Heathrow customs?

Question

ok so i ordered a dress from china which was £60 pounds plus postage. the delivery company is TNT. i was told the dress had arrived in the uk but was being held by customs at heathrow airport. they asked for the value of the dress and i said £60. but the lady who sold it said i shouldnt have said that and should have said £30. why is this and anyone know of a number i can phone who handles this so i can tell them the value of the dress.

Answer 1

There's VAT to pay.  They will charge VAT on £60.  If you'd said £30, you would probably have got away with half the VAT.  And if HMRC found out, they'd fine you £1,000.

Answer 2

Customs will charge you VAT on the dress, so if you said it was £60 the amount you'll have to pay will be higher.

I'm sure there's a number for Customs & Excise easily found online.

Answer 3

You told them the value already.

You paid £60, that is the correct value and that is what you told them.

Edit

If you make a false statement as to the value then the goods are confiscated and you lose your money.

You would be very silly to do that because it only took me less than a minute to find out where you bought the dress (Perfect Woman in WeiHai, China) and I am no customs official.

.

Answer 4

my wife had a similar experience , it took SOOOO long for the friggin customs to clear it.

Ya, its better to declare less value, since it means less tax. If you already declared it, it's probably final. Just remember next time ***wink***.

I don't think Britain's economy will be crippled without your 10-20 GBP. Their taxes are already such a rip-off !!!

Answer 5

yes, u will have VAT to pay on that dress, that really sucks

Answer 6

It sounds as if the sender did not complete the customs form that shows the contents and value, which is why it is being held.

Call TNT and ask them to help, see if you can find a tracking number or similar as that usually helps.

Paying the VAT is not often a big deal, but make sure you state that this is a personal purchase and not goods to be resold as that can make things much more complex!