AMAZON IS DISHONEST

[etcl]

i am posting this on behalf of a friend.
Being overseas buyer, Amazon had lost one of our shipment.
so Being nice they offered to ship to him via DHL Express.
However, to his horror when the package arrive, the customs declaration form had over stated the value of the package buy a whopping $100. The actual value is only $140 but Amazon stated it as almost $260.
As a result, it had resulted in taxes for my friend. He then requested Amazon to resend an invoice with the correct value of to DHL so that they can claim for a refund from the authorities, the answer from Amazon was :-

Thanks for writing to us at Amazon.com.

I have reviewed our previous correspondence and your order.

I sympathize with your frustration in this matter. However, please
understand that the information provided in our last message
correctly represents our policy at this time.

As my colleague previously mentioned, because your original shipment
never passed through customs, a replacement shipment may be subject
to the taxes and duties of your country. Any customs or import
duties owed on the value of the original shipment will be levied once
the package reaches the destination country. Customs policies vary
widely from country to country; you may want to contact your local
customs office for further information.

Generally, customs forms for international packages will list the
value of your order's contents by product type. For instance, orders
containing CDs, books, and videos will generally be listed in a way
similar to the following example:

Books value: $29.95
CDs value: $9.95
Video value: $39.95

Your privacy is important to us, and we know that you care about how
information about your order is used and shared. We would like our
international customers and customers shipping products outside the
U.S. to be aware that cross-border shipments are subject to opening
and inspection by customs authorities.

Also, we may provide certain order, shipment, and product information,
such as titles, to our international carriers, and such information
may be communicated by the carriers to customs authorities in order
to facilitate customs clearance and comply with local laws.

If the order is a gift, the cost of the items is still stated on the
customs form. Customs authorities require us to state the value of
gift items directly on the package.

Any customs or import duties are levied once the package reaches the
destination country. Additional charges for customs clearance must
be paid by the recipient; we have no control over these charges and
cannot predict what they might be. Customs policies vary widely from
country to country. You may want to contact your local customs office
for further information.

Further, you may also refuse this shipment when it arrives. Refusing
the shipment allows you to return it without having to pay for return
shipping.

Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com.

Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question

All we wanted for Amazon to do was to give an invoice with the CORRECT value to DHL... we are not even asking them to absorb the tax or anything........

Comments anyone ? I simply cant understand why did Amazon overstated the value of the package. IS it even legal to over declare the value ? there is a clause on the custom form that says that they declare that the infomaion given on the form is true and correct... Newsflash.. its NOT true nor correct

[rich-y]

Could it be that they are listing the "Retail Value" of the item as opposed to the price you actually paid? Just a thought.

[etcl]

all we had requested for Amazon to do is just to give a copy of the invoice with the correct value of the package.
and the answer that we got is the email reply as above....
fired a few VERY VERY strong email to them in response to that email....

[retihsuhnt]

Somehow I am missing how Amazon did anything in the wrong. They on their customs form listed the retail price of what you ordered, not what you paid, but what their value is.

They lost the initial shipment and solved that by sending a second one, they seemed to have done the most they can via customer service.

Its a Customs issue, take it up with your country of residence. If they base customs on what the retail price/value is its not the stores fault.

[etcl]

Originally posted by retihsuhnt
Somehow I am missing how Amazon did anything in the wrong. They on their customs form listed the retail price of what you ordered, not what you paid, but what their value is.

They lost the initial shipment and solved that by sending a second one, they seemed to have done the most they can via customer service.

Its a Customs issue, take it up with your country of residence. If they base customs on what the retail price/value is its not the stores fault.

First of all thanks for your reply.

as i stated, all we need is for Amazon to give DHL a copy of the invoice with the amount of what i have paid and DHL will be able to claim back the tax. Being a reshipped package, the invoice inside my package has the amount that i paid as zero. We dont even care how they arrive at the amount that they put on the customs form.
All we need from Amazon is to give a copy of the original invoice with the amount that i paid to DHL and to confirm that was the amount that i paid.
Is that too much to ask from Amazon ?

PS
its not my 1st package from Amazon but its the 1st time that they misprice the form. Before this package, they always put the price as per their website, though before STL.

[al_bundy]

It sounds like Amazon is following the laws of your country. If you don't like paying the cutoms taxes then vote for someone else.

[etcl]

Originally posted by al_bundy
It sounds like Amazon is following the laws of your country. If you don't like paying the cutoms taxes then vote for someone else.

sorry really dont get what you mean.
are you trying to tell me that AMazon is following the law of my country by :-

1) overdeclaring the value of the package ? or

2) refusing to resend the original invoice with the correct amount that i paid to DHL to enable them to claim a refund ?

really do not understand what AMazon is doing!!

i did not say that i do not wish to pay taxes.... but i do wish to pay taxes on the right value!!!!

[Ben732]

Whenever Amazon sends a replacement product, they create a new order under your account, but set all the prices at $0 as to not charge you again. That's why the invoice was at $0. Can't you logon to your account and print the original order's info yourself?

[etcl]

Custom and DHL both require the invoice from the the originating source...
i had already printed it out for them but they do not accept the copy that i printed out from my account....
so i have no choice but to request it from Amazon

[tasha99]

It sounds like the person who replied to you didn't actually read your letter and sent you a form. Call or email again, and maybe the next rep will understand what you're asking.

tasha

[troystiffler]

Originally posted by retihsuhnt
Somehow I am missing how Amazon did anything in the wrong. They on their customs form listed the retail price of what you ordered, not what you paid, but what their value is.

That's not really a valid point. When I go to Best Buy and pick up a DVD with a retail price of $27.99, and only pay $19.99, I don't pay taxes on $27.99.

What are your duty fees? You probably just paid an extra $10, or so, right? If I were your friend, I'd never order from them again.

[eau]

When you look up your order info from your account, there is a "Need to Print An Invoice" button with which you can print out an official invoice. What Amazon sends out in an order is more like a packing slip. In general, packing slips from most retailers do not contain price information anyway.

[LASERMOVIES]

Originally posted by eau
When you look up your order info from your account, there is a "Need to Print An Invoice" button with which you can print out an official invoice. What Amazon sends out in an order is more like a packing slip. In general, packing slips from most retailers do not contain price information anyway.


The packing slips I receive from Amazon usually have all the pricing details listed.

[etcl]

Originally posted by LASERMOVIES
The packing slips I receive from Amazon usually have all the pricing details listed.

sorry... firstly, Cusoms authorities will only accept original invoices and not those that are printed out from the website.

secondly, since mine is a reshipped package, so the packing slip i received with the package have a stated value of zero

Till now, after so many days, Amazon has yet to respond to me to let me know what could be done.

[Eeyore]

Originally posted by troystiffler
That's not really a valid point. When I go to Best Buy and pick up a DVD with a retail price of $27.99, and only pay $19.99, I don't pay taxes on $27.99.

But when you send a present to your friend in another country, you pay the customs fee on the value of the item, not on what they (or you) actually paid.

[rich-y]

Originally posted by etcl
...secondly, since mine is a reshipped package...

I find it funny that you did not mention this was reshipped in your original post. So, the original package was shipped to a location in the U.S. and then someone forwarded it to you at an international address.

Amazon is not obligated to send you any kind of additional invoice. They are only required to send you the original receipt that was shipped with your domestic package.

It was very nice of them to send you an additional customs invoice, and I don't blame them for sending you a receipt with replacement costs due to the high potential for fraud in a case like this.

[etcl]

Originally posted by rich-y
I find it funny that you did not mention this was reshipped in your original post. So, the original package was shipped to a location in the U.S. and then someone forwarded it to you at an international address.

Amazon is not obligated to send you any kind of additional invoice. They are only required to send you the original receipt that was shipped with your domestic package.

It was very nice of them to send you an additional customs invoice, and I don't blame them for sending you a receipt with replacement costs due to the high potential for fraud in a case like this.
sorry pal.. please read my first post. i had already stated in the very 1st post that Amazon had lost our package.. thats why there is a reshipment.

Both me and my friend are living abroad so there was no domestic shipping at all.

Amazon did not send me a invoice with the correct value at all so i do not understand what do you mean by Amazon is already very nice to send me an additional customs invoice. The new invoice was what i was asking for since before Christmas and it is still under consideration by Amazon

[etcl]

Originally posted by Eeyore
But when you send a present to your friend in another country, you pay the customs fee on the value of the item, not on what they (or you) actually paid.

I am not very sure how they calculate slaes tax in your country but in my country of residence, we pay tax on the price we paid, not on the MSRP.

[rich-y]

Sorry, I thought you were trying to say that your package had been shipped to a third party who then forwarded it to you.

Can you explain the following statemtent from your original post? :

Originally posted by etcl
As my colleague previously mentioned, because your original shipment never passed through customs, a replacement shipment may be subject to the taxes and duties of your country.
What do they mean by "your original shipment never passed through customs"? I noticed that they never state that the package was lost.

[LASERMOVIES]

Originally posted by etcl
sorry... firstly, Cusoms authorities will only accept original invoices and not those that are printed out from the website.



My statement had nothing to do with printing from the website. I was responding to the previous posters comments about the packing slips from Amazon.

[sniper308]

how much money are we talking about here?

[etcl]

Originally posted by rich-y
Sorry, I thought you were trying to say that your package had been shipped to a third party who then forwarded it to you.

Can you explain the following statemtent from your original post? :


What do they mean by "your original shipment never passed through customs"? I noticed that they never state that the package was lost.

yup no mention at all.. think it is a cut and paste answer from them......

[etcl]

Originally posted by LASERMOVIES
My statement had nothing to do with printing from the website. I was responding to the previous posters comments about the packing slips from Amazon.

yeah. sorry.. i understand what you mean....

just that i wish to say that authorities usually requires original copies of invoices to prevent fraud. No offence meant :)

[etcl]

Originally posted by sniper308
how much money are we talking about here?

its about US$20 bucks.

Its not much but hey....its a matter of principal. Why should i pay extra to the authorities for nothing..

[Erik68]

Well, you want to pay nothing which is also wrong.

Amazon stated the value of the items in the package, they are required to do that. The value is not ZERO as you claim, the DVD's are still worth something, and you wouldn't sell them for ZERO. That is why you have to pay duties and taxes on the DVDs.

Why not in the future, order from the amazon site for your country and avoid all of this? Do you really need the region 1 DVD's?

It seems that since your first package was lost, and you got a replacemement for free, you think that it should be free when it passes thru customs, I don't see your logic here. As Amazon stated, since the original package did not pass thru customs, and you did not pay duties or taxes, you are obligated to pay these duites and taxes on the replacement shipment.

[etcl]

Originally posted by Erik68
Well, you want to pay nothing which is also wrong.

Amazon stated the value of the items in the package, they are required to do that. The value is not ZERO as you claim, the DVD's are still worth something, and you wouldn't sell them for ZERO. That is why you have to pay duties and taxes on the DVDs.

Why not in the future, order from the amazon site for your country and avoid all of this? Do you really need the region 1 DVD's?

It seems that since your first package was lost, and you got a replacemement for free, you think that it should be free when it passes thru customs, I don't see your logic here. As Amazon stated, since the original package did not pass thru customs, and you did not pay duties or taxes, you are obligated to pay these duites and taxes on the replacement shipment.

sorry pal.. when did i say that i do not wish to pay taxes ? please read my post again....

i said i do not wish to pay the EXTRA taxes.. i did not say that i do not wish to pay any!!!!!

the USD20 i mentioned is the amount of EXTRA TAXES i incurred due to the over valuation of the package.

[Erik68]

How do you KNOW they're EXTRA taxes if you NEVER saw what you woul have been charged for the first order?

You don't, thus you're assuming that this is an extra charge. First it wasn't even you, it was your friend, then it became you. Why should we even believe this is actually happening? Read all your messages, your story is never consistant.

[rich-y]

Originally posted by Erik68
How do you KNOW they're EXTRA taxes if you NEVER saw what you woul have been charged for the first order?

You don't, thus you're assuming that this is an extra charge. First it wasn't even you, it was your friend, then it became you. Why should we even believe this is actually happening? Read all your messages, your story is never consistant.

Erik68... this is very simple to understand:

This guy ordered certain items to be shipped overseas.

The tax he is speaking of is the Customs fee.

The Customs fee is based on the original invoice sent with the package.

He says Amazon stated the wrong amount on the invoice, so his fee for getting the package released from Customs is about $20 more than it should be.

Simple enough. He doesn't want to pay fees for the inflated prices listed -- He only wants to pay fees on the actual price paid.

------

Think of it like this: What would you do if you went to Best Buy to buy a $20 DVD and they tried to charge you taxes for $50?

------
My only question is why Amazon says that the invoice is correct. Why don't you give them a call?

[etcl]

Originally posted by Erik68
How do you KNOW they're EXTRA taxes if you NEVER saw what you woul have been charged for the first order?

You don't, thus you're assuming that this is an extra charge. First it wasn't even you, it was your friend, then it became you. Why should we even believe this is actually happening? Read all your messages, your story is never consistant.

Urm... as what everybody says, we would know what we have paid from the my account page at Amazon !!!!

As to why i used the I instead of my friend....its just for convenience sake...

what do you mean my story is just not consistant ?

It has always been the over declaration of the value of the package and the lack of action of Amazon. As a result of it there were lots of inconvenience and unhappiness.

where's the inconsistency ?

[etcl]

Originally posted by rich-y
Erik68... this is very simple to understand:

This guy ordered certain items to be shipped overseas.

The tax he is speaking of is the Customs fee.

The Customs fee is based on the original invoice sent with the package.

He says Amazon stated the wrong amount on the invoice, so his fee for getting the package released from Customs is about $20 more than it should be.

Simple enough. He doesn't want to pay fees for the inflated prices listed -- He only wants to pay fees on the actual price paid.

------

Think of it like this: What would you do if you went to Best Buy to buy a $20 DVD and they tried to charge you taxes for $50?

------
My only question is why Amazon says that the invoice is correct. Why don't you give them a call?

thanks a lot for explaining my point...
that's exactly what i was trying to say.

as to why i did not call amazon..
i am staying abroad so the cost of the call will be much more than the extra 20 bucks i am paying for the custom tax... :)

so till now i am still waiting for Amazon to get back to me.
Its been 6 days and still counting..... :(

[etcl]

ok.. here is the latest news from Amazon....

Greetings from Amazon.com.

I apologize for the delay in responding to your e-mail message.
Please be assured that all of us here are working very hard to
provide a thorough, personal answer to each of our customers as
quickly as possible.

We regret that we have not been able to address your concerns to
your satisfaction. Unfortunately, we will not be able to offer any
additional insight or action on these matters.

I sympathize with your situation, however, please know that Customs
Fees are borne by the recipient of the package. As my colleagues
have already explained and is clearly stated on our site, generally,
customs forms for international packages will list the value of your
order's contents by product type. For instance, orders containing
CDs, videos, DVDs, and books will generally be listed in a way
similar to the following example:

Books value: $29.55
CDs value: $9.95
DVD value: $27.95
Video value: $39.95

As well, our site states that you may be subject to import duties
and taxes, which are levied once a shipment reaches your country.
Additional charges for customs clearance must be borne by you; we
have no control over these charges and cannot predict what they may
be. Customs policies vary widely from country to country; you should
contact your local customs office for further information.

Additionally, when ordering from Amazon.com, you are considered the
importer of record and must comply with all laws and regulations of
the country in which you are receiving the goods.

For your convenience, I have included the link to this information
and additional information below:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/468632/

Consequently, the decleration of value for any item is not exact--
neither do we over declare or under declare your items. The cost
varies (again) from country to country and we cannot change the
information that has been provided previously.

Further, unfortunately our privacy policy prevents Amazon.com to
postal mail an invoice to any address, but the shipping address for
the associated order. Therefore, we will send a copy of the invoice
for your order to the following address:

The invoice should arrive via standard mail in 1 to 2 weeks.

Respectively, you may also check the details of the order online at
any time by clicking on the "Your Account" link at the top of our
web site. On the following page, click the "Go!" button next
to "Open and recently shipped orders" and sign in with your e-mail
address and password. Click "View order" next to the relevant order
to display a summary, including costs. You can print this page for
your records.

Short of mailing the invoice to you and having that invoice relayed
to DHL USA or you refusing the package--there is nothing else that
we can assist you, except to offer you the contact information for
Amazon.co.jp. Which may be more cost efficient and time effective
for you.

Amazon.co.jp is our Japanese-language site primarily serving Japan
and Japanese-language speakers around the world. While much of our
Japanese web site is in Japanese only, we do offer some basic English
language Help pages, as well as the ability to order in English.

For more information on English ordering capabilities, or to learn
more about Amazon.co.jp in general, please visit this URL:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/help/english

You'll find the ordering process at this site very similar to what
you've seen at Amazon.com. Your Amazon.com e-mail address and
password will be accepted on our European sites, but you will need
to set up a new account if you wish to order from Amazon.co.jp.
For the sake of simplicity you are certainly welcome to use the same
e-mail address/password combination which you are currently using on
your Amazon.com account.

