£58 Customs Taxes not mentioned in item listing

[lennymags]

Hi everyone, I bought some ink cartridges from an ebay seller based in Germany. Postage was free, no mention of customs charges in the listing. The item is now held at Parcel Force's hub until I pay the £58 customs tax. This brings the total of my order up to nearly £300, which I can't afford. I messaged the seller (several times) stating that the item will be returned to them in a few days and will they refund me. They replied that I MUST pay the charges and will not receive a refund. I quoted the ebay terms & conditions for sellers that they should state in the listing the possibility of customs charges, pointing out that they did not mention this. They have not responded. Obviously I do not want to lose the £240 + pounds I've paid for the item, but I feel I'm being forced to pay. Been unable to find an option to contact ebay on this matter - it's not in the drop down menu options (like most things online). can anyone advise please?

[papso22]

It is up to a buyer to know about the import rules.  However, I can guarantee that somewhere on the listing it would have warned you about import charges.

Refusing to pay will remove you from the protection of the money back guarantee. 

[fargvs]

Be aware that purchases from outside the UK are subject to additional UK Import VAT @20% and any other Duty charges based on £s limits >

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/buying/paying-items/paying-tax-ebay-purchases?id=4771&st=2&pos=2&query=P...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/buying/returns-items-not-received-refunds-buyers/return-item-refund?id=4...

https://pages.ebay.co.uk/ebay-money-back-guarantee/

[*vyolla*]

---

With respect, it really is down to you to be aware that if you buy an item from outside the UK there will be import fees to pay.

These fees are set by our very own HMRC and nothing to do with eBay or eBay sellers. 

If you don't pay the fee and the order is returned, you're not covered by eBay's Money Back Guarantee.

[lennymags]

Thanks for your reply. Being a seller myself, I would not have replied to a
customer in the manner the seller responded to me. I would have offered a
refund. Nevertheless, this experience has taught me something - that not
all sellers are as obliging as me. I would have been aware to mention
customs duty in my listing. For a seller to expect to keep the money and
sell the item again just seems to me immoral and not something I would ever
think of doing. I will certainly not buy from this person again.

[lennymags]

It really did not. I have scrutinized it carefully. But thanks for your
response.

[tobiasd4]

Import fees are nothing to do with seller.

As said, if you don't pay them, you invalidate ebay MBG, so would lose item & money.

You are not the 1st to be caught by this.

[*vyolla*]

---

@lennymags wrote:
Thanks for your reply. Being a seller myself, I would not have replied to a
customer in the manner the seller responded to me. I would have offered a
refund. Nevertheless, this experience has taught me something - that not
all sellers are as obliging as me. I would have been aware to mention
customs duty in my listing. For a seller to expect to keep the money and
sell the item again just seems to me immoral and not something I would ever
think of doing. I will certainly not buy from this person again.

---

But your seller doesn't have their item back, and they've used the postage price you paid to send your order to you, so why should they lose out on either? Hopefully, if and when they do receive their item back they'll issue you with a partial refund of the item price less the outgoing postage cost.

However, there's always a chance that the seller won't get the package back, personally I'd try to find a way to pay the import fee, at least that way you don't risk losing the £240 you've paid.

Sellers don't have to mention anything about import fees in their listings because it's absolutely nothing to do with them, the buyer is the importer. 

[lennymags]

Thanks for letting me know. I just compare the attitude of the seller to my
own when I am selling. I would have considered it my fault had I not made
it clear on my listing that customs charges may be payable. But I guess I
am old school.

[lennymags]

Okay, thanks.

[lennymags]

I realise this, but as a seller, I would consider it my fault, had I failed
to mention the possibility of customs taxes in the actual listing, which
the seller did not.

Here is an extract from Ebay's terms and conditions regarding listings that
may incur such charges:

'When you sell on eBay, you're responsible for complying with all
applicable tax laws. If you ship a package internationally, you should
inform them about the potential import charges they'll need to pay when
they receive their item. The import charges are usually due once the
package arrives in the destination country.'

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply.

[*vyolla*]

---

@lennymags wrote:
I realise this, but as a seller, I would consider it my fault, had I failed
to mention the possibility of customs taxes in the actual listing, which
the seller did not.

Here is an extract from Ebay's terms and conditions regarding listings that
may incur such charges:

'When you sell on eBay, you're responsible for complying with all
applicable tax laws. If you ship a package internationally, you should
inform them about the potential import charges they'll need to pay when
they receive their item. The import charges are usually due once the
package arrives in the destination country.'

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply.

---

Unfortunately I feel that is from a page that should be updated. eBay now collect import VAT and pass it on to the relevant tax authority if the item is below £135. Above that amount, the buyer will pay their end because there may be additional taxes (for example, in the UK we have customs duty above £135).

Sellers cannot know about potential import charges for each country. For example, in the US you can import up to $800 worth of goods and pay nothing (though this will change end of August). 

If you'd like to link me to that eBay page I'll flag it up with eBay.

[lennymags]

Thank you. here is the link:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/taxes-import-charges?id=4121#:~:text=When%...
.