British Antlion MocMic customers; Beware the customs charge!

[BoggyB]

To my surprise, the ModMic incurs quite a hefty customs charge from the Royal Mail (couldn't say the same for ParcelForce) of (for me) £12.21.

 

So if you plan on buying a ModMic and shipping it to the U.K., remember to add this customs charge to the price when considering the purchase! What should've been £31.14 ended up costing me £43.35, can't bloody stand mail services in the U.K. sometimes...

 

For those interested: Apparently if you ship something internationally, and the cost is too low to incur 'appropriate' VAT charges through the border, Royal Mail will slap on an additional charge (of whatever they want, as legally allowed) in order to get the package to you. Then they add on the cost of delivery since the money you pay to Antlion for S+H actually only goes to USPS.

 

I think this is something that Antlion should make clear on their website, since I wasn't aware that there were going to be such charges when I made the payment a few weeks ago.

[Maskot]

Haha, Britain: The land of the fucked.

[BoggyB]

[naca1227]

You know, can anybody from the UK tell me if they ever had a good king? 

[BoggyB]

We have a good queen, and she's good because she doesn't do anything bad.

 

[Samdb]

Good job Royal Mail...

[xeks]

We have a good queen, and she's good because she doesn't do anything bad.

 

Elton John? 

[OddballMV]

So if you plan on buying a ModMic and shipping it to the U.K., remember to add this customs charge to the price when considering the purchase! What should've been £31.14 ended up costing me £43.35, can't bloody stand mail services in the U.K. sometimes...

 

I think this is something that Antlion should make clear on their website, since I wasn't aware that there were going to be such charges when I made the payment a few weeks ago.

 

It's not as if this applies to just Antlion, anything you buy from anywhere outside the EU is subject to VAT when over a certain price and possibly an admin charge for the sake of them doing it - in your case about £5. It shouldn't have ever been £31.14, it's quite clear on the HMRC website. Antlion aren't going to have a huge list of the customs rules as even different countries in the EU have different rules, let alone the rest of the world.

 

It says quite clearly in the shipping policy "Some countries will charge a VAT or customs fee upon receipt of the package." so it's then up to the individual to look into it themselves. I think you are being a bit hard on Antlion. 

[BoggyB]

I apologise if it looks like I'm being hard on Antlion - I'm really not. They haven't done anything wrong.

 

I'm aware that customs isn't limited to Antlion, my message is just to make people aware that you'll get an additional customs charge when you order the product, particularly if (like me) you're from the U.K. and thought the ModMic would be a value solution for microphones (which it is, until it reaches the border).

[OddballMV]

I apologise if it looks like I'm being hard on Antlion - I'm really not. They haven't done anything wrong.

 

I'm aware that customs isn't limited to Antlion, my message is just to make people aware that you'll get an additional customs charge when you order the product, particularly if (like me) you're from the U.K. and thought the ModMic would be a value solution for microphones (which it is, until it reaches the border).

 

No i understand it can be a bit frustrating, i've had the charge before. The government want's their VAT at some point so this is how they do it and the shipping companies won't go through that hassle for nothing so they want their bit on top.

 

As a general rule of thumb for buying anything outside the EU you can say convert it into pounds and then, if my memory serves me correctly:

 

Under £18 - should be free

£18-135 - add approximately 30% (20% VAT and the admin charge)

Over £135 - look into it further