From what ive read on a few message boards, its looking like the people who have had their box opened by customs will get a charge. Those who have not like myself have got away with it.
Dont take this as gospel but i believe its true.
From what ive read on a few message boards, its looking like the people who have had their box opened by customs will get a charge. Those who have not like myself have got away with it.
Dont take this as gospel but i believe its true.
Hmmm, I'd be surprised if that was the case. Can you link to these other forums please?
It'd be great if it was true!
From what ive read on a few message boards, its looking like the people who have had their box opened by customs will get a charge. Those who have not like myself have got away with it.
Dont take this as gospel but i believe its true.
how would we know if our box had been opened by customs? would it stink of red tape?
Mine cost ~£350 without VAT but I doubt that'll be the end of it. The VAT man always wins. There have been others that have been billed but I don't know the background, whether the box had been opened or not?
I don't think they need to open the box as the VAT stuff will all be processed through DHL. DHL know what they are shipping so they'll have to arrange paperwork accordingly.
Mine cost ~£350 without VAT but I doubt that'll be the end of it. The VAT man always wins. There have been others that have been billed but I don't know the background, whether the box had been opened or not?
I don't think they need to open the box as the VAT stuff will all be processed through DHL. DHL know what they are shipping so they'll have to arrange paperwork accordingly.
Afraid so - I used to work in a Commercial department for a Logistics company & the invoicing always used to play catch up at month-end. There is always the possibility that it may be missed though....but don't hold your breath.
I've read a few similar threads on other forums and nobody seems to have received a VAT bill (as yet). Maybe, as the N1 was only released at the beginning of this month, and that month end (for accounting/invoicing purposes) won't happen until the end of this month, we won't actually see anything until at least early Feb 10.
I don't think they need to open the box as the VAT stuff will all be processed through DHL. DHL know what they are shipping so they'll have to arrange paperwork accordingly.
Important question, was the VAT invoice sent via Royal Mail, or by DHL? I only ask because DHL don't deliver to my house, they can't find it. That's ok as I can go to the depot to pick up the phone, but I don't want the VAT bill to go missing because DHL get lost on the way to my house!
I had a letter on my desk yesterday morning from DHL...It had to happen really so it's best getting it over with really. It was for £61.40 (including the £1.25 DHL admin fee for coughing up the VAT on my behalf).
I phoned today and made the payment. Very straightforward and painless (bar the money leaving my account...).
One thing that is a little puzzling is the item value on the invoice was £343.74. I was charged (initially) on my CC £348.34 on the 6th Jan (date of purchase). This changed to £351.98 the next day. Santander (CC company) said that the difference was because the money actually left the card the day after purchase and the exchange rate was not as good. Not ideal but only a couple of pounds really.
Total including VAT was £413.38 so not too bad really. Bonus for me was I got sent a UK micro-USB charger and didn't order one (nice mistake on Googles part). As it wasn't on the order, no duty was charged. Nice one...
Last edited by tdiboy; February 4th, 2010 at 05:42 PM.
Important question, was the VAT invoice sent via Royal Mail, or by DHL? I only ask because DHL don't deliver to my house, they can't find it. That's ok as I can go to the depot to pick up the phone, but I don't want the VAT bill to go missing because DHL get lost on the way to my house!
Royal Mail I'm afraid.
EDIT: Still not got one
Last edited by Rusty; February 6th, 2010 at 06:32 AM.
You say that, but my last DHL VAT bill took a month to arrive.
Yeah but I ordered the 8th Jan and got it 14th Jan. It will appear in the next week. I wonder what would happen if I didn't pay it. You think they'd send me to jail? If I was that way inclined it might be a nice wee holiday. Although, I'm too pretty to go to jail
I know there is another thread on this and in it i said that if the box isnt opened you wont get a bill. Well that is wrong.
I know now different from lots of sites ive read.
I have had my Nexus One 3 weeks and only just got my bill!
The worst thing is i bought my phone from ebay because the guy said he would send it as a gift. He sent it direct from Google the T**T.
