[Babz]

Heads up EVERYONE I discovered to my horror that MSL have changed couriers to Fed Ex. They are charging Duty , Vat, and fee of min 2% before delivery.
There is No Duty on Model Trains from Europe according to HMRC Documents codes. The bill I am being asked to be paid is £ 33. 50 on top of VAT of £177.00 plus Fee of £12:50 . Before Delivery. Now hear is the sting, I have dealt with this company before and they will charge but not provide the paperwork to get the refund from HMRC. Great Cash flow. Not Unlike Royal mail who do provide a sticky label with all the costs and details on.
I have informed MSL if they continue using FED EX I will not purchase anymore.
Babs

 

[Nigel2001]

The duty issue depends where those items actually originate..... they may be made in countries where duty is applicable, and unless they contain "significant EU content" (which I suggest is unlikely for most model train items), then its the duty appropriate to where manufactured (China, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, etc.) which is appropriate.

 

[Babz]

Nigel 2001 99% of the Items i buy are made in the EU if you look in the HMRC Website and look up the Comodity codes Model Trains Toys there is no Duty Full stop So if you have superior Knowledge of what every part of the models I buy then I would suggest you get the info and print it on here. So we can all see for the benefit of everyone. I f you do not like my Heads up or what I have written I will not give any more heads up for the benefit for all I have been importing model trains before going into EU, while we were in the EU and now we have left the EU. And the Codes have not Changed.. Ps I have never paid Duty on Models from EU ever..
Babs

 

[Julian2011]

As far as I am aware, Duty is paid at the point of purchase, should regulation require. So... Duty for an item made in country C, is paid for by the company, in country D, which makes the contract and receives the goods.

Any subsequent purchase from the same company in country D, by a person in country B, is only subject to Customs, Excise, due to arrangement with country D.

The contract between the company in country C and the company in Country D, is complete in payment and excise, any further ongoing is no business of country C..

Julian

 

[Babz]

Good Morning Everyone. Please have a look at this very useful website which you can use for free and it is very accurate.
( Simplyduty.com ) even if you only put model Trains in the box instead of the commodity code It will Accurately work out the Figures. All the Goods I have just Purchased all the goods are made in the in Germany/ EU. Here is the codes for calculating. I bid you goodnight Fellow MOBA friends.
Babs

 

[Adrian]

Whilst the hurt is real, the problem probably isn't with MSL. Apart from not informing you first, that is.
If MSL have changed, my guess is that they have done it properly and others will follow suit soon enough.

I suspect that living in Britain means that you'll either be paying more for MRR; or not buying it at all.

 

[Babz]

Hi Adrian I agree with you MSL should have given me notice of a change and if I did not like the courier I would have organised my own with a pick up from MSL.
Regarding the ( Duty ) aspect it is Fed Ex that is wrong. Half the time the Documents in the pocket with the correct code on are never touched. If Fed Ex do not give me the Customs charge paperwork so I can claim back the Duty from Customs very simple form and straight forward.
But having used them before in my business and what C--ck Up it was. Unreall look up Trust Pilot Reviews Fed Ex UK and you will see what I mean.
A leapord never changes it's spots.
Babs

 

[SimonBoulton]

I noticed when I ordered from MSL last week that the courier had changed to FedEx, it was on the dropdown menu for options, there was only FedEx, used to be only DHL. My order was for less than £135 and was delivered without any additional charges. A friend ordered a loco that was over that amount and he got a message to pay the charges online, I'll ask him if there was any duty.

This duty element is confusing, I new that model trains are duty free normally but what if they aren't made in the EU? I didn't think many were anymore with most production having moved to China.

 

[Babz]

Simon Can I ask you was your order delivered as per the Tracking or did it arrive late. As my Tracking has not moved since last Friday and yet it is supposed to be delivered by 10pm today. In regard the duty my order is all made in the EU. So no Duty should be charged full stop.

 

[SimonBoulton]

Simon Can I ask you was your order delivered as per the Tracking or did it arrive late. As my Tracking has not moved since last Friday and yet it is supposed to be delivered by 10pm today. In regard the duty my order is all made in the EU. So no Duty should be charged full stop.

Hi Babz,
I got notification from FedEx that the parcel was on its way last Wednesday and that it was due for delivery Monday. On Monday I got another message saying it was out for delivery and then it arrived.
I asked my friend who had to pay VAT, the value excluding any sales tax was about £204 and he had to pay £55 so with £12.75 handling charge, it looks like it was just VAT.

You should receive an invoice from MSL showing the value of the goods so hopefully with that and some sort of receipt from Fedex you’ll be able to claim the duty back.

 

[Babz]

Simon Thank you for your reply. My parcel has still not arrived.Also I have had a very Nice letter/ Email from the Managing Director of MSL who really wants to keep my business.
He even agrees after looking at my order there is no Duty to be paid. I cannot print what I think is going on at Fed Ex.
Because if this goes Sour I will be involving the Police.
I will keep everyone posted.
Babs

 

[John Edge]

Hi Babs,
I hope it gets resolved for you, fingers tightly crossed.
Cheers,
John E.

 

[Babz]

Good Afternoon Everyone Just an update, Nothing arrived yesterday and overnight Surprise surprise it only came into the country at stansted Airport in the early hours of the morning It was sent to Crawley Depot and was delivered to me just after midday. Result. But no copies of customs documents enclosed MSL MD is taking up this issue for me at his end.
A few things if you use Fed Ex
1/ they do not deliver after most branch closure times of 20:00 and not 22:00 as per there website.
2/ The payment is taken in Advance before it arrives in this Country and it is only an estimate which is not corrected.
3/ So Far Fed Ex have not provided me with a proper Detailed receipt for Customs Fees which they must do so you can challenge the Duty Paid.
4/ If Fed Ex do not do this they are breaking the Law.
Anyway i still stand by if MSL use Fed Ex i will go else where unless they Fed Ex produce the correct fees and paperwork.
Now i have five Loks to test now with my ESU Controller.
Babs

 

[Greyvoices]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us Babs.

Our modelling world has indeed shrunk since ................ well you know what. I think back to last year with sadness.

Best regards ................ Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[reddo]

Hello Babz, I think your strongest 'angle' is the business relationship that FedEx are endeavouring to develop with MSL ie MSL must ship hundreds of parcels and FedEx want that business. The pressure, and proof of documentation of duties paid/ not paid needs to be sourced via MSL and it sounds like you have them on your side to assist.

 

[Babz]

Hi Reddo long time since we have conversed. I totaly agree with you it's the only way I will be able to pressure FED EX. You may laugh at the next paragraph. A few years ago I reported the CEO and her assistant to the Police for Harrasement as she could not control her staff. Ie Post people. It certainly focused the mind.i sent her a letter with the crime number it certainly focused her mind as now I have some of the most loveable posties in the Country.
Babs

 

[dwb]

I have a shipment arrive from MSL via FedEx during the week but as it was below the £135 threshold, it arrived as 'advertised' in the original email and the tracking on the website seemed reasonable although not as detailed as DHL/ParcelForce.

I can see that MSL will want to get the lowest cost service to them for deliveries. The thing to watch out for, and they will need feedback from us on this, is what charges the receiver pays on top of the 9 euro we pay MSL. So if FedEx go in and say to MSL we will charge you 7 Euro whereas DHL charge 8, if Fed Ex then charge us 10 Euro in charges vs ParcelForces 8, then it's costing us more (7 + 10) vs (8 + 8) - ie FedEx would literally buy the UK delivery business from MSL because they can more than make up the 'loss' they on the MSL side. In that case I would rather pay MSL the difference between their DHL - FedEx cost than have MSL use Fed Ex.

Until Babz gets a detailed invoice from FedEx we won't know if there's more than just VAT and a handling charge. Duty should not have been charged at all. It's other fees that I'm curious about - like a % of the total cost because of some 'service' they have 'provided'. Although the idea that they should charge a a% fee when nothing happens until we have paid them is tantamount to usury.

If MSL cannot be persuaded to change or at least offer the option for us to choose DHL for a higher fee, the alternatives are few. Yes we can probably buy from a UK retailer, assuming that they have stock and that the prices are reasonable but there is tendency for prices to one pound per euro which leaves a lot of room for delivery charges, even from Fed Ex.

I find myself saving my MSL bonus for locos or similar which go way over the threshold.

David

 

[Babz]

Hi David I cannot publish the Managing Director's letter / Email. He has made positive noises at the moment.
For me it is all about tracking and the Customs charges and paperwork. If this does not get resolved to what I want I have placed tentative orders for early next year with other who will and do use DHL/ Parcelforce.
I know FedEx from old and they nearly ruined my business I will keep everybody posted
Babs
I also ment to say that the chance of getting an invoice that has been paid or the Customs document is Zilch/ Zero that's the rub as they are Scr-ing so many people and the amount is not worth you or me taking them to court.

 

[Julian2011]

............

I can see that MSL will want to get the lowest cost service to them for deliveries. The thing to watch out for, and they will need feedback from us on this, is what charges the receiver pays on top of the 9 euro we pay MSL. So if FedEx go in and say to MSL we will charge you 7 Euro whereas DHL charge 8, if Fed Ex then charge us 10 Euro in charges vs ParcelForces 8, then it's costing us more (7 + 10) vs (8 + 8) - ie FedEx would literally buy the UK delivery business from MSL because they can more than make up the 'loss' they on the MSL side. In that case I would rather pay MSL the difference between their DHL - FedEx cost than have MSL use Fed Ex.
............

David

Perhaps this is why Amazon and many of the suppliers offer a variety of payment / postal choices?

Discounts for a sole operator may not be as advantageous as first perceived.

Julian

 

[SimonBoulton]

It's probably worth mentioning too that whereas in the past it was worth putting in big orders to save the postage, nowadays it's best to put in multiple smaller orders, especially if the value is less than £135. Mind you, the way FedEx calculate the handling fee for orders over £135 may be a factor as they charge 2% with a minimum charge (£12.00?) whereas Parcel Force charged a flat rate £12.00

I have another parcel from MSL that's being delivered by FedEx, was due for delivery today but is now showing as 'delayed' and due for delivery tomorrow