etcl

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

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

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

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 [email protected].

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

etcl

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

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.

[email protected]