So not only did i pay over the odds i now get a vat bill, plus i oredered a dock the other day thinking i wont have to pay tax on that!!!
I don't see how they reason when they are sent out? I ordered my N1 on the 6th January and received an invoice dated 22nd January around a week later than that.
Surely there should be a process where people getting deliveries at certain times are invoiced at standard terms?
I know there is another thread on this and in it i said that if the box isnt opened you wont get a bill. Well that is wrong.
I know now different from lots of sites ive read.
I have had my Nexus One 3 weeks and only just got my bill!
The worst thing is i bought my phone from ebay because the guy said he would send it as a gift. He sent it direct from Google the T**T.
So not only did i pay over the odds i now get a vat bill, plus i oredered a dock the other day thinking i wont have to pay tax on that!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty!
You can't guarantee you'll get an invoice, some people do get lucky. It's just not very likely that you'll get away with it.
You are right that there is no need to open the box though, as the paper work is on top.
You will ALWAYS get a VAT invoice if its declared for the normal amount. There is no 'getting lucky' about it.
The only time you can 'get lucky' is if you declare it as a gift OR the acompanying customs declaration is of a lesser amount. In that case they will still scan it and could catch it and still bill you.
Google will always declare the phone for the value it is and that it is a comercial sale as they legally should. So customs will never ignore that and let you off. The stories on the internet about 'getting lucky' when the phone came direct from google are just people who havnt got their invoices yet or are lying.
Shows the shipper's invoice value at £331.23 with VAT totalling £57.96 plus £1.25 admin fee, so total is £59.21.
Very pleased with this as my bank account shows the amount I paid for the phone as £353.83. Saved myself a whopping £2.71. Gotta love exchange rates
That's quite a good amount to get VAT on. I've seen that a few times, must be how they process it that day and what value the pound is at against the dollar when they process the VAT invoice. Obviously doesn't take into account how much is actually charged. Very weird way of working things but it's good to know for the future. Just hope that the exchange rate improves in our favour so I can purchase some stuff from the US mucho cheapo in future. I'll need to track down the link to the duty liable items first though. Well I'll probably get mine today or at least by the end of the week.
You will ALWAYS get a VAT invoice if its declared for the normal amount. There is no 'getting lucky' about it.
The only time you can 'get lucky' is if you declare it as a gift OR the acompanying customs declaration is of a lesser amount. In that case they will still scan it and could catch it and still bill you.
Google will always declare the phone for the value it is and that it is a comercial sale as they legally should. So customs will never ignore that and let you off. The stories on the internet about 'getting lucky' when the phone came direct from google are just people who havnt got their invoices yet or are lying.
I'm not just talking about the Nexus One here, I frequent a car owners club forum where parts are very often sort from Japan/US from companies who do things legally and getting away without paying VAT.
I really want to get the dock, but dock $45 (£27) + delivery $29 (£17) plus VAT bill gives just over £50 pounds for a dock which seems a bit steep to me.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MartinS
I really want to get the dock, but dock $45 (£27) + delivery $29 (£17) plus VAT bill gives just over £50 pounds for a dock which seems a bit steep to me.
Yup..
These guys have an alternative dock with a spare slot for a 2nd battery... only £25:99 + UK shipping
Looking at the Google Help forums, that's not uncommon.
Is there anyone who's managed to get the duty removed? I spent ages on the phone to them getting passed from person to person and no one managed to sort it, used the email on the invoice to contact them and they've emailed back saying that the email address wasn't for invoice enquiries and provided a web address which is for account holders. DHL are proving to be a complete nightmare, first they lost my phone no they're charging me duty where as most other people are getting invoices duty free.
Long before the Nexus One launched, the media was filled with speculation, buzz, rumors, and excitement regarding the possibility of a "Google Phone". The rumors were put to rest when Google announced the Nexus One, the first ever Google ... Read More
Calling fellow UK men and women - any of you received a VAT bill yet?
have got away with it.
