DHL shipping on hold

Merlin5

Merlin5

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Lee
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I ordered a camera bag on Tuesday from Wotancraft in Taiwan for $237. The seller said he can reduce the value to help me with reducing VAT and customs duty. Today I got texts and emails from DHL that it would be delivered next Tuesday, so I got all excited. Then I got a phone from a DHL customs agent about my parcel, saying,

"It's been collected but is going through a uk audit with the value on the invoice. So we just need proof of purchase so it clears uk customs quickly when it arrives in. So the value provided is $115 and we just ask for proof of purchase so we can match this up and get it cleared through. Are you able to provide that at all? I'll send an email and you can attach whatever the email asks for and I'll await a response "

Then I received the email from DHL which says,

"Good Afternoon

In order to clear your shipment through UK customs and release your freight to you, we will require proof of purchase in order to confirm the true value of your goods.
Could you please email us at ukpop@dhl.com with your DHL awb number in the subject line and provide one of the following forms of evidence:-
  • Purchasing receipt
  • Order confirmation email
  • PayPal receipt
  • Print screen of your purchase or order confirmation when on a site e.g. Amazon
  • Screenshot of a bank statement (please Blank out your account details and highlight the payment on the document)
Once we receive this proof of purchase we will check that evidence is valid and complete the customs entry and release your freight for delivery.

Please note, after submitting your proof of purchase there may be an alteration to your importation charges if there is any discrepancy between the proof of purchase value and the commercial invoice.


If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us on ...

Kind regards,

Zoe Dickinson

Customs Agent

DHL Hubs and Gateways UK"


I didn't expect Wotancraft to put half the value I paid. So I emailed Wotancraft about this and asking them if I should tell DHL the parcel value was obviously a mistake. I obviously don't want them or myself to get into trouble. At full value, it means about an extra £40 for VAT and customs. Being 8 hours ahead of GMT I won't hear from them until tomorrow. Has anyone any advice on the best approach so that no-one gets into trouble? And I think it would be difficult for the seller to send me a revised invoice since the date will look suspicious. Or should I just attach my invoice to DHL with no explanation and let them get on with it?
 
ecoleman said:
Ask the seller to email you an invoice for $115. Simples
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Well the invoice I currently have from them is just in the form of email and has the 27th July at the top because that's when I received it. Any new email would show the 30th or 31st which would look suspicious. Do you mean ask them for an invoice attached to the email and tell them to put the 27th on the invoice?
 
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Damn, Wotancraft are out of the office until Monday. Shipping to me is due Tuesday, that is if I don't delay for too long. I don't mind paying the full price of VAT and customs duty based on $237 that I actually paid. If I send DHL my $237 invoice right now, will I get into trouble since the sender put $115 on the parcel and they might think I had something to do with it? Or if I get questioned, just say that it must have been a mistake by the vendor probably because they have so many parcels?
 
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better-call-saul.jpg
 
Don`t you think Customs are wise to all those old tricks - even "If" you have an update receipt from the seller for 115 , didn`t you say that customs are asking for a print out of your bank statement which surely would show the correct price you paid to them in the first place ...


Coho-Blue
 
Coho-Blue said:
Don`t you think Customs are wise to all those old tricks - even "If" you have an update receipt from the seller for 115 , didn`t you say that customs are asking for a print out of your bank statement which surely would show the correct price you paid to them in the first place ...


Coho-Blue
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I don't want a revised receipt now and want to just attach my genuine invoice. But anyway, if you'd read my opening post properly you'd have seen they're only asking for one of the things on their list which doesn't have to be a bank statement.
 
Merlin5 said:
I don't want a revised receipt now and want to just attach my genuine invoice. But anyway, if you'd read my opening post properly you'd have seen they're only asking for one of the things on their list which doesn't have to be a bank statement.
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Two choices:

Just tell DHL you can’t understand that price and that you paid $237 and send them the documentation.

Alternatively, tell them it was a clumsy attempt to defraud Customs and you are sorry and will it be OK if you just pay 3 times (used to be that anyway) the duty to avoid prosecution.

Choice is very fashionable these days :).
 
Just for clarification, I didn't ask for a value reduction for customs purposes, it was offered to me and I said ok yes please. I didn't expect to be called by DHL. All I did was place my order and then received this email:

"Dear Lee,

Your order xxxxxxxxxxx is confirmed, thank you very much.

