EBay purchase, where do I stand?

ben g · Post by **ben g** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 3:41 pm

I recently bought a front grille from a seller via eBay. It said their location was Skegness and it would be sent via Royal Mail tracked 48.

I purchased this on the 6th of June. Alarm bells started ringing when it said estimated delivery date was 25th of June.

There's no mention of it coming from China, but today I received a letter from Parcelforce telling me I owe them £22 in import fee's. I assume it's the front grille, because I haven't bought anything else. Certainly not anything from another country. Parcelforce won't deliver the parcel until the fee's are paid, for obvious reasons.

I paid using my credit card and via PayPal, so I know I'm covered for the transaction, but what happens to the import fee's?

I have sent the seller a message this morning, but am yet to receive any reply.

Pretty annoyed as it doesn't mention anything about delivery from China on the advert, nor does it say anything about import fee's. I only bought this one because the seller was UK based. It was also £130, so not exactly cheap!

Bluecat · Post by **Bluecat** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 3:51 pm

Depends if you still want it, Parcelforce will not release it for delivery until the import fees are paid, so if not paid will be returned to sender, if it has come from China it will be a copy may be a good one but you wont be able to tell until you have got it in your hands.

Bluecat · Post by **Bluecat** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 3:53 pm

Also if you want your money back you can go via the resolution centre which is not exactly quick as ebay will not get involved until a certain time has passed, howver if they are holding themselves out as a UK seller this is fraudulent so they should be removed from ebay, whats their feedback like?

ben g · Post by **ben g** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 3:57 pm

Their feedback is 756, of which 100% is positive, so I would've thought they were trustworthy enough to buy from.

I have asked for a refund as a matter of principle, so if they go ahead with that, then will the import fee's be the sellers problem, rather than mine?

I just don't want to be chased by Parcelforce 6 months down the road

ben g · Post by **ben g** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:00 pm

Here's a screenshot of their postage details.

: _20180621_155958.JPG (93.48 KiB) Viewed 1761 times

Post by **sp3ctre** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:02 pm

I would register a complaint with ebay for the misleading ad. Tell them you have not accepted delivery and don't intend to. See what they say.

Post by **sp3ctre** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:06 pm

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/comp ... 7/officers

Kieran_Z4 · Post by **Kieran_Z4** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:07 pm

I had this problem too when I purchased a grill & was coming from the U.S. it said 2 week delivery & didn’t get to the U.K for 3 months! Parcelforce said I owed them around £35 so I paid it then messaged the company which I got no reply so I reported it to eBay & they replied saying many apologies we will do a refund of the £35. But I guess it depends if you have bought it from a decent company or bad. EBay will hopefully sort it for you as they are a good customer service imo.

Hope it gets sorted for you

markeg · Post by **markeg** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:07 pm

You need to pay the import fees if you want it delivered. If you don't, it will be returned to the sender and you won't hear from Parcelforce again as you haven't accepted delivery.

Totally agree the eBay advert is incorrect as it clearly states item is located in Skegness, so you will get your money back via PayPal, but it will take a month or so. Had a couple of dodgy items off eBay and the process is long but painless...

Ewazix · Post by **Ewazix** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:15 pm

sp3ctre wrote: ↑Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:06 pm https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/comp ... 7/officers

So the company was dissolved in 2013, very iffy.

jabber · Post by **jabber** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:19 pm

I had a similar problem with an item supposedly located in the uk raised a problem with ebay and got an instant refund

ben g · Post by **ben g** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:43 pm

Cheers guys for the advice

will keep you updated on what happens.

Really annoyed by it. Wish I had stuck to my guns and bought it off another seller now, but this seller was cheaper with a 10% off code. Now I know why

ph001 · Post by **ph001** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 6:08 pm

There is literally thousands of China sellers registering themselves as UK sellers. They get around it by stating to ebay that they have some stockholding of some items in a UK warehouse. I always use the lead time as a guide, any more than 3-5 days and it's normally always overseas.

obewan · Post by **obewan** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 6:35 pm

ph001 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 21, 2018 6:08 pm There is literally thousands of China sellers registering themselves as UK sellers. They get around it by stating to ebay that they have some stockholding of some items in a UK warehouse. I always use the lead time as a guide, any more than 3-5 days and it's normally always overseas.

As above, loads of complaints about it on the internet.
Sometimes the seller business information way down on the page lists the address as China.
Another giveaway is a comprehensive description with loads of pictures that goes on and on
I've been looking for a motorbike blue tooth unit and the majority of the cheap ones are from China

Hope you get a good outcome

mr.tourette · Post by **mr.tourette** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 7:24 pm

At the very least if you want the item ask for a partial refund of £22 to cover the fees.. they will almost certainly give it is as they won't want the hassle of the returning and refunding as well as the negative feedback

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