skechers shoes

[kevb4u]

I have just received a letter from customs saying that they have the shoes and I will have to  pay,  customs entry  £8.00 and import vat £4.81 total of £12.81, we have contacted the seller,  only to be told his company Apparelsave has no control over UK import duties, he also omitted to disclose that there would be this additional charge, can anyone please tell me my rights 

[*vyolla* · Accepted solution]

@kevb4u

These fees are your responsibility. 

Import fees are paid by the buyer, they are nothing to do with either eBay or the seller. The buyer is importing an item from a non EU country. The charges are set by our very own HMRC.

All items with a declared value of over £15 from a non EU country are subject to VAT and an admin fee (£8 if via Royal Mail, much more for couriers such as Fedex).

VAT will be charged on an item up to £135 in value, then Customs Duty kicks in.

There is a message on each international eBay listing warning you of possible charges, it's just below the postage price on each listing. Here's an example: