paddle strop important info!!!

razorquest

razorquest

Messages
206
a couple weeks ago i decided to buy a paddle strop so i could use the micron spray as well after honing razors. i was debating the one from strop-shop which includes:- genuine horse hide,
kangaroo leather,
tallow tan leather
hard wool felt

or the lyn abrams paddle which includes :- 2 Pieces Hard Wool Felt
Premium 1 Leather
Scrub Leather
15 Carat .5 Diamond Spray.

neils is £135 or lyns is £57, in the end i thought i would try and save my money and order the lyn abrams paddle. i ordered it and after shipping it was still cheaper than neils, two weeks down the line to today i just received in the post my invoice from parcelforce for import duty tax. all in all the total for the inferior quality paddle amounted to you guessed it...£135

so just a heads up for anyone in the market for a paddle- GO WITH NEIL!!!
 
I agree the extra duty and VAT seems excessive. If I have read the HMRC website correctly Customs duty isn't payable on an item with a value less than £135. Import VAT is payable on items with a value over £15 and is charged at the same 20% rate as normal VAT. So if (a big IF) my interpretation and calculation is correct, you should only owe the taxman £11.40, plus the handling charge from the delivery company (£8 from RM and Parcelforce).

Copied from the HMRC website.
All other goods
If you order or send purchased goods other than alcohol, tobacco, perfume and toilet water from a country outside the EU then you:
don't have to pay Excise Duty
may have to pay Customs Duty on goods with a value that exceeds £135
will have to pay import VAT on goods with a value that exceeds £15
Note that on all goods from outside the EU, Customs Duty is waived if the amount of duty calculated is £9 or under.

Scott.

EDIT: I don't know if postage and packaging costs are subject to HMRC vat and duty charges.
 
razorquest said:
a couple weeks ago i decided to buy a paddle strop so i could use the micron spray as well after honing razors. i was debating the one from strop-shop which includes:- genuine horse hide,
kangaroo leather,
tallow tan leather
hard wool felt

or the lyn abrams paddle which includes :- 2 Pieces Hard Wool Felt
Premium 1 Leather
Scrub Leather
15 Carat .5 Diamond Spray.

neils is £135 or lyns is £57, in the end i thought i would try and save my money and order the lyn abrams paddle. i ordered it and after shipping it was still cheaper than neils, two weeks down the line to today i just received in the post my invoice from parcelforce for import duty tax. all in all the total for the inferior quality paddle amounted to you guessed it...£135

so just a heads up for anyone in the market for a paddle- GO WITH NEIL!!!
Click to expand...

I suspect that the quality will be different as well. The important thing is that diamond spray can be used on anything but the quality of Neil's leather will make a difference.
 
i will try and argue my case. i think its best to pay first and definitely get your item because they just send it back the vendor otherwise after a period
 
I've just re-read the original post and can't see any reason how duty and other costs can come to anything like that. They may be able to charge 20% VAT plus a handling fee but it would not be equivalent to double the declared value. I would query the amount - if you can ge to speak to a human being at Parcelforce that is. It took them almost two weeks to get something to my house from 15 miles away. Apart from lying to me about missed deliveries they also lied to the supplier - their excuse was that they could not find my house despite having posted a card through the door saying that I had missed the original day - priceless.
 
this is my email from srd-

Sub-Total: $89.99
United States Postal Service (1 Boxes) (3 lbs, 8 oz) (Express Mail®
International): $58.68
Total: $148.67

(express delivery was only $8 more than standard)

then the invoice from parcelforce was £33.26.

obviously srd arent at any fault and parcel force handling fee is non refundable which i think is £15. i have been looking at hm revenue website to make a claim but it is giving me a headache and life is too short for filling out forms for the sake of like £18 or whatever
 
I would call customs first. Last time I had a problem with charges being wrong I found them quite helpful and they had it sorted in a couple of days. The number will be on HMRC's website somewhere.

Then I just called parcel farce and told them what customs had said, and to check with them and deliver my stuff!

Edit to add:

That said, I've just checked your numbers and they look correct, unfortunately.

Remember, VAT is added onto the total amount including postage, so $148 is about £94, 20% of that plus handling fee is around £33.
 
After working it out I'm getting a cost of £122, it's always a bummer when this happens, unless the seller agrees to mark the item down worth less than $20 dollars and there's quite a few who will, but you must get them to agree to this first before you buy, here's the US import calculator. http://ianatkinson.net/leather/links.htm

Jamie
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom