After having my AT ATH-W2002 headphones for 2 months, I received an invoice from TNT for $26.76 today. Interesting...I called them up and some lady said that it took them 2 months to create an invoice and that's why I received it today. Hmmm...
LOL thats nothing....where I live they advertise no tax whatsoever...which is tru in a way but they to charge for customs but its usually around 4% or lower...depends on what the item is....I got a customs tax invoice like you after about 2 months also...
TNT? If that's the company you bought it from, I'd suggest you just tell them to shove it since you don't owe them anything.
I once had to send back my watch for repair well within warranty... it came back with a bill which I just tore up and threw away. Never heard from Skagen again.
By the way, Skagens may look nice to you, but they aren't very durable. Just FYI.
TNT is the shipping company. The shipping company will generally carry out the customs brokerage as well as shipping the goods. The bill is therefore not from TNT, but represents (in this case) US government taxes. You could ignore it, but if you do you will probably find yourself dealing with a debt collection agency in a few months, and may ultimately find yourself in court. Given that the amount is small, I suggest paying it.
I've purchased quite a few things from the U.S. via E-Bay this past year and have been surprised with "after-the-fact" customs/duty/tax invoices arriving weeks later.
Right now I'm waiting for a $93 refund from the Canadian Government for taxes paid twice on the same shipment because a two piece single shipment was split up by UPS, causing their in-house brokerage firm to charge me twice. I didn't find out about any of it until 4 1/2 months later when UPS's collection agency called me. Despite admitting their error, I was still forced to pay the invoice a second time by UPS ( then apply for a credit from the government) before UPS would clear my credit rating.
It did teach me a valuable lesson however....hang on to all receipts and paperwork for a long time after making a cross-border transaction.
PS UPS sucks .... at least for international shipments. Oddly enough, I've had the best luck, and most reasonable brokerage fees from the Post Office.
We travel to Canada on business on a regular basis and you would be amazed at the questions (problems) we have had carrying computers and software back and forth. I now try and ship things ahead of time and let the shipping people worry about it.
Same thing happpened to me a year ago when I ordered a Videologic Sirocco CrossFire from Digitheater, only the customs bill came from UPS. I was never informed of any responsiblity for such fees so I never bothered to pay it.
The general rule is that customs duty can be charged on items for personal use that are valued at over $300. Sometimes you get charged at delivery (they won't deliver unless you pay), and sometimes you get billed later -- up to two or three months later. It depends on who brings it in to the US, and the practice of the customs agent (they're all slower since Sept. 11).
Generally, the person shipping into the US will tell you about the duty if they're in this line of business. Their failure to tell you does not affect your responsibility to pay the duty.
Contesting the duty is not worth the money and time involved, unless you have a double-bill or some other ministerial issue. Sometimes you don't get billed at all, and sometimes they bill in error for something they shouldn't (like a watch I bought from a dealer in Europe that I had to send back for warranty service -- I was not charged for the initial import, but was charged for the returned & repaired watch, which was a clear error, but not worth fighting about). The fee charged by the agent is around $9-10, so you can owe $11 total, and only $1-2 is for the duty!
You have to pay, or you run a risk of being contacted by the agent or US customs. Failing to pay the duty is a crime. Whether they come after you or not is another question. But I would not take the risk, especially in these times!
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