Purchase from china stuck at customs,advice needed

[minexplorer]

Hi , I bought an ebike throttle from greenbikekit 20th jan.Delivery supposed be 7 -15 days.Arrived heathrow customs 31st jan. 2 weeks later royal mail say its still at customs !!!
Many years ago i bought a few small items from china,they d arrive in couple weeks simple. Royal mail also said id have to pay duty an vat,that never happened before either.Can anyone tell me if this is normal im getting really frustrated .I didnt go for the cheaper free postage seller, precisely to avoid a long wait .Thanks

 

[soundwave]

i order loads of stuff from china and never had to pay anything customs wise.

or is it because it was sent air mail?

 

[wheeliepete]

As far as I'm aware duty only payable over $20 value and as the Chinese rarely put full value on customs form, I would be very surprised if there is anything to pay. I would def. question this. I have had a couple of things hang around at customs on tracking info for upto 2 weeks and then just appear in the post as normal.

 

[minexplorer]

i order loads of stuff from china and never had to pay anything customs wise.

or is it because it was sent air mail?

Greenbikekit sent it off via hong kong post its heathrow customs that are the problem.Id assume it then continues by Royal m. Ive paid postage for delivery to my address.

 

[soundwave]

the only time i had to pay duty i had a card turn up and had to go to rm to pick it up and pay it.

 

[minexplorer]

As far as I'm aware duty only payable over $20 value and as the Chinese rarely put full value on customs form, I would be very surprised if there is anything to pay. I would def. question this. I have had a couple of things hang around at customs on tracking info for upto 2 weeks and then just appear in the post as normal.

it was only about $12 inc postage.Hopefully its just an unfortunate delay then .

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You only pay duty if the goods are worth more than £15. You have to pay duty on the postage too if the goods are worth more than £15, but I'm not sure if that means that if the goods were worth £14 and the postage was £20, whether you'd have to pay any duty. According to the way it's written, the answer is no, but I'm not sure if that's the way it's interpreted.

 

[Danidl]

As far as I'm aware duty only payable over $20 value and as the Chinese rarely put full value on customs form, I would be very surprised if there is anything to pay. I would def. question this. I have had a couple of things hang around at customs on tracking info for upto 2 weeks and then just appear in the post as normal.

The relevent page from the Irish revenue is as follows. Since the UK is (still) an eu member , the same rules should apply
Buying goods from outside the European Union (EU)
If you buy goods from outside the European Union (EU), you may have to pay:

• Customs Duty
• Excise Duty
• Anti-dumping
• Countervailing Duty
• Value-Added Tax (VAT).

If your goods have:

• a customs value (including cost, transport, insurance and handling charges) of €22 or less you do not have to pay Customs Duty or VAT
• a customs value of more than €22 you will have to pay VAT
• an intrinsic value (the value of the goods alone excluding transport, insurance and handling charges) of more than €150 you will have to pay Customs Duty.

These limits are for the whole delivery, not just one item. You must pay the above duties where applicable, and VAT on alcohol or tobacco products, perfumes or toilet waters, regardless of their value.

If the VAT payable is €6 or less it will not be collected.

 

[Nealh]

Airport customs are a pain and some times if they feel the value is under estimated then they can be a law unto themselves. It also may depend on the sellers description of the article on the package but generally no duty or vat should be applied.
Customs won't release it till they are happy and may be doing some homework to find out what it is, this may take ages/weeks. Eventually if it does not leave customs it will be returned to start destination/seller.
Shame you just didn't get one off ebay.

 

[tommie]

I bought a Throttle from Greenbikekit just over a year ago, i remember well having to contact `alice` as to where it was. She assured me it would come through and in fact i received it ok, all in all it took at least 5 or 6 weeks.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I bought three controllers from them a couple of months ago. They came in about a week with no duty.

 

[Danidl]

Is this a bad time to mention Brexit?. Had those items been purchased within the EU, there would have been no duty ,vat or anything chargeable, and no delay, and all the bother of getting them from China would have devolved to the middleman in Belgium or Holland. Post 2020, the customs service will be three times more busy......

 

[tommie]

Yes, we`ve had a warning of snow and ice tonight, lets blame it on Brexit!

I find DHL, FedEx, UPS etc etc excellent from China, 7 - 10 days on average, it`s just that ChinaPost that gets hung up at the customs facility

 

[oyster]

Since the UK is (still) an eu member , the same rules should apply

Some subtle differences - such as values being expressed in GBP!

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad

 

[minexplorer]

Customs won't release it till they are happy and may be doing some homework to find out what it is, this may take ages/weeks. Eventually if it does not leave customs it will be returned to start destination/seller.
Shame you just didn't get one off ebay.

what a disgrace our customs are .Tax revenue inspired interferance in our lives.i guess im nieve but i expected by 2018 buyiing a product on the www would be a straight forward affair. Puts me off ever again.
Yeah ebay ,it was my first choice but i wanted a wuxing 108x to have the BBSxx juliot connnector,not the standard.

 

[minexplorer]

I find DHL, FedEx, UPS etc etc excellent from China, 7 - 10 days on average, it`s just that ChinaPost that gets hung up at the customs facility

so they single out china post sent items...damn!
Wish id known.Just picked delivery choice on price + stated 7-15 day delivery not too tardy

 

[wheeliepete]

what a disgrace our customs are .Tax revenue inspired interferance in our lives.i guess im nieve but i expected by 2018 buyiing a product on the www would be a straight forward affair. Puts me off ever again.
Yeah ebay ,it was my first choice but i wanted a wuxing 108x to have the BBSxx juliot connnector,not the standard.

Don't be put off using China post, I have had stuff turn up within a week. You just have to ignore the delivery time and accept that it will arrive when it arrives. Don't use it for stuff you need in a hurry.

 

[Jonah]

Not much comfort to you but my motor arrived in 7 days by Fed Ex. Cost $55 mind you.

 

[minexplorer]

Thanks everyone.I reckon ive just been unlucky then. Just got to be patient but im so angry at uk customs.The seller would have had my purchase to me inside the 2 weeks stated .Doesnt even seem any way of making a complaint to customs.The HMRC complaint form ,after an hour of research ,doesnt even give customs as an option.

 

[minexplorer]

At last, after 14 days at customs, picked up by RM 5.58pm and delivered 14 hrs later...Thanks UK customs for more than doubling the delivery time !