By the way, due to the Covid 19 situation, postal packages are prohibited to enter the UK. We would like to ask if you would want to upgrade to DHL (free of charge) to have your package shipped.

* Please take note that by using DHL, there is a higher possibility that import taxes will occur on your end. (We could declare the package at a lower value to possibly decrease the import taxes on your end.)

Please let us know your thoughts.

Kind regards,
WOTANCRAFT"
 
sphexx said:
Two choices:

Just tell DHL you can’t understand that price and that you paid $237 and send them the documentation.

Alternatively, tell them it was a clumsy attempt to defraud Customs and you are sorry and will it be OK if you just pay 3 times (used to be that anyway) the duty to avoid prosecution.

Choice is very fashionable these days :).
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Love the second option :D

Yeah, I'll do what you suggest and send them my receipt and play ignorant to that reduced price.
 
I am more wondering why a bag of all things has raised suspicion. If it was a camera or lens or any such expensive equipment I could understand.

Merlin5 said:
Just for clarification, I didn't ask for a value reduction for customs purposes, it was offered to me and I said ok yes please. I didn't expect to be called by DHL. All I did was place my order and then received this email:

"Dear Lee,

Your order xxxxxxxxxxx is confirmed, thank you very much.

By the way, due to the Covid 19 situation, postal packages are prohibited to enter the UK. We would like to ask if you would want to upgrade to DHL (free of charge) to have your package shipped.

* Please take note that by using DHL, there is a higher possibility that import taxes will occur on your end. (We could declare the package at a lower value to possibly decrease the import taxes on your end.)

Please let us know your thoughts.

Kind regards,
WOTANCRAFT"
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if you were going tax evade you should have done it properly and declared it as toys worth of 15p because none of those seem to get caught :ROFLMAO:
 
nandbytes said:
I am more wondering why a bag of all things has raised suspicion
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It may have just been a random check or they were looking at that supplier or they suspect @Merlin5 to be a criminal master mind — which he does not appear to be … but then if he was, he wouldn’t , if you see what I mean ;)
 
Thing is, I don't know if it's a standard thing they're doing with everyone or if they were suspicious of my parcel. The person who emailed me calls herself a customs agent at DHL Hubs and Gateways UK with her email address ending @dhl.com. So I don't know if she's an actual government customs person allocated to monitor DHL parcels, or just a regular DHL employee that has to deal with items going to customs, if that makes sense. Also, someone else that ordered the same bag at the same time as me and also received tracking today for a Tuesday delivery, told me he didn't get any phone call or email from DHL, and he also had the same reduced value as me. So unless he gets an email, he might get away with no VAT and customs duty and I drew the short straw. :p
 
I suppose that anyone who (hypothetically) found themselves in a situation where an item was (allegedly) under declared by the sender should (a) be absolutely sure that they were really being contacted by the shipping company and not, coincidentally, by a scammer who happened to be pretending to be a representative of the same company, and (b) if they were satisfied of this, should be absolutely truthful about the price they had paid for the item. But I am not a lawyer.
 
Merlin5 said:
Thing is, I don't know if it's a standard thing they're doing with everyone or if they were suspicious of my parcel. The person who emailed me calls herself a customs agent at DHL Hubs and Gateways UK with her email address ending @dhl.com. So I don't know if she's an actual government customs person allocated to monitor DHL parcels, or just a regular DHL employee that has to deal with items going to customs, if that makes sense. Also, someone else that ordered the same bag at the same time as me and also received tracking today for a Tuesday delivery, told me he didn't get any phone call or email from DHL, and he also had the same reduced value as me. So unless he gets an email, he might get away with no VAT and customs duty and I drew the short straw. :p
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I think that DHL may be what they call a "clearance agent" - I collect wrist watches and have imported a few from the US and they were "cleared" by Parcel Force, Birmingham who notified me that they had arrived. Parcel Force then sent me an invoice for the duty and their clearance fee, I paid it and then the watches were delivered through the normal mail.

There is probably nothing unusual, I think that you have just been unlucky as the system they use it designed to test one in so many hundreds on a random basis.
 
The shipment was on hold in Taiwan yesterday. Today it just arrived at a sort facility in Paris. So it's still moving and on for Tuesday. I called DHL to verify if my email was fake. But it isn't and was told that although it'll still arrive in UK Monday or Tuesday, it wouldn't be released until they have my proof of purchase. I've now sent proof of purchase at $237.

Hopefully will receive bag on Tuesday. With VAT and customs duty, that puts my purchase at £219 for a bag, add on zipper pouch and magnetic lock upgrade. Blimey, a lot of money for a bag! Could have bought another for under £100. Still, it's a really nice bag.
 
Merlin5 said:
The shipment was on hold in Taiwan yesterday. Today it just arrived at a sort facility in Paris. So it's still moving and on for Tuesday. I called DHL to verify if my email was fake. But it isn't and was told that although it'll still arrive in UK Monday or Tuesday, it wouldn't be released until they have my proof of purchase. I've now sent proof of purchase at $237.

Hopefully will receive bag on Tuesday. With VAT and customs duty, that puts my purchase at £219 for a bag, add on zipper pouch and magnetic lock upgrade. Blimey, a lot of money for a bag! Could have bought another for under £100. Still, it's a really nice bag.
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Indeed, tbh I still don't get why anyone would pay so much those bags.
 
nandbytes said:
Indeed, tbh I still don't get why anyone would pay so much those bags.
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Well, I guess like anything, better quality and nicer materials make the experience more enjoyable. I really like the look of the Wotancraft Pilot. I really loved the Thinktank Retrospective 7. Luxurious soft canvas and a ton of pockets and velcro, but it wasn't comfortable on my shoulder. I'm hoping this one is better. Unfortunately, this time I don't have Amazon to fall back on if I wanted to return it.
 
nandbytes said:
I am more wondering why a bag of all things has raised suspicion. If it was a camera or lens or any such expensive equipment I could understand.



if you were going tax evade you should have done it properly and declared it as toys worth of 15p because none of those seem to get caught :ROFLMAO:
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Thank Brexit for that. Almost everything now attracts tax in and out of the country.
 
4wd said:
Brexit would not make any difference to something imported from Taiwan
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It could do. EU could have a trade agreement with Taiwan different from our probably non-existent one :(.

You say “would not” but if you mean “does not” I bow to your superior knowledge :).
 
DHL are like a dog with a bone , they won't let go
I sold some cine film on eBay to a guy in Mexico

He hadn't had it a day they decided he didn't want it , I allowed him to return it on condition I wasn't refunding any postage

Only he put the full value on the DHL box when he should have put returning unwanted items

They sent me a bill for duty vat & their fee

It too about 10 phone calls and numerous emails to sort out , got as far as them threatening me with bailiffs even after it was supposedly sorted out

I would never order anything if DHL was the only freight option
 
Merlin5 said:
Well, I guess like anything, better quality and nicer materials make the experience more enjoyable. I really like the look of the Wotancraft Pilot. I really loved the Thinktank Retrospective 7. Luxurious soft canvas and a ton of pockets and velcro, but it wasn't comfortable on my shoulder. I'm hoping this one is better. Unfortunately, this time I don't have Amazon to fall back on if I wanted to return it.
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It's not better quality if can't take it everywhere. I remember having this chat with someone on this forum who said he'd never take his ryker to the beach.
I can take my bags everywhere (they aren't special, you can buy them too) and they protect your gear rather well without getting ruined themselves in the process. That's quality for me.
Why buy a bag you need to take care of when its taking care of your gear and pay for that privilege :LOL:

I guess I should shut up and not add more salt to your injury.
Basically I don't get it, if you do that's fine.

I buy used most of the time, even for bags. Couldn't return them either. But generally I can sell on without much loss.
I know many people who'd love a wotonkraft without the hassles you have gone through, so you can probably sell on with minimal loss as long as you keep it in near mint condition.
 
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sphexx said:
It could do. EU could have a trade agreement with Taiwan different from our probably non-existent one :(.

You say “would not” but if you mean “does not” I bow to your superior knowledge :).
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It could have done as they do have a EU shop you could have imported from. Now it's all the same.
 
4wd said:
Brexit would not make any difference to something imported from Taiwan
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Maybe not directly but for sure these couriers are seemingly much more on the ball on what should be charged and what isn’t based on it. ;-)
 
years ago I wrote a illustrated magazine story for a large u.s company .. it was a non gratia article and only consisted of a quarter page article .. the company however decided to send me a bunch of free products as a thank you to the value of $400 dollars .. guess what I got stung for import duties .. sods law if you want it pay up
 
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