Clearing British Customs

[nmoushon]

So I'm in the proccess of buying an item from a guy over in GB and having it shipped here to the state. Didn't realise that there would be a bunch of fees to get through customs. Anyways so customs has it "on hold" beause I have to pay for a Customs Clearance Seal? I've never bought anything from overseas before so I'm wondering if this is normal?

[mallorcasaint]

I've had to pay duties and fees when I get packages from the States.

[Spec-Chum]

Yep, its normal. Happens if you go the other way too

[nmoushon]

Sorry I realise there are going to be fees and stuff but I wondering if anyone has heard of this particular one before? Sounds a little sketch to me.

[nmoushon]

And the email address this guy sent me was border_clearance_tax@london.com Thought they had a .uk not .com

[pvaz]

It probably varies from state to state. Here in Portugal I have to pay 23% over the price, plus a 5€ fixed tax for "processing the items". They won't apply to items bought within the european union, but I always have to pay when ordering from anywhere else.

[pvaz]

And the email address this guy sent me was border_clearance_tax@london.com Thought they had a .uk not .com

That's strange. Customs charges should only be applied after arrival, in your home country. At least that's how it works here.

[GlassWalker]

If there is a customs fee, that is paid to customs in your country. If I was in the USA, I wouldn't expect to pay anything on the UK side unless you needed some really exotic paperwork. London.com seems to be a tourist info site. Nothing to do with customs in the UK (hmrc.gov.uk).

[Earl]

That email address look fishy!

For a British perspective, Items which have been bought outside the EU have to go through customs clearance, they add on the Import Duty, then it goes off to Parcel Force (Farce) who also add on a handling fee, both the duty and handling fee is paid to Parcel Force.

We get a letter through the post from Parcel Force with the relevant details on how we go about paying etc.

[SteveNickolls]

Hmm you might want to double check out the sender of the message to see if it is from a legitimate source. I have had dubious emails 'from' UPS US when buying stuff from the States but the poor english and grammar have always shown them to be fake-asking for money up front. I do wonder though how they get to know you are buying/importing. Here in the UK I've always only paid excise duty and VAT when I have collected the goods.

Cheers,

Steve

[mallorcasaint]

It sounds like a scam. How was the package shipped and by what courier? Is it US customs that is "holding" the package? Any customs fees will be charged by US customs, not UK customs.

[Steve]

That email address look fishy!

Agreed. Be careful.

[Uranium235]

Hang on, the OP sounds like you are buying via a private sale (ie: used equipment), is that right? If so, hasnt the tax already been paid and therefore exempt from any import duty? Example, if I were to post/courier an xmas gift to a friend - i wouldnt expect them to have to pay any tax or fees to recieve it as it is non-commercial.

[nmoushon]

I put up a wanted add for a second hand item and they contacted me. The courier is www.firstflight-shipping.com

[TheNorthernMonkey]

That email address looks very scammy. I wouldn't pay.

[JohnC]

Just checked with companies house.

Not registered with them but simalar names exist.

There contact address is near to me and i think suspect.

They only list mobile numbers for contact.

Looks a bit suspect.

[JohnC]

Copy of records at companies house. 02887091 FIRST FLIGHT (EUROPE) LIMITED 03623240 FIRST FLIGHT FORWARDERS LTD. 03782019 FIRST FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL LTD 05871276 FIRST FLIGHT (PLACEMENTS) LIMITED SC342362 D FIRST FLIGHT RECORDS LTD Dissolved 06824668 D FIRST FLIGHT SERVICES LTD Dissolved 07777328 D FIRST FLIGHT (SW) LIMITED Dissolved 04868813 D FIRSTFLIGHT TRAVELS LIMITED Dissolved 05623064 D FIRST FLIGHT TRAVEL SERVICES LTD Dissolved 05135188 D FIRST FLIGHT (UK) LIMITED Dissolved

[Capricorn]

That email, border_clearance_tax@london.com, is wrong.

Customs is charged on the import into the country, in your case when it comes into the US, not when it goes out of the UK, you would get notification from the US Customs when it arrives at the US.

Any charge on leaving the UK, none that I am aware of, would be against the sender not the recipient.

The body here does not have a @london.com email address.

If they were to contact you, doubtful, it would be something like person@hmrc.gov.uk, the website is www.hmrc.gov.uk

HMRC here are ALWAYS saying they do not contact via email.

Not sure of the situation but if you can get out of the deal then get out.

One small point, if that address is correct then the web site would be www.london.com, if you look at that then it is a London Tourism site and nothing to do with customs, tax, import or exports.

[DirkSteele]

Hang on, the OP sounds like you are buying via a private sale (ie: used equipment), is that right? If so, hasnt the tax already been paid and therefore exempt from any import duty? Example, if I were to post/courier an xmas gift to a friend - i wouldnt expect them to have to pay any tax or fees to recieve it as it is non-commercial.

Cannot speak for US tax law, but in the UK, even second hand items purchased outside of the EU will have import tax and VAT added to them. I have learnt this to my cost on an area of interest away from astronomy.

[Photosbykev]

I would run a mile from this purchase. It sounds extremely dodgy from the initial contact through to the uk customs payment which is just not payable. Possibly getting scammed once is bad enough but twice in a transaction is just greedy

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Blame Apple for the typos and me for the content

[mallorcasaint]

Cannot speak for US tax law, but in the UK, even second hand items purchased outside of the EU will have import tax and VAT added to them. I have learnt this to my cost on an area of interest away from astronomy.

Correct but the taxes are due in the country of receipt not the country of origin. I fear you have been scammed!

[JohnC]

I have been in touch with the OP by PM.

The numbers he gave me for contact and consignment are bogus.

I live 15 miles from the given address of the couriers, which again seems suspect.

Hope he has not lost money on this.

The world seems rife with scams at the moment!!

[nmoushon]

As imbarrising as this is to say I've been dooped. So that people in the future won't fall for this I'll explain the circumstances:

This person JC81 (on www. cloudynights.com) contacted me about a wanted add I posted and said he had one for sale. He said he was located in the UK and would ship UPS or FedEx. We made arrangements for me to send him the money via MoneyGram. He then sent me a website and tracking number from a different courier other than UPS or FedEx. I didn't think much of it at first. He then said that the customs office in the UK has it on hold because of some clearance issues and needed to pay another amount to get it through. But only customs from the receiving country would put it on hold not the sending country. This is what finally brought my to realize this was a scam. Unfortunately too late for my original payment. The courier he used is www.firstflight-shipping.com which is a bogus website. He sent telephone numbers that were fake as well. Pretty elaborate set up they got going here.

I've heard of people getting scammed by someone trying to buy thier item for sell but not through a wanted add.

[Uranium235]

Cannot speak for US tax law, but in the UK, even second hand items purchased outside of the EU will have import tax and VAT added to them. I have learnt this to my cost on an area of interest away from astronomy.

Hmmm very interesting, thats something I didnt know - cheers!

But im still sure there is a "gift" option on customs declorations, or is that just for outgoing stuff? Its been a while since I sent a parcel abroad.

[Uranium235]

via MoneyGram

The work of the devil and a scammers favorite service.