Please note that any orders placed at Amazon.co.jp will be shipped
from Ichikawa, Japan, and may not be combined with orders placed at
any other Amazon sites.

If you have further questions about Amazon.co.jp, please contact
their Customer Service department directly. You will find contact
information at the Help page link above. You may write to Customer
Service in either Japanese or English.

We hope to have the opportunity to serve you again in the future.
If, based on our policies, you choose to shop elsewhere, please know
that we've appreciated your patronage and respect your decision.


Best regards,

Christina D. Meade
http://www.amazon.com
=============================

ref_id:=taec6015

i wish to bring your attention to the part where Amazon states that "Consequently, the decleration of value for any item is not exact--
neither do we over declare or under declare your items. The cost
varies (again) from country to country and we cannot change the
information that has been provided previously."

does that mean they will cost differently from country to country ?

they still refuse to admit that they screwed up the price stated on my customs form....

now i will have to wait and see if the value stated in the invoice sent to me is the correct amount that i have paid

[rich-y]

Well, it looks like that may be the final word.

There's not much you can do since it is posted on their website that your customs fees would be based on those standardized amounts listed:

Books value: $29.55
CDs value: $9.95
DVD value: $27.95
Video value: $39.95

... but

I just checked the USPS website and they require that the Customs Declaration include the "actual value"

Here's what it says:

"(3) Declaring the actual value, in U.S. dollars, of each article in the parcel. The sender may declare that the contents have no value; however, this does not exempt the parcel from customs examination or charges in the destination country."

http://www.usps.com/global/duties.htm

... but,

Because your package was shipped by DHL you may be out of luck. They simply require a Commercial Invoice stating the number of items in the package and the estimated cost of each.

------

The only suggestion I have is to place your future orders with a company that will declare the EXACT amount on the Customs Declaration form.

[eau]

etcl, send a final complaint to resolution@amazon.com.

Worst come to worst, you should demand a promotional certificate or something for all your trouble.

[etcl]

Originally posted by rich-y
Well, it looks like that may be the final word.

There's not much you can do since it is posted on their website that your customs fees would be based on those standardized amounts listed:

Books value: $29.55
CDs value: $9.95
DVD value: $27.95
Video value: $39.95

... but

I just checked the USPS website and they require that the Customs Declaration include the "actual value"

Here's what it says:

"(3) Declaring the actual value, in U.S. dollars, of each article in the parcel. The sender may declare that the contents have no value; however, this does not exempt the parcel from customs examination or charges in the destination country."

http://www.usps.com/global/duties.htm

... but,

Because your package was shipped by DHL you may be out of luck. They simply require a Commercial Invoice stating the number of items in the package and the estimated cost of each.

------

The only suggestion I have is to place your future orders with a company that will declare the EXACT amount on the Customs Declaration form.

thanks for all your help in checking up .... :)
but from what i understand the prices stated in their information page is just an example...

"Generally, customs forms for international packages will list the value of your order's contents by product type. For instance, orders containing CDs, videos, DVDs, and books will generally be listed in a way similar to the following example:

Books value: $29.55
CDs value: $9.95
DVD value: $27.95
Video value: $39.95 "

i think what Amazon is trying to say is that they will list out the items one by one and their value...

will try my best to fight them on this one.

[etcl]

Originally posted by eau
etcl, send a final complaint to resolution@amazon.com.

Worst come to worst, you should demand a promotional certificate or something for all your trouble.

thanks for the link to the email address.

May i know where will this email address be sent to ?

the normal one that i email to is the usual customer service side

thanks a lot

[MrKen]

I once had a discussion with a U.S. Customs officer which is sort of pertinent to this situation. I had purchased several items overseas, and didn't know on the plane whether they expected me to write-in the actual value of the items, or what I paid. There was a long discussion, but the core of it is that the customs tax is supposed to be on the actual value of the items, not what I paid.

If the country you are in has similar customs law, and I bet they do, any legally responsible company should be putting the normal retail value of the items being shipped to cover their ass.

[etcl]

nope..as i mentioned, we based our sales tax on the amount that we paid for.

also as this is not my first purchase with Amazon. Previously the value that they stated on the form is the amount that is stated in their website. This is the 1st time that this had occured.

it has been over a week and i am still waiting for them to answer my email.

[inertiatic]

etcl - i know some people that work at amazon. send me either an order number or your email address and i'll see what i can do.

inertiatic@zoominternet.net