Can you trust Amazon reviews?

[Jcloughie]

If using Amazon and charged customs duty etc can you refuse the pay the extra if it was not advertised? Bearing in mind that Amazon hold your card details.

I don’t know about Amazon but some buyers of EU goods have been refusing to pay the courier company to have them released for delivery and they have then been sent back to the seller. I’m sure Amazon is clued up enough to tell you of extra charge prior to confirming the order.

In a few days I will find out. In my case the cost of the two items is less than £15 so any extra costs will be minimal. But there is a principle in that, if they could incur a duty charge, notice should be clearly stated when the purchase is made.

I have occasionally made purchases of low cost items directly from China. The labels show they have cleared custom, but, apart from the long wait I have never paid extra. Except for about 10 years ago. I bought a Bose Bluetooth speaker from Hong Kong. It was priced at £165 here. I paid about £130. I thought I had a great deal. But then I got charged duty which brought it to about £162! When I looked at the very small print, the warning was there. On the plus side, it still works well.

John

 

[Raywood]

Not interested in Prime but take this at times to get the free next day delivery if I need it.
I would never just go on to their site though and buy things without checking out other suppliers and they are certainly not always cheapest. I do find that sometimes the number of items for some things is just too much and the search engine tends to give you lots of things you do not need.
John Lewis are good but I am not keen on the delivery service they use and have had no trouble with Currys, where I would use click and collect for smaller items, as there store is just up the road.

 

[otherclive]

A friend of mine tried to order some stuff from a manufacturer in Holland, who refused to supply because they have to register for a UK VAT number... Lots of "too difficult box" issues...

Crazy as we don’t require US, Canadian or non EU suppliers to register for our VAT. It’s a cheek expecting foreign businesses to become tax collectors on behalf of HMRC.

 

[otherclive]

In a few days I will find out. In my case the cost of the two items is less than £15 so any extra costs will be minimal. But there is a principle in that, if they could incur a duty charge, notice should be clearly stated when the purchase is made.

I have occasionally made purchases of low cost items directly from China. The labels show they have cleared custom, but, apart from the long wait I have never paid extra. Except for about 10 years ago. I bought a Bose Bluetooth speaker from Hong Kong. It was priced at £165 here. I paid about £130. I thought I had a great deal. But then I got charged duty which brought it to about £162! When I looked at the very small print, the warning was there. On the plus side, it still works well.

John

Same with my custom air horns from the US. There was a notification but not what U.K. customs would actually charge. Never again it made them worth more than the motor.

It won’t be long before we will be dining on a diet of prime beef, lamb, fish, lobster, artisan cheese etc all at giveaway prices. But you probably will not be able to stock your caravan up en route to the continent. Crazy world.


PS Edit this link gives some idea of the fundamental problems being encountered by businesses.

'A Brexit nightmare': the British businesses being pushed to breaking point

Less than a month after leaving the EU, trade is flowing so badly that small firms are moving operations abroad to survive

www.theguardian.com