VAT shock makes Chris’s Christmas £40+ dearer
Tuesday 21st December 2010, 2:29PM GMT.
NEW notices in Guernsey Post branches will help prevent customers being hit by surprise charges when sending gifts to the UK.
Supply teacher Chris Le Page (pictured) was shocked that two boxes of gifts he had sent to family in the UK were charged VAT and a customer clearance fee of £8 because they were worth more than £40.
But what really annoyed him was that at the time of sending, nobody had told him that would happen.
‘There was nothing at the post office to tell me parcels over £40 would be charged,’ he said. ‘If I had known I would have split the presents up into two parcels and saved myself £20 for each one.’
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Sorry Mr Le Page but don’t blame the Post Office for your ignorance. It’s not their job to inform you of UK import regulations, it’s yours.
The Post Office are being kind by putting up a sign. They aren’t under any obligation as far as I’m concerned.
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Sorry Paul but you talk to much. You should go and look at yourself hard in the mirror and understand that sometimes chickens dont like to feed in the gracious lands of Mount Ararat. Bears cant roam in the wild when there is no wilderness to roam in. I am a bear and I need my wilderness I hope you understand. Your mind needs to be set free by the powers of conformity. This is abstract chickens breasts. Mmmmm goats cheese!
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Chris Le Page
It is surprising for a teacher to pen such an answer to Paul le Page.
Paul Le Page simply states the facts.
It is your responsibility to ensure you know the cost and tax consequences of sending a parcel to the UK.
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VAT is Vaccum Assisted Typewriting! Ive got this all confused! Im not the man in the article there are pages and le pages of Chris Le Pages!
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@Chris Le Page – yes I may talk too much it’s true, it’s a family trait I’ve heard – one that it seems we share!
As for the rest of your post, I got a bit lost I’m afraid! :-)
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The whole VAT thing is stupid, if I’m selling a second hand item on eBay, and decide to use Guernsey Post – > Royal Mail to ship things to the UK I either get charged VAT or the buyer does.
It’s second hand FGS! I now always mark my items as gifts, and even if the item is above £40 I will lower the price, if it gets lost in the post I cover myself.
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Gifts to family should ALWAYS be VAT free, regardless of where they live. How about you get back to the point Mr. Le Page is making, instead of ridiculous squabbling?
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I share in your frustration about the lack of information given. I’ve just had a parcel with all my Christmas presents for my family send back to me because it had a deodorant (aerosol) in one of the gift sets; I had no idea this wasn’t allowed. They’ve taken the deo out (so the parcel was no longer “dangerous”) and instead of then sending it on they decided to send it back to me. So now it’s 4 days before Xmas and there is no way it will get there in time… Merry Christmas.
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Hmmm
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Don’t know why my avatar has gone awol on me but I can handle it.
I was in the mood to talk to you all about my past as a hardcore porn addict and my adventures as a militant Neo-Nazi fascist.
Am going to have a cigar and get back to you all with a few chapters.
OK!
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The avatar is back on duty now, Paul Le Doppelgänger. Nice cigar, though!
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I thought that this was common knowledge!
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Mark
VAT and import duty are set by the UK government, we have no control over them.
Details of the regulations are available from the HMRC website here:
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageImport_ShowContent&propertyType=document&id=HMCE_CL_000014#P40_4237
Although it would be nice for all gifts imported into the UK from Guernsey to be VAT free, that’s not really practical from the UK’s perspective as it would create a huge VAT loophole. All anyone would have to do is mark commercial goods as gifts and bingo, no VAT.
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Paul Le Page – I believe someone is trying to impersonate you. I also had this a couple of months ago and reported it as ‘juvenile’ abuse. You should do the same as I highly suspect it’s the same person. Although when they did it to me they actually copy and pasted my avatar to look like it came from the same email address…
Going back to topic.
Why shouldn’t Guernsey Post pass this information on to it’s customers? Are we expected to trawl though Royal Mail’s website or contact their customer services on the off chance we find some relevant information on what we’re planning to do? Unless you happen to know there may be charges you wouldn’t think of checking. I can’t see that this would create extra work for Guernsey Post but rather improve their Customer Service.
I find the Customer Service at Guernsey Post very poor. I posted a parcel last week and paid with the exact change and just stood there with the assistant looking at me. She then told me that it was all ok and it would be sent today to which I replied I was awaiting my receipt. Cue heavy sign a lot of rummaging around and receipt finally given. Normally I don’t make a habit out of asking for receipts but it’s my proof that the package was sent and therefore I would imagine that the majority of people through Christmas would like receipts for their items. Was this really a big task to complete and shouldn’t it be automatic anyway?
Now I know that it’s probably not the most glamorous and exciting job in the world but would it hurt to smile? To say thank you? These are just basic customer service tips aren’t they? Granted I’m sure there are excellent Assistants in Guernsey Post, however, I’m generalising and this is unfortunately the experience I get.
I don’t find Guernsey Post going above and beyond but only provide the minimum standard of service.
Christmas is their busiest period yet they don’t open their collect counter any longer than usual. It’s still only till 7pm and only till 12pm on a Saturday. Also I had a knock on the door a week or so ago and just as I was walking down the hall to get to the door saw one of their infamous slips pop though. It must have taken me no longer than 20 seconds to reach the door therefore they had to have pre-written out the slip. I have no doubt that it was probably quicker to do that than wait but is it about time quota’s or customer service?
They could do so much better. So open up to competition I say, perhaps they will advertise all the charges we need to know and do it with a smile…
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@Lynnie – there is no need to trawl through Royal Mail or HMRC websites. Only two clicks on Guernsey Post’s site gets you here:
http://www.guernseypost.com/postal_services/customs_and_service_levels/hm_revenue_and_customs
I have to say that the service we receive from Guernsey Post up here in Alderney is pretty good.
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Mr G, only one stupid thing on this page, and it’s not v.a.t. you know what i’m talkin,
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Greg, any chance it’s your spelling and grammar?
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To the Chris Le Page that the article is about.
You are the one using the service supplied by the Post Office so you should have checked the regulations concerned.
Ness,
Do you really expect us to believe that in today`s world security situation you didn`t know about sending potential “BOMBS” through the post? Are you really that thick?
Think yourself lucky that you weren`t sought out as a terrorist, I bet Special Branch have now got you on file as a suspect.
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nocon
I think you may find that you cannot send them through because of the change in air preasure which can cause them to explode and not the reason you are suggesting
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Welcome to the unfair and bankrupt ways of the UK. Still it wont be long before we will get VAT here along with all the other forward thinking goodies available on the mainland.
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bcb,
Can you please explain the difference between a BOMB and something which explodes no matter how they are set off?
As an ex serviceman who handled such devices I can assure you that aeresol cans can do serious, if not deadly, results as BOMBs in aircraft holds.
Believe it or not this is why they are not allowed to be sent through the mail. If you read the restrictions on what you can pack or carry on aircraft you will know that aeresols have been banned for years before any terrorist actions because they could become explosive i.e:- BOMBs.
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nocon – bcb is right. You first suggested that the reason for the restriction was “security” but you now say that it is for safety reasons. There is a clear difference.
But your last post is also incorrect – there are no general restrictions against packing normal domestic aerosols in your hold baggage.
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nocon
What are you on about? thats exactly what i just said.
Your first post implies they are not allowed because of the security/terrorist (security yes) threat, while i was just saying its because they can explode because of the change in air pressure (bomb).
And thats why they are not allowed and i know they havent been for as long as i can remember, even before the terrorist threat and that was my point.
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