DHL Rip Off

I ordered 10 off bespoke pcbs from a company in China, quoted price $7 (£5.70), which I thought very reasonable. Postage via DHL $27 (£21.95), which isn't cheap, but I knew about it before I placed the order. I have now received a text from DHL stating that I owe VAT of somewhere over £5, which is fair enough, someone has to pay for the NHS, but DHL want a handling fee of £11, which I think is a total rip off. I don't appear to have any option, if I don't pay up front they won't deliver, but let others be aware.

Anyone know a UK based firm which will do 10 off boards 4" * 2.5" single sided at a reasonable cost? I know I could make tem myself, but drilling all those holes accurately to fit multipin chips would 'do my head in'

Not really any more than Parcel Force would charge for their handling fee. I always figure VAT, any import duty and a fee into anything bought from abroad

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That’s strange ... there used to be a £15 [value of the item] threshold

Has HMRC changed the rules again

MichaelG.

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Edit: ... or did you buy ten boards at £5.70 each ?

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 11/10/2020 14:16:58

VAT is charged on postage and packing so the value is above the limit.

I always stomach the slower delivery time via standard post rather than risk the extra costs with DHL.

That said, even with the import duty and fees, I think the PCBs will still work out cheaper than sourcing them from a fab in the UK or EU.

PCBshopper.com is a good price comparison site forPCB manufacture.

To get an idea of EU costs, have a look at Eurocircuits - your 10x 4"x2.5" single sided boards on a 7-day turnaround time are at least 115 EUR!

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The threshold for imported items was £15 for the purchase [excluding postage and packing] ... but if the threshold was exceeded then VAT was charged on the total.

The ‘value’ is [was?] what was declared on the Customs form
[converted to GBP at the point of entry into the UK]

Unless something has changed recently; the rules [whilst rather convoluted] are very clearly described on the .gov website.

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 11/10/2020 15:35:39

The Rules : **LINK**

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

MichaelG.

As far as I am aware most delivery companies charge a “handling” fee of around ten pounds. I’ve certainly had to pay the ransom to Parcel Force and UPS before.

Michael,

I agree, the rules are well described but open to interpretation. The authorities may well take the view that p&p three times the value of the goods is an attempt to circumvent the rules and wait for the customer to challenge the charge.

Cheers,

Rod

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Which is exactly what Duncan should do

MichaelG.

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PostScript: This may, or may not, be the company that Duncan used ... and the link might be removed by a Moderator for CoC reasons ... but it is a clear statement from a Supplier who obviously understands the process.

https://support.jlcpcb.com/article/89-customs-duties-and-taxes

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 11/10/2020 17:23:05

It seems DHL are following the rules, but £11 to handle £5 is still a rip off, it can't cost them anything like that, probably all done by computer and costs buttons. The argument that it is comparable with other shippers only shows that they are all ripping us off.

I wish I'd known about the PCBshopper site, including postage that would have been <£15 so exempt

Edited By duncan webster on 11/10/2020 17:46:07

I suppose you fell foul of the law of average, would you be complaining if that £11 charge was applied to a £2000 item?

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O.K. I am bewildered ... The £15 threshold value should not include the shipping costs

... or did your supplier lump it all together on the Customs Declaration ?

MichaelG.

Rip offs are everywhere.

My interpretation of the rules is that the £15 threshold includes postage, my grouse is that I don't believe it costs anything like £11 to collect VAT, no matter what the VAT is. It will all be done automatically by a computer, and they must be doing thousands of these transactions a day.

The last order that DHL delivered to me from China attracted customs duties. The problem was that they didn’t bother to inform or invoice me, instead just sending a threatening email informing me of late payment and possible legal action. I emailed them back telling them that they hadn’t bothered to send an invoice or inform me in any way about the duty (and could easily have done so when the delivered the item), but this was completely ignored - they just sent another threatening email.

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If that’s your interpretation, Duncan ... You best just pay-up

[ it’s not mine ]

MichaelG.
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Edited By Michael Gilligan on 11/10/2020 22:14:05

DHL’s information on this seems to imply that they use the same interpretation as Duncan.

... In my opinion, this interpretation is wrong.

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In the text quoted in my previous post, it is my understanding that:

Second bullet : “other goods worth more than £15

does not have the same meaning as : “the total value” mentioned later.

... It provides a decision point based on the ‘worth’ of the goods, rather than the total expenditure.

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Happily, this has been my experience to date.

MichaelG.

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I may, of course, be wrong !!

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 11/10/2020 23:32:20

I'll ask HMRC tomorrow if I can get through. I'll try the ouija board first

Michael, see para 3.1 of value of goods. It says to me that the value reckonable for VAT is goods plus transport