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Definitely a mistake, Brownells should sort it, after all that's why we normally pay a $-£ conversion on the stuff from there, all the shipping/import fees are included in the price we pay on this end.

FYI the £8 fee you pay Parcelforce is their charge for them paying the import/VAT duty on your package so it can clear customs faster/you not having to deal with customs, nothing else. Why its not done on a sliding scale I don't know as they would charge the same £8 whether you had £18.01 or £1801.00 duty to pay

The additional fees you pay when bringing something in from overseas can be horrific! I personally imported a True-Flite stock from New Zealand. Once I had paid for shipping, warehousing, tax, import duties, brokerage fees, inspection and shipping from Vancouver to Winnipeg, my $1300 stock cost me $2000!

ColinR wrote:I ordered a bedding kit online from Brownells UK which with carriage came to around £32.00. I just got a card delivered by the Post Office saying they won't release the parcel unless I pay £29.65 Customs Duty, which includes an £8.00 Handling charge - that's still £21.95 duty on a total consignment costing only £32.00! As far as I was concerned these goods were being delivered from the UK. I certainly won't take the risk of buying from them again.

How do you know it is the parcel from Brownells that they want the money for?

It is not very clear from the website that items are going to ship from the U.S.A. It is made clear in the confirmation email after you have ordered.
Nor is it very clear that the prices displayed do not include VAT (even though it is a legal requirement for websites to display tax inclusive prices). VAT is added at checkout.

I am waiting for my order to arrive atm. Thanks to the Thankyou voucher I saved more than the shipping cost.

As for the charges that the post is trying to sting you for, that isn't correct as the duties should have been dealt with by Brownells. its worth dropping them a line for them to look into.

[quote="Rarms How do you know it is the parcel from Brownells that they want the money for?[/quote]

Thinking about it you are absolutely right, but as I have nothing else on order or expected from any overseas company or person, except from Brownells, I can only think it is my order from them, hence 'I think I just got screwed by Brownells' I'll go to the Post Office tomorrow and all will hopefully be revealed.

Have you put a call into Brownells UK yet?

ColinR wrote:[quote="Rarms How do you know it is the parcel from Brownells that they want the money for?

Thinking about it you are absolutely right, but as I have nothing else on order or expected from any overseas company or person, except from Brownells, I can only think it is my order from them, hence 'I think I just got screwed by Brownells' I'll go to the Post Office tomorrow and all will hopefully be revealed.[/quote]

From experience they wont tell you who sent it unless you pay to release it!

I would imagine Brownells would make it right if they have messed up.

Yogibear wrote: Nor is it very clear that the prices displayed do not include VAT (even though it is a legal requirement for websites to display tax inclusive prices). VAT is added at checkout.

?? That isn't true, the price displayed is inclusive of VAT. In fact, there is an asterisk after every price shown on the website and when you look at the bottom of the page it says *Prices Incl. VAT, plus DELIVERY" The VAT is shown broken down at the checkout stage though.

Dark Skies wrote:Obviously a clerical error on Brownells' part as the import duty etc. is included in the purchase price.
If by now you have taken delivery of the part you're entitled to reclaim the excess duty paid.

Anything over £18 from abroad (outside of the EU) is liable to import duty and the Royal Mail have been charged with collecting it as point of contact - charging £8 to hold it and drop their little card through the letterbox. What really enrages me is that import duty is also levied on the cost of postage.

So an item £18 in value is fine but an item £18.50 is going to cost you 20% on the item value, 20% on postage plus an £8 dunked on top. That's excessive.

No, duty is only charged on the value of the goods excluding shipping and insurance costs and is only charged if the value of the goods is over £135.

VAT is charged at the appropriate rate ( 0%, 5% or 20% as appropriate) on the value of the goods plus shipping, insurance and duty if the cost of the goods alone is over £15.

The sterling values will be calculated using an HMRC defined exchange rate on the day of import.

ColinR wrote:I ordered a bedding kit online from Brownells UK which with carriage came to around £32.00. I just got a card delivered by the Post Office saying they won't release the parcel unless I pay £29.65 Customs Duty, which includes an £8.00 Handling charge - that's still £21.95 duty on a total consignment costing only £32.00! As far as I was concerned these goods were being delivered from the UK. I certainly won't take the risk of buying from them again.

They will not be any DUTY on the import, just VAT at probably 20%. The card states "Customs Charges" and you can request a breakdown from Post Office/Royal Mail on how it was calculated.