DHL UK import from US - help with resolving fees

[OxfordBlue]

I need help getting DHL to update customs/fees status (UK)



\- my daughter forgot her phone in Tampa airport
\- we flew home to the UK
\- phone was found and they kindly agreed to pack it for shipping
\- shipment was collected and sent.
\- it’s in my local delivery depot
\- DHL have decided import tax is due

It’s the last point that I’ve spent 3 days trying to resolve.

I have:

\- called both DHL customer support and the dedicated tax/duty line (03442090102) multiple times

\- I have provided a detailed declaration of why this is tax exempt

\- I have emailed said document to multiple email addresses advised by DHL:

gbtcdesk
ukinvoicequeries
picollections

\- The delivery was due today but cancelled because of the unpaid customs charges.

\- I called customer support on 0344 248 0012 and got someone who understood. He put me on hold and spoke to the PI collections team who confirmed they were working on getting the charges removed.

\- nothing has changed in the status yet and I’m getting increasingly hysterical emails and WhatsApps from DHL telling me to pay up.

It’s getting comical now.

Someone, somewhere in the DHL UK machine has the knowledge and ability to resolve this.

My daughter just wants her phone.

Any pointers about who to contact/what to do are most welcome.

If the status hasn’t changed in the morning I’m considering driving down to the depot with all the documents and sitting there until this is resolved.

 

[fisicx]

How much tax is due?

 

[DontAsk]

If the shipment was not declared correctly then tax (VAT) and duty (if applicable) will be due.

When this has happened with Royal Mail (or might have been Parcel Force) I've had to pay up and then submit a claim for a refund. This might help, but I haven't read it https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-claim-a-repayment-of-import-duty-and-vat-if-youve-overpaid

There will also probably be a processing fee. That's between you and DHL.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

I would advise to pay the duty then claim It back as stated by @DontAsk
If you delay this You could be charged daily for storage by DHL

 

[TaxBix]

What you're after is Returned Goods Relief. It left the UK with her, it's coming back unaltered inside three years, so there shouldn't be duty or import VAT on it at all.
The snag is that it has to be claimed on the customs entry, and DHL has already made that entry without it. That's why three days on the phone has got nowhere. It isn't a charge someone there can wave off, it's a declaration that needs correcting.
If they won't amend it, pay to get the phone released and claim it back on a C285. BOR286 is Royal Mail and Parcelforce only. Keep her boarding passes too, for the VAT side it matters that whoever took it out is the one bringing it back.

 

[scstock]

All the big parcel carriers need a heavy dose of regulation - they are granted sweeping powers to collect import taxes yet seem to have no accountability to those on the receiving end.

 

[DontAsk]

All the big parcel carriers need a heavy dose of regulation - they are granted sweeping powers to collect import taxes yet seem to have no accountability to those on the receiving end.

Their accountability is to HMRC and they did their job exactly as they should. The package contents were not declared correctly.

No, it wasn't the receivers fault but DHL did everything they should. Their contract was with the sender.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

All the big parcel carriers need a heavy dose of regulation - they are granted sweeping powers to collect import taxes yet seem to have no accountability to those on the receiving end.

I think its a case of overwhelming demand No parcel company here has an effective infrastructure to deal with the introduction of EU customs demands We can say that that happened along time ago but if you don't have a pot to piss in your not going to introduce more effective systems and train staff .
Its very easy to attack the industry but UK trade and commence benefits vastly from these low cost freight movements