For my 40th birthday in December last year, some friends clubbed together and gave me money. I bought a vase from an artist in Ireland called Ciara O’Neill.
I’d never been able to justify the price tag of €300 (£260). I ordered the vase at the end of December, and it was shipped straight away.
In early January I checked the tracking and it said my package had arrived in the UK. I kept checking and then suddenly the status changed to saying the import duties hadn’t been paid and the item would be returned to sender. I contacted Parcelforce immediately.
It claimed to have posted two letters to me in January to demand the £70 duties. I never received them. It said it would put a stop on the vase being returned to Ireland — at this point it was in a depot 45 minutes from my home in Kent.
I was told I had to wait ten working days, to keep checking tracking and then call back if I still hadn’t received my package. This went on and on. I got a different story each time and I had to wait ten days before calling again.
Missing: A reader purchased a vase for her 40th birthday but the package from Parcelforce never arrived
By the middle of March, Parcelforce told me to make a claim for the vase but said the seller in Ireland had to initiate it. This was done and three weeks later I received a form, which I sent back to Parcelforce. Again, when I called to chase, there were no updates and I was told to wait before contacting it again.
I called again recently and was told Parcelforce couldn’t see my package on its system any more. The ceramic firm also called Parcelforce six times.
Every time it is told to wait two weeks before making contact again. As well as being out of pocket, I feel so frustrated for the artist as she has far better things to do than chase Parcelforce. – H. P., Broadstairs, Kent.
Sally Hamilton replies: By the time you wrote to me, nine months had passed since you ordered your highly anticipated gift. That is a long period for transporting a vase 550 or so miles from County Galway in Ireland to Kent.
The artist’s website warns customers ordering from the UK, or other countries outside the EU, that they must take responsibility for any extra taxes and duties charged by their customs departments and that delays can be expected while customs hold the parcel. This is all part of the changes that came into force after the UK left the EU.
In order to pay the bill, you need to be told how much to pay. Parcelforce, which was responsible for the carriage of your package in the UK leg of the journey, should have sent you a bill for the duty owed within three weeks of its arrival in the UK.
I contacted Parcelforce on your behalf to find out what had gone wrong. On investigation, the firm claimed to have emailed you in late August to say it had found your vase and to ask if you would like it delivered or returned to sender but had not heard back.
It said it also emailed you to let you know it had authorised An Post (the state-owned provider of postal services in Ireland) to compensate you. When I relayed this news, you almost cracked. You said you did not receive these emails — they were neither in your inbox nor in your junk folder.
But the good news is Parcelforce was able to confirm it still had your vase and told me it would deliver it straight away and waive the customs charges of £70.
A few days later you told me it had finally arrived ‘intact and perfect’. To prove it, you sent me a photo of the multi-coloured doughnut-shaped vase in pride of place on your mantelpiece.
With many people’s thoughts turning to buying items from abroad in time for Christmas, it is worth factoring in the potential delays that can occur. While nine months is a rare delay, a few weeks is more common.
As for import costs, buyers don’t have to pay 20 pc VAT on goods ordered from abroad that are worth less than £135 — unless they’re gifts sent to them by someone else worth over £39, or items that attract excise duties such as alcohol and tobacco. These bills need to be paid either before delivery or when they are collected.
Anything worth more than £135 can attract customs duty, VAT and courier handling fees.
Gifts priced over £39 face Import VAT of 20 pc. Customs duty can also apply if the goods are worth more than £135.
A colleague asked me what happens if you need to return goods after paying these extra costs. She ordered three pairs of shoes from a firm abroad and had to pay £100 in import charges. She loves two pairs but the third is going back.
The good news is she should be able to reclaim the import charges for this pair by completing a form from gov.uk — either BOR286, if the delivery was made by Royal Mail or Parcelforce, or form C285 if a courier firm was involved.
Earlier in the year, we switched to Calor Gas to supply the liquid petroleum gas (LPG) needed for our heating and hot water.
A couple of months ago we ordered our first supply. Despite many phone calls and waiting at home because we were told it will be delivered ‘that day’, the gas has still not arrived.
We are in the red on our tank’s dial now. I have sent in two complaints, but nothing gets followed up. We are both in our 70s and my husband is waiting for cardiac surgery so this is a worrying situation.
S. T., Exeter.
Sally Hamilton replies: With cooler autumn temperatures finally here, it was even more vital for you to get your LPG supplies pronto. I contacted Calor, which began to fire on all cylinders and I am pleased to say your £453 order was delivered the same day.
Calor explained a delivery had been attempted on September 18. It says the company had been having ‘teething troubles’ with a new customer services and ordering system over the summer but that the company is in the process of resolving them.
- Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email [email protected] — include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.
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