import duty on old bike parts??? help!

[Dr S]

This week I have been waiting for several items to arrive from the states, 2 items arrived on thursday no probs. Yesterday I got a letter from Parcelforce saying that they were holding back my Parcel subject to payment of £38 that the good old inland revenue have slapped onto me in the form of VAT- this is for a few second hand bike parts! Are these guys for real?? I've another couple of parcels due this week including quite an expensive frame- the tax on that will be a right bugger.

anyone else had this problem and what can I do about it? They are holding the parts to finish my build and I am not a happy bunny :evil:

please help

 

[cchris2lou]

nothing you can do .

 

[SLIM]

do the only thing you can , pay the man

its pot luck as to when/which part you get charged on

 

[retrobikeguy]

Sh*t happens - gotta pay up .

you gotta take this into account when buying from the states.

even though it is 10-20 year old 3-4th hand parts.

Most of us have been there.

 

[jonnyboy666]

don't know what the exact regulations are but it always seems so random! some people i know don't get any import costs but others get absolutely shafted!

i've just ordered $80 worth of bits from the US , i'll see if i get raped!

think it depends on how much you spend.

 

[Dr S]

Sure makes you proud to be British- F***ing Pirates.

Won't be buying anything Stateside again!

 

[stew-b]

simple way around it is to ask the sender to mark the item as a gift,sample,warranty replacement and with a value less than $35.BUT if anything goes wrong (never has with me) then you are only insured for $35....

 

[jonnyboy666]

i heard they're cracking down on the gift thing, coz the UK importers have got pissed at US companies who let shops sell worldwide bypassing UK importers making it pointless for the UK guys to sell their products, it won't be long in some cases that certain products will have to be imported privatly coz no-one will bring the stuff in.

also, the government wants the import tax and vat so if you get a lot of stuff from the us it would ring their alarm bells (read cash register!)after a while.

 

[stew-b]

maybe so but the average ebayer it wouldnt be a problem i dont think.

 

[Radar]

Import duty is akin to Russian Roulette, sometimes you win, other times you get your head blown off. No pattern to what gets charged, and what doesn't.

If you buy direct - item will be classed as 'goods' and you can import £18's worth duty free. If it is classified as a gift that value goes upto £32. Apparently if the duty is less than £7 it will most probaly be waived.

Warranty - duty free

Parcelfarce charge the duty charged by HM Revenues and a 'customs clearance fee' of £8.

Moral of this tale: expect to pay duty, if you don't consider it a bonus