just bought on eBay and I saw suddenly a “UK VAT added to price” for the first time is this correct

[laugb2001]

Hi,

I just bought an item on eBay and I saw added to the final price before payment a "UK VAT added to price" to a value of 20%. I have never seen that before in more than 18 years on eBay. The seller is in UK and I am also in UK. Is this correct and have I really to pay it?

thanks.

Lau

[unclestein]

Why are your replies so condescending? Are they from a script?

If it was "clearly explained" there wouldn't be so many people complaining about it?

It's because nothing is ever "clear" with Ebay.

It says "VAT and import duty MAY be charged" - what use is that to anyone?

"May be charged" is NOT a breakdown of the VAT and/or import charges which should appear prior to the sale, which every business in the UK CLEARLY shows at the point of payment, except for Ebay.

Yeh I am conversant with UK tax laws thanks.

[unclestein]

To illustrate, here is a screenshot of a recent purchase I made with an established UK electronic components supplier. Ebay executives should note how the VAT costs are listed BEFORE the payment is made. This is standard procedure for every company on the planet, apart from Ebay. How hard can it be?

 

[papso22]

Presumably that was a UK company selling to you in the UK?

Nothing like the situation that is the topic of this thread, which is about import VAT, not 'normal' VAT. 

[swamorre]

EBay has become a major Rip Off platform. Report to HMRC

[papso22]

---

@swamorre wrote:

EBay has become a major Rip Off platform. Report to HMRC

---

Report them for what?

[unclestein]

HMRC are currently on the warpath hunting-down private sellers who appear to be exceeding £1000 per annum in un-declared income and who will thus be liable to pay UK income tax. This includes up to 5 years of previous sales and will result in a demand for back-payments of income tax owed plus a huge fine. By law Ebay must give HMRC any information they request, so I'd be careful what you wish for!

Trading Standards only act on complaints against Ebay traders selling dangerous or fake goods.

This leaves Ebay to carry out their operations almost unhindered. They appear to be self-regulated apart from a small mention in the T&C about escalating your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, and later on it mentions the Financial Conduct Authority. Be warned however: I can say from experience that the FCA will only take on a case where you have suffered a financial loss. When your complaint has been received by the FCA (usually after 8 weeks) Ebay will reimburse you with a 'courtesy payment' or 'gift payment' for the disputed amount. This is like an out of court settlement but since it is a 'gift' and not a refund or compensation it absolves them of any wrong doing. Most claimants will drop their complaint with the FCA at this stage as they are no longer suffering the financial loss. This is how Ebay look so squeaky clean in the FCA case studies.

Ebay is a shoddy and unfair platform full of glitches. I stopped selling on Ebay a while back. It's obvious they don't give a damn about their customers, in fact I think there's another Ebay just for subscription-based volume sellers where everything is awesome - for a fee!

The only way to deal with it is to vote with your feet and stop using them altogether!

[the_coxswain]

The same just happened to me (first time in twenty years).

It is illegal under The Consumer Protection (Code of Practice for Traders on Price Indications) Approval Order 2005 unless the seller is trade only.

I have informed eBay who are monitoring the seller (the seller doesn't seem to be doing it at the moment).

[myriad*seller]

The seller didnt add it

eBay added it to the total

HMRC require eBay to add it by law, if either the seller, OR the item are located overseas at the point of sale

CS reps just tell you what you want to hear

[myriad*seller]

This Which? article explains how VAT being added is perfectly legal and within taxation legislation

(Which? is a top consumer magazine from the UK)

What extra delivery fees do I have to pay post-Brexit when buying online?

Customs duties, import VAT and courier ‘handling fees’ can now be added on top of what you pay at the point of sale for items ordered online from EU-based retailers that are delivered to the UK.

How much extra you could be charged depends on the total value of your order, also known as the ‘consignment value’, it also depends on the firm you’ve bought from. The ‘consignment value’ is the price of the goods excluding shipping and handling costs.

In some cases, because delivery firms have paid shipping and import costs, you may be asked to pay fees by the couriers delivering your items. If you don’t pay you may not be able to receive your order. You can also pay the delivery fees at the Post Office if you are collecting your items.

Import VAT

Import VAT is a fee currently paid on goods sent to the UK from abroad, but instead of the normal VAT you would pay at the checkout for your items, you’ll pay ‘import VAT’ on the total cost of the item and shipping and handling costs accrued when the courier brings the purchase to the UK. The usual UK Import VAT rate is 20%. 

