UK Borders Customs.

[Dishmop]

Anybody ever tried to contact UK Border Control?

Tell you now, dont waste your time.

There is only one phone number anywhere which after each push button option tells you much of the same thing as the last option.
I did get to speak to somebody but the only advice she was able to give was that which she has been trained to give and knows nothing about how the system works, and that I should "WRITE" a letter and ask for form XXX

Somebody in the US sent me some stuff to do some work on.
I didnt "import" it.
I didnt pay for it.
It is not a "gift".
Parcel Force want £73 before they will release it.. I can then do the work and sent it back. I then have to make an application for a refund and I "MIGHT" get a parcial or full refund. MIGHT.
They say that a form XXX should have been filled in before I imported it.....
The person in the US was not aware that there would be duty levied because he has never had to pay any duty when I have sent stuff to him. It will be in the UK for 2 days and then sent back.

Theres no email addresses anywhere on the HMRC websites. However, what I finally did find was an email address on the Coventry Airport site for the UKBC.
I doubt I will get an answer tho.

 

[pargyle]

They say that a form XXX should have been filled in before I imported it.....
The person in the US was not aware that there would be duty levied because he has never had to pay any duty when I have sent stuff to him. It will be in the UK for 2 days and then sent back.

.

So what is the £73 Parcel force are charging you for ? VAT or Import Duty ? It's usually HMRC that handle charges of this sort - UK Border control are UK Border Agency and they are normally only concerned with people crossing borders - are you importing slaves Dishmop and the re-exporting them after modifying them ?

Seriously, your local HRMC office will probably be more help - I've found them quite approachable and helpful when I've had a query about VAT being charged on something that was 'samples' from the USA. I had to pay it but then got a refund very quickly.

 

[Dishmop]

So what is the £73 Parcel force are charging you for ? VAT or Import Duty ? It's usually HMRC that handle charges of this sort - UK Border control are UK Border Agency and they are normally only concerned with people crossing borders -

Same department. They want Import Duty +VAT and Parcel Force want some for their handing fees.
Parcel Force pay the duty to HMRC.. so if they have paid itthey will now have to claim it back because I told them to send it back.

 

[pargyle]

Same department. They want Import Duty +VAT and Parcel Force want some for their handing fees.
Parcel Force pay the duty to HMRC.. so if they have paid itthey will now have to claim it back because I told them to send it back.

Yes... it's bloody ridiculous isn't it ? I needed the stuff I was sent from the USA and had to pay and I only got the VAT back - the Parcel force handling fee, as I recall, was about £8 at the time which I thought was extortionate and that was not refundable.

Your contacts need to identify contents clearly as 'Samples, no commercial value' and you SHOULD be OK. Customs opened my parcel and decided in their infinite wisdom that they were 'commercial goods attracting VAT at the standard rate'. It's a bit of a lottery I'm afraid.

 

[Sean.]

Had the same problem with some software from a supplier, they provided a pen drive that needed to be plugged in to operate the 60 day trial of the software. The supplier paid the £50+VAT!!! Briton is NOT open for business when HMRC conduct themselves in this sort of way. It's embarrassing, and shows what a ball ache it would be to do business with a UK company.

 

[Dishmop]

Its stupid that I have to pay the fees before I can appeal against them!!!!!

For 4 years I had huge boxes of stuff sent from Pakistan marked as samples and never once got a query but I am inclined to think that the sender crossed the export agent's palm with silver.

 

[Dishmop]

ONE HIVE OWNER AND PROUD OF IT !

You really must keep up..

 

[Ely]

Soon to be a zero hive owner if I don't see any pollen going in soon! Been nice weather too.

 

[Dishmop]

Soon to be a zero hive owner if I don't see any pollen going in soon! Been nice weather too.

That bad?

 

[Ely]

I've lost a lot of swarms as they just wouldn't stop despite a/s. I ran out of equipment to do any further a/s. I'm off to uni in September so I don't have money for queens. Fingers crossed they'll sort themselves out otherwise they'll just fade out.

 

[pargyle]

ONE HIVE OWNER AND PROUD OF IT !

You really must keep up..

Staying under the Finnish Beekeeping Mafia radar !

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Briton is NOT open for business when HMRC conduct themselves in this sort of way. It's embarrassing, and shows what a ball ache it would be to do business with a UK company.

well, that's what you get for taking a department who have been doing the job since 1667 proudly and professionally, chopping it up and giving the non-frontline side to the Inlansd Revenue, a bunch of soulless, spineless individuals who don't care and who are afraid of talking to human beings.
Thankyou Gordon for this - and selling our gold reserves!

 

[Dishmop]

DVLC is another good one for trying to get an answer.

They will tell you the rules but not define what they mean.

A mini bus is a vehicle with ? seats.. it mentions no weight, so therefore a coach with all but ? seats taken out is a minibus.....

The government make the rules but it is up to the courts to interpret them.

except in the case of HMRC who do what they want even tho they were told by European Union it was illegal for C&E to be confiscating people's cars because they had a few hundred cigarettes.

 

[pargyle]

well, that's what you get for taking a department who have been doing the job since 1667 proudly and professionally, chopping it up and giving the non-frontline side to the Inlansd Revenue, a bunch of soulless, spineless individuals who don't care and who are afraid of talking to human beings.
Thankyou Gordon for this - and selling our gold reserves!

IRev ... No sense, no soul, no conscience ... they just hide behind the rule book - if you can ever get through to them !

Well that's my tax return up for an intensive review then ....

 

[drstitson]

"Somebody in the US sent me some stuff to do some work on.
I didnt "import" it.
I didnt pay for it.
It is not a "gift".
Parcel Force want £73 before they will release it."

Rules are rules. Unless the item was clearly marked as having no (or minimal) commercial value why should the royal mail (acting as intermediary for HMRC) not treat the goods as anything other than VATable and exciseable?

Also one needs to remember the exempt value the INCLUDES P&P/S&H - so a cheap item can easily end up attracting extra charges.

Since global small scale trading is now commonplace via the internet (eg ebay) i wonder exactly just how much potential revenue the country loses every year through imported goods being marked "sample" or "gift"????

 

[pargyle]

"Somebody in the US sent me some stuff to do some work on.
I didnt "import" it.
I didnt pay for it.
It is not a "gift".
Parcel Force want £73 before they will release it."

Rules are rules. Unless the item was clearly marked as having no (or minimal) commercial value why should the royal mail (acting as intermediary for HMRC) not treat the goods as anything other than VATable and exciseable?

Also one needs to remember the exempt value the INCLUDES P&P/S&H - so a cheap item can easily end up attracting extra charges.

Since global small scale trading is now commonplace via the internet (eg ebay) i wonder exactly just how much potential revenue the country loses every year through imported goods being marked "sample" or "gift"????

Lots I would think ... I've certainly ordered bits of wood turning kit from the USA (where it is vastly cheaper - even when you include postage) and I've only once been asked to pay VAT. There has never been any 'samples or gifts' declaration as most of these have been from commercial traders - not always on ebay. There seems to be a bit of a random selection process rather than everything being processed. I suspect that, as it cannot be done by machine, there are simply not enough people to check every item and they go for the 'bigger' items. The one that I got charged for was in a big box but it had much less value than another item from the same supplier a week or two later which was in a very small packet.

 

[Black Comb]

Complaining to the border agency is a waste of time.
We were stopped and searched at Manchester because we complained when the idiot on duty gave our passports to someone else who wandered off with them.
She then got snotty and said "I thought you were all together". Came off her desk and waited until we came through after baggage reclaim and pointed us out.

Filled in complaint form, filled in 2nd one, but they said we can't identify this man because you have not given his name and they would take it no further.
I clearly stated on the form that it was a female officer, gave flight number time and date.
I was never going to get anywhere.

Importing stuff seems hit and miss. My son has imported exam notes for his professional exams for the past few years, no problem. This year UPS wanted £75. He had no choice but to pay.

 

[sipa]

if you are either importing or exporting , the paper work has to be spot on !

Do it right, and you won't have any problems. Oh, and be completely honest, no good wining if you've told even a little white lie.

Three copies of a commercial invoice, one original + copies is ok, all three must be signed.
Samples etc, should display a nominal value, eg £1 / 1$, if you put a nil amount this will attract attention, and cause problems.

If you are expecting a shipment from overseas always get tracking details from the shipper, and copies of the paper work they are sending with the shipment, gives you the chance to check them. Use the details to appraise the freight forwarder (normally the courier company) of the shipment details and any or no duty or vat payable, do this in writing, by FAX only, not email to a named person.
Then you have got them by the b***s if they screw up.

 

[Dishmop]

HMRC introduce new staff to the public.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpd8cqxvb0g