Ecessive customs duty & vat charges ????

[Audsie 10]

I ordered an item from a company in Hong Kong. I paid shipping & delivery charges of R290 to them. In their item advert, they state that duty of 20% and 14% vat could be applicable.

 

Today UPS arrived, and wanted payment ... R436.38 for a item of R844-00. They say customs duty is 20% - correct. Customs vat, they say is 10% PLUS 14% (totalling 24%), :mad: PLUS R100 for "disbursement fees. That gives me a whopping 52% charge, over and above what i paid for the item and their "shipping" charge of R290. What do we stand to do in a case like this?? Advice please! :eek:

[ClickandShip 10]

Isn't it obvious??

 

LOCAL IS LEKKER!!:cool:

[kyle2 10]

Not sure what you ordered, but if its jewelry, you'r going to get nailed, there are a couple of jewelry sellers from that part of the world who overcharge terribly for shipping their items. Customs charges for jewelry is also horrendous. Like clickand ship says, local is lekker.

[Asha Craft 34]

Hi Audsie, simply said - You've learned your lesson. I too had to fork out the dough for 'said seller' and thereafter even asked him to CLEARLY state in his auctions that the clients will be charged about 50% of the price paid for the order. Do you know how I felt when I had to pay nearly R2000 for custom duties and fees?! I'm not kidding, I felt like sending the whole lot back, but then you loose due to "restocking fees" and fighting just to get your initial money back.

It is NEVER just 20%, e-v-e-r. Sorry you had to learn the hard way. Buying a bargain from overseas, usually turns out to be more expensive than local purchases.

[kebs 15]

Whenever possible. rather use regular mail.. I have nothing but issues with courier companies, so will rather use the plain post office route. You still pay customs, & it takes longer, but R100 for disbursement?! & be careful - I gave my card info to a courier company (not UPS, but just as well known) so that they could pay the customs on my behalf.. they double charged me & have refused to pay it back until I show them the credit card statement that shows they charged twice. The fact that they picked it up before I did & have tried 3 times to get the statement from my bank's head office (over a year & a half ago now thanks to their ineffeciency), is irrelevant.

[Miss Jewels 10]

Hi all. I've found DHL and FEDEX to be the best currently. Their charges are very realistic with no hidden costs. They contact you beforehand and inform you of the incoming parcel and also what the total due would be. I can comfortably work my add-ons at 37% and know I'm within my calculations.