Fishdo
100+ Head-Fier
Hi Guys
I don’t know if this has been shared on here before, I did look but could not see anything relevant. This is not about customs charges.... it’s about Royal Mail overcharging you, for nothing more than charging you in the first place, in order to have them deliver your goods
If any of you guys in the UK plan on purchasing anything from AliExpress from any seller offering AliExpress Standard Shipping then please use alternative shipping method or another seller offering China Registered Mail etc
The reason is because AliExpress Standard Shipping uses Royal Mail directly and that’s why you are given a UK tracking number from the seller when your order is shipped.
Because Royal Mail are responsible for the package they also have all the details logged on their system including the declared value... if that value is £15 or a penny more you WILL be charged VAT of a few pounds BUT on top of that Royal Mail administration fee of £8 ..!
Royal Mail don’t need to do anything by way of physically checking the package etc they have all the details logged into their system by the seller... so you will automatically be charged VAT on the declared value AND £8 flat fee for charging you the VAT
So I strongly recommend you either avoid sellers offering shipping by AliExpress Standard Shipping or ask them to make sure the value is less than $15... that way you’ll avoid any possible fluctuations in currency conversion rates...or alternatively check if seller offers another shipping method like China Registered Mail....some do for an extra charge of around 70p.
You’ll know if Royal Mail are going to charge you if the seller provides you with a UK / Royal Mail tracking Number which will end in the letters GB.
Also be aware that even when the declared value is well under £15 that Royal Mail might still chance their arm and try to charge you.... they have done it twice to me this week on items I paid less than £4 for....
This seems to be a recent change as I have never had these issues before with AliExpress or I was blindly lucky none of the sellers used AliExpress Standard Shipping..!
So Please double check your sellers shipping method before ordering.... or be prepared to pay double on your order cost...even if it is below the custom charges threshold ($24 including postage)
I don’t know if this has been shared on here before, I did look but could not see anything relevant. This is not about customs charges.... it’s about Royal Mail overcharging you, for nothing more than charging you in the first place, in order to have them deliver your goods
If any of you guys in the UK plan on purchasing anything from AliExpress from any seller offering AliExpress Standard Shipping then please use alternative shipping method or another seller offering China Registered Mail etc
The reason is because AliExpress Standard Shipping uses Royal Mail directly and that’s why you are given a UK tracking number from the seller when your order is shipped.
Because Royal Mail are responsible for the package they also have all the details logged on their system including the declared value... if that value is £15 or a penny more you WILL be charged VAT of a few pounds BUT on top of that Royal Mail administration fee of £8 ..!
Royal Mail don’t need to do anything by way of physically checking the package etc they have all the details logged into their system by the seller... so you will automatically be charged VAT on the declared value AND £8 flat fee for charging you the VAT
So I strongly recommend you either avoid sellers offering shipping by AliExpress Standard Shipping or ask them to make sure the value is less than $15... that way you’ll avoid any possible fluctuations in currency conversion rates...or alternatively check if seller offers another shipping method like China Registered Mail....some do for an extra charge of around 70p.
You’ll know if Royal Mail are going to charge you if the seller provides you with a UK / Royal Mail tracking Number which will end in the letters GB.
Also be aware that even when the declared value is well under £15 that Royal Mail might still chance their arm and try to charge you.... they have done it twice to me this week on items I paid less than £4 for....
This seems to be a recent change as I have never had these issues before with AliExpress or I was blindly lucky none of the sellers used AliExpress Standard Shipping..!
So Please double check your sellers shipping method before ordering.... or be prepared to pay double on your order cost...even if it is below the custom charges threshold ($24 including postage)