As these charges are added up after purchase, the total cost of ordering your items will start to increase and could leave you with unexpected fees on items you’ve bought online.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/online-shopping-do-i-have-to-pay-vat-import-and-handl... 

[the_coxswain]

Myriad here says eBay added it, but the seller's prices are now not having VAT added at checkout despite the seller still being based in Hong Kong with stock in the UK. 

Also I phoned eBay about it and they said the VAT charge was incorrect. 

Who and what is correct ?

[myriad*seller]

CS tell you what you want to hear

They have no idea about UK tax legislation so they will say whatever they think you want to hear

If you didn't have VAT added to an overseas sale then eBay have gone wrong somewhere or the seller is faking their location using a false address in the UK to avoid having VAT levied on top of their sale price

eBay won't investigate or do anything - they just tell you what they think you want to hear to get you off the phone

Always better to give out the answer the caller was looking for, rather than the truth, so you get better feedback ratings as a CS rep! 

[jadie13910]

Gues what - HMRC told me after I had been on the telephone for over an hour !!!!

Who should I contact - the local Chinese chippy  ?????? Mind you I would probably get better information from them because eBay can NOT be trusted !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And yet again everyone seems to be missing the point here - It should be CLEARLY STATED PRIOR TO COMMITING TO BUY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   How hard can that be ?

[jadie13910]

HMRC clearly explained this to me on the phone - HMRC said it should NOT have been charged !!!!!!!!!

[jadie13910]

YES at last somebody actually gets the whole point here - well done dakes2 its just a pity that some on here fail to see the issue - Show the total cost PRIOR to commiting to buy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jadie13910]

NO  NI is still part of the UK and subject to UK VAT rules - meang bought from NI sent to UK = NO ADDITIONAL VAT is payable - so the price you see should be the price you should pay i.e advertised as £5.00 you should pay £5.00 ( VAT is included in price )  and that is according to HMRC    !!!!

[unclestein]

Last year I filed an official complaint to Ebay customer service and the representative apologised and told me "there is a software glitch, causing the VAT to be augmented into the item cost but not displayed to view in the cost breakdown at the time of payment". They told me not to worry because "the technical team had been informed" and "they are working on it".

This means it's been a known issue, and the customers were right all along (despite the gaslighting I've seen on this forum suggesting that anyone who questions it is an idiot).

A year later and Ebay are raking in enough fees to pay for an elite software team several times over. Anyone would expect it to run perfectly, but they've still done sod all to fix anything!

[dodgeram-durango]

At long last, the point of SALE discussion has been achieved!

[myriad*seller]

As previously discussed at length, eBay cannot calculate any VAT or duty due until the buyer selects the delivery address, as it makes a difference to the duty or VAT due or not due.

So the point at which VAT can be calculated is not until you enter checkout and select the delivery address

It CANNOT be done any other way unless you want them to list a variety of prices for all possible permutations of recipient location on every listing.

eg Buyer in UK buys item located in Germany to be sent to her sister located in Germany - no VAT or duty due.

Buyer in UK buys same item located in Germany for delivery to their mother in the UK  - VAT is due and duty may be due if price over £X 

VAT/duty cannot be calculated before this point - it is impossible

[unclestein]

With respect myriad, we understand how it should work...but not when you take into account the Ebay glitch factor! (try this out at home and see):

Contrary to what Ebay tell us, when buying items from China the listed price already includes the final import duty/VAT. Take for example an item I just purchased from 'London UK' (aka China) which is shown listed for £13.99:

Click 'Buy now'... onto the shopping basket summary:

1 item £13.99 each [The glitch is here: it should show the cost breakdown with the VAT element]

Click 'Go to checkout'....after the successful payment:

1 item £11.66

VAT * £2.33

Order total: £13.99 [VAT should be shown separately like this before the checkout as well].

Note the total was already shown in the original listing which proves they've already calculated the VAT correctly, so why isn't it shown before the checkout?

As I've stated before Ebay have admitted it IS a glitch and they have been 'working on it' for at least a year. How difficult can it be?

[papso22]

Ebay frequently tells members that something the member raises as an issue for them is a glitch and the technical team is working on it.  It does not mean there is a glitch, it's just an easy answer to something the operative doesn't understand.

Items bought from overseas sellers with warehouses in the UK follow a very different VAT route to other purchases as the items are deemed to be bought by ebay and then sold to the buyer by ebay, not the seller.  'Normal' VAT rules don't apply.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-and-overseas-goods-sold-to-customers-in-the-uk-using-online-marketpl...