So who is the most trusted importer?

[OldCarlos]

I can't get my head around anyone paying by BT tbh? (whether it's to save £5 or £50) :|

 

[Dave *]

I can't get my head around anyone paying by BT tbh? (whether it's to save £5 or £50) :|

Me neither, you are dealing with people who don't mind breaking the law, at least with Paypal you could chargeback if there was a problem.

BT to an HK company is like putting £ notes into an envelope and posting them off to a stranger.

 

[OldCarlos]

Yes, you're correct Dave. I know if the purchase goes well & you don't need warranty work or customer service, it's obviously money saved & worth it, but when there ARE problems, that's when the 5h!t hits the fan & it doesn't seem a good deal anymore.

We seem somehow to be in a culture of `ooh look at me, I got this for £2.99 less than everyone else` & it's almost become a competition.
Obviously everyone wants to get a good deal, but surely not at the expense of leaving our brains in neutral?

 

[SimonH]

Just for clarity, I didn't BT into a HK bank account, I BT'd into a UK account.

Also, I'm sure some people are under the mistaken impression that paying by Visa Debit offers more protection than BT. It doesn't. If you're paying by credit card, sure, you're not using your money, you're borrowing money, and your lenders have insurance.

But Visa Debit is no less effectively direct from your bank account and has no better fraud protection than that. I don't have any credit cards any more, and don't want any.

If just this one £300 BT transaction had gone askew, I'd still have wasted but a mere fraction of the money that having a credit card has cost me over the years.

 

[Spuff]

Me neither, you are dealing with people who don't mind breaking the law, at least with Paypal you could chargeback if there was a problem.

Whilst I agree with you on the risk in paying by BT, why are these people breaking the law (or the sort that don't mind breaking it)?

 

[Dave *]

Just for clarity, I didn't BT into a HK bank account, I BT'd into a UK account.

Also, I'm sure some people are under the mistaken impression that paying by Visa Debit offers more protection than BT. It doesn't. If you're paying by credit card, sure, you're not using your money, you're borrowing money, and your lenders have insurance.

But Visa Debit is no less effectively direct from your bank account and has no better fraud protection than that. I don't have any credit cards any more, and don't want any.

It doesn't matter whether the BT was to HK or your neighbour, from the moment you hit send the money is gone, and virtually impossible to reverse, a bit like dropping an envelope of cash into a Royal Mail posting box.

You are wrong about debit cards, Visa do operate a protection scheme called Visa Chargeback (and you ignored my reference to Paypal which obviously gives full protection against non-delivery).

http://www.visa.co.uk/making_the_most_of_your_debit

You can also have a right to ask your bank to make a chargeback, returning your money if you do not receive goods or services as expected, if goods are lost or the wrong goods are received. That covers pretty much anything you can think of, from an airline going bust to a mail order jumper that does not arrive. Most purchases made abroad are also covered.

Whilst I agree with you on the risk in paying by BT, why are these people breaking the law (or the sort that don't mind breaking it)?

Pick any (or all) of these offences for a start.

Evasion of excise duty with intent to defraud Her Majesty
(Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, s.170(1)(a)(i), (ii), (b)),

Being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of excise duty
(Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, s.170(2)(a),

Taking steps with a view to fraudulently evade excise duty
(Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 s.170B),

Improper importation of goods
(Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, s.50(1) (a), (2))

Evasion of VAT on import of goods
(Value Added Tax Act 1994 c. 23 S60)

Cheating the public revenue
(S.32(1) of the Theft Act 1968)

 

[OldCarlos]

.....If just this one £300 BT transaction had gone askew, I'd still have wasted but a mere fraction of the money that having a credit card has cost me over the years.

Using a credit card has never cost me anything.

I don't buy anything unless I can afford it, so use the CC for `insurance`& pay it off straight away.

 

[Lee0204]

I had good service from Hdew.

I also had good service from them "HDEW"

 

[Dave *]

I also had good service from them "HDEW"

It's probably unfair to lump HDEW in with the Hong Kong "smugglers" like Panamoz, OneStop, ProCameraShop etc.

HDEW have a real UK location and appear to be registered as a UK company and able to supply VAT receipts (indicating they are complying with import rules).

They are more like FlashCamera (Kerso) than the HK bunch.