Import Duties

am well cheesed off

my eