-07-2021 5:18pm

There's a book I want to order from the UK. Books are zero VAT rated.

The AddressPal fee is cheaper than the international delivery fee the book shop are charging, and they have free UK delivery.

Will I only have to pay the €6.50 if I use AddressPal? They won't try and charge the €3.50 too? I'm not sure how the item will be packaged, if it's obvious it'll be a book and it won't have a customs declaration if sent to a UK address. Despite all that, if they do open it and see it's a book and no customs are charged, can they charge me a fee?

whiterebel · 27-07-2021 5:40pm

They have been charging people VAT on books despite them being VAT free. I'd save myself the hassle and get them to deliver it direct.

Wheety · 27-07-2021 7:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117669629#Comment_117669629

Probably the better option but they won't try the same trick as it would be delivered by them?

wassie · 27-07-2021 10:14pm

If they do you will simply get a notification to pay customs charges. Your only options in that case are to either pay the charges or else appeal via the email address in this thread, in which case you can wait for well over a month to get it reviewed.

Having been through this recently I wont be chancing my luck, even with low value items.

28-07-2021 11:14am

Used addresspal twice once off the UK & again for America I’m very impressed but it costs sadly

try · 28-07-2021 12:02pm

for an item not liable to Irish VAT OR customs duty coming from the UK through addresspal, do they charge the €3.50 customs fee on top of the €6.50 delivery fee?

whiterebel · 28-07-2021 4:43pm

They shouldn't do, but this is AddressPal we’re talking about….

bassy · 04-08-2021 10:50pm

hi guys im looking at buying something from the uk from a private seller as in not a company etc

will i still get caught for customs/vat ??.

TomOnBoard · 04-08-2021 11:06pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117707725#Comment_117707725

Yes

celticWario · 09-08-2021 8:18pm

I think I know the answer but if the package is over the weight limit (say by 2 kilo) addresspal will just send it back right?

Blinked_Missed It · 12-08-2021 8:08pm

Just had an experience with post Brexit Addresspal and customs. Heres the story. Ordered 10 door handles from Amazon. All the same item. Amazon limited how many you can buy per account to 5 so I made 2 orders from 2 different accounts, 5 + 5. Amazon shipped one order of 5 (plus 50ft of speaker wire) in 1 package to Addresspal.

They shipped the other 5 handles in 4 separate deliverys :(. Now the even more fun part. Customs valuations of the packages all within the space of 6 days.

Package with 5 handles + 50ft speaker wire = €76.32

Package with 1 handle = €18.02

Package with 1 handle = €20.40

Package with 1 handle = €29.66

Package with 2 handles = €29.66 (the exact same as 1 handle, same day)

What the actual hell is going on in Addresspal. None of this makes any sense unless they are simply pulling customs duty figures off a template and pasting them in and charging whatever they feel. Naturally I'm about to email them with the Amazon invoice (£3.82 per handle) but if this is what they are doing to everyone in the Republic something needs to be done because I smell some seriously dodgy behaviour and I doubt its just my bad luck.

whiterebel · 13-08-2021 3:52pm

Seriously dodgy behaviour? If there is no value shown, or invoice included, they will open the boxes and look them up. Different shifts, different people, probably different results on google.

There is no benefit to anyone other than the Irish Taxpayer when they declare values like this. They get nothing for it, Customs don't get any benefit from it.

Why did you use Addresspal anyway? Sure;y Amazon would ship those items here directly? Always a chance of splitting the consignment with Amazon.

Blinked_Missed It · 13-08-2021 4:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117748300#Comment_117748300

Yep it seems like seriously dodgy behaviour when you can have 5 packages containing the same item and you come to 5 different conclusions as to what they are worth when they can be looked up on the internet and you can see from the seller (Amazon and shipped in an Amazon box) what they cost and on top of that you value 1 item the same as you value 2 of them as shown with the €29.66 valuations above. What can you consider not dodgy about that. As to there being no benefit its money and if someone is overcharged that means that person loses and the recipient of the overcharging gains, in this case Revenue, the State. Of which Customs are a part.

As to why did I use Addresspal Amazon would not ship the items to Ireland and hence the use of Addresspal. Same as everyone else uses it for.

Darc19 · 14-08-2021 9:40am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117744459#Comment_117744459

would that not be an amazon issue?

Full invoice attached to each delivery, but just one of each item in each delivery. You simply cannot expect addresspal or any service to second guess what a third party has done.

Blinked_Missed It · 15-08-2021 1:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117751134#Comment_117751134

Amazon do not provide invoices in their delivery boxes. The invoice is available to the purchaser on the Amazon website but it wouldn't be available to a courier in the box they receive. Just as with the other poster above it appears to have gone completely over your head that the issue is about 5 packages with 5 different valuations by customs (which is done by An Post/Addresspal employees) when information of the correct valuation is available from Amazon UK's website. All of the detail is in my original post but it appears some people either aren't reading it or haven't copped on to the problem clearly explained. This isn't a problem with a 3rd party. This is a problem with An Post/Addresspal.

whiterebel · 15-08-2021 2:06pm

Nothing is going over anyone's head here, apart from you. The first line says it all "Amazon do not provide invoices in their delivery boxes". Therefore the company that does the work for AddressPal in London will open the boxes. This could be 3 or 4 different people at the same time. Even if its the same person over 6 days, do you expect them to remember your handle among the hundreds of parcels that come through there? When they google the handle in question, there is no guarantee that it will be Amazon come up as first result either. For your own information, pre-Brexit, AddressPal used to ask for invoices and payment proof for customs values for the US service. Once Brexit hit they started using values that no-one can work out, presumably due to the work load. You will need to do an appeal to An Post for each one via the email link. You can search back through this thread for it.

Darc19 · 15-08-2021 3:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117757423#Comment_117757423

Oh, I read it fully and understood fully. I think you have made assumptions that have caused your own issue.

As you are aware, (I hope) customs require an invoice for each shipment.

AMAZON - Not Addresspal - put your order into 4 boxes and 4 entirely different shipments. Each shipment probably had an order reference number.

It is NOT for addresspal or any other 3rd party service to second guess what amazon did, to find and collate all your boxes and to guess that they contain different elements of the same order and then to make a single customs entry based on all this guesswork so so that they can correct what AMAZON did

AMAZON put your order into 4 shipments - no-one else./ That's the issue, The issue is not with anyone else and as amazon can ship in multiple shipments (read the terms and conditions), they are not at fault either.

But you simply cannot expect any service to start breaking down an invoice and applying a bit here and a bit there and a bit somewhere else. That's simply not how it works. not with addresspal, not with dhl, not with fedex, UPS and not in any other country either.

Blinked_Missed It · 15-08-2021 5:00pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117757715#Comment_117757715

No for the 2nd time you clearly did not. The fact Amazon used multiple shipments is not relevant to the issue complained of but you are stating, incorrectly, that that is the issue complained of. It is merely the lead up to the issue. ie how did the packages came to be in a position to be valued by Addresspal.

Nobody is asking Addresspal to break down an invoice and nowhere did I state they were. They don't have the invoice as everybody who has used Amazon knows they don't ship invoices in their packages so how could Addresspal break down something they have no sight of. The issue outlined by me in the OP is the 5 different valuations of the same product none of which match any of the other valuations all within the space of 6 days. The product is there for all in Addresspal to see on Aamzons website. They know its coming from Amazon UK as they are all shipped in Amazon boxes yet all valuations are different. Its right there in my OP. You are seeing what you want to see.

Blinked_Missed It · 15-08-2021 5:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117757491#Comment_117757491

It seems its you who can't seem to see any problem with the figures right before your own eyes. If one product is valued at €29.66 and two of that very same product are valued at the exact same €29.66 and you don't see a problem with that its not me with the problem, its you.

The boxes are all Amazon boxes. There is no question as to who the seller is. There is no question what the product is. They are not being sent on an internet hunt to identify the mystery product from an unknown company. The sellers name is on the box. Its from one of the worlds largest online marketplaces and on that website it is only sold and shipped by Amazon, not by any other 3rd party marketplace seller. They are all the same product with the same product packaging & identifying numbers. Yet all valuations are different or as above with the €29.66 simply nonsensical. Yet according to you I'm the one missing something. SMH.

Darc19 · 15-08-2021 7:50pm

so how did they get the valuations? Don't you have to give the information?

Amazon made 4 shipments. You may not have provided the relevant paperwork, so they made an educated guess on the landed value in Ireland.

What was so special about these that you could only order 5 and not get these in Ireland. It really is looking like you are searching for someone else to blame because of your lack of foresight to provide information on the cost.

BTW- Did you not see this on the addresspals terms and conditions?

We will complete the relevant forms for you based on the information on the invoice with your item
An invoice must be included for customs. You can request this from the retailer/seller by adding a note when completing your purchase
If you are purchasing multiple items from one retailer/seller, you should request that all of your items are packaged as a single order

If Amazon have not included an invoice (and it seems you are very well aware of this), what do you think they will do?

They'll simply look it up and take the first price they see. - That's how it works. Now two different people may have seen two different prices, hence the difference.

So the choice is

1 - Amazon fault for not having an invoice included.

2 - Your fault for not giving addresspal advance copy of the invoice (if that's possible)

3 - Your fault because you know well that amazon don't include invoices, so therefore you took a gamble which you lost.

Absolutely no fault whatsoever of addresspal. They can't read minds

whiterebel · 15-08-2021 8:53pm

Mod - Lets leave it there because it is going nowhere.

whiterebel · 16-08-2021 11:01am

The email address to challenge valuations is ecommchargequery@anpost.ie

Oat23 · 20-08-2021 8:23pm

I swear they just press random buttons putting values on stuff. I ordered a box of 120 sachets of Quaker Oats on Amazon and they've valued them at £60 (SIXTY!) quid. Porridge, lads. 🤣

It was £19 with the subscribe & save promo

whiterebel · 21-08-2021 1:41pm

50p per pack would seem fairly reasonable as a guess. Amazon don’t put an invoice in the box, so it all comes down to guesswork.

Oat23 · 25-08-2021 6:04pm

After reading so many negative experiences about An Post on here over the past 8 months I was dreading trying to get this resolved but it was a piece of cake.

Friday night: Sent an email containing tracking #, addresspal ID and amazon invoice showing the amount paid

Tuesday evening: Received reply confirming the package will be re-valued using the info supplied

Today: Customs value updated and I paid €7.30 VAT

If you need to email them about an incorrect valuation just make sure you include all the info in the first email to speed up the process.

TomOnBoard · 25-08-2021 11:14pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117803047#Comment_117803047

Hopefully, the incoherent weeks-long delays from Spring to recently have been sorted. I had around 7 e-Bay packages during that time. I always provided proofs of purchase & price paid by inclusion of the E-Bay invoices (showing price & postage) in the box. NOT ONCE were they accepted (after the 1st package) in computing Customs value. In EVERY case, bar 1, that value was struck at multiples of the e-bay total cost! It took weeks to get stuff released after sending in the same eBay info by email!

scudzilla · 31-08-2021 8:30pm

No choice but to use Address Pal 2wks ago, service was utterly amazing

24th Aug Item arrived in NJ, USA

29th Aug, Item arrived in Dublin Parcel hun

29th Aug, Paid 17.50 customs fee

30th Aug Delivered

Don't know if i was lucky, or that they have improved but over the moon with that service, exactly as it should be

01-09-2021 10:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117647928#Comment_117647928

Got this text this evening is this a scam I’ll ring Addresspal in the morning. I’m waiting on a package already paid the customs fees

TomOnBoard · 02-09-2021 12:24am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835841#Comment_117835841

If you look at www.airbusiness.com, you will see that they provide an email address of APCS@airbusonline.com for AP queries...

That said, an e-mail address @airbusiness.com appears to be valid and is used on their page to contact a team member. https://airbusiness.com/about#our-team

I think Deirdre found that it was because the sender had left the APW number off the address. So perhaps AP is emailing all customers with the name to obtain an invoice so as to match the package??

odyssey06 · 02-09-2021 8:27am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117836167#Comment_117836167

Yes that happened to me - they messaged everyone with same name as the apw number was missing.

AddressPal & Lockers - An Post's Parcel Service SEE MOD WARNING FIRST POST

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