short levers

[tkwish]

Ordered some of these the other week  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300685207665?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
they arrived within around 10 days and the handles seem very good for the money.
BUT.............Be aware if ordering I have been invoiced £20.65 by TNT for import tax
it does state very clearly on e-bay regarding import tax just wasn't expecting quite so much
still a Bargain though

[Mark YPVS]

when i ordered mine i got a bill from TNT as well, havnt paid it yet
Mark

[stevierst]

Yeah, got one when I ordered my juicebox. They wouldn't release it from the delivery company until the tax had been paid. TW@'S!!!

[Tmation]

If you are buying from the USA ask them to send USPS as most of the time it comes through without tax or vat. With TNT FedEx etc you will always get charged if its more than £100 (IIRC)


You have import duty at 10% Vat at 20% plus the shippers handling charge £10+, stuff from the states not so cheap now  [size=78%] [/size]

[stevierst]

That's good advice Tmation, ill be doing that in future!

[mtread]

WAIT!
Have a careful look at the TNT documentation and check the 'value for import duty and VAT'. If it is £15 or less then they are covered by HMRC's 'Low Value Consignment Relief' for postal imports,and no duty or VAT is due. Remember that it is the value declared by the seller on the documentation, not what you paid.
TNT know this, but are notorious for trying it on.
Here's a sample email I sent to customsinvoicequeriesuk@tnt.co.uk
"I'm writing to query Invoice no ******7748
 Please advise why you have charged £2.61 VAT and raised this invoice. The Value For VAT and Value For Duty shown on your paperwork is £13.07 (correctly converted from US $20). This is under the Low Value Consignment Relief threshold of £15, so VAT and your invoice charges should not have been raised."Strangely enough I heard nothing more from them .....

[simonm]

You can also ask them to send it marked as a gift 

[Punkstig]

You can also ask them to send it marked as a gift 

Pretty much all eBay packages from china comme marked as 'gift' and I've never had a problem from that part of the world, however- the vast majority of USA sellers have it on their listing that they 'will not mark as gift so don't ask' because its against US law, it appears they're more law abiding than their eastern counterparts!

[tkwish]

WAIT!
Have a careful look at the TNT documentation and check the 'value for import duty and VAT'. If it is £15 or less then they are covered by HMRC's 'Low Value Consignment Relief' for postal imports,and no duty or VAT is due. Remember that it is the value declared by the seller on the documentation, not what you paid.
TNT know this, but are notorious for trying it on.
Here's a sample email I sent to customsinvoicequeriesuk@tnt.co.uk
"I'm writing to query Invoice no ******7748
 Please advise why you have charged £2.61 VAT and raised this invoice. The Value For VAT and Value For Duty shown on your paperwork is £13.07 (correctly converted from US $20). This is under the Low Value Consignment Relief threshold of £15, so VAT and your invoice charges should not have been raised."Strangely enough I heard nothing more from them .....

thank you for this information I have now looked into this and notice that the levers when sent was marked (reason for import) SAMPLE
samples are exempt from LVCR I have since e-mailed the company and advised them that they should not mark items as samples as this incures a cost.

[tkwish]

update TNT have accepted that this was not a Sample and have refunded the payment in full

[adeejaysdelight]

TKwish - I would question the amount of duty you paid mate. Call the courier and ask to speak to a manager. If they do not comply, I would report them to their governing body.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/post/buying.htm#3
 

[mtread]

It's where TNT's handling charge is more than the import VAT, that I find .......... unfortunate

[garyb]

Bought these recently and seller sent them via TNT.
TNT charged me €6 euro VAT - cash on delivery before they would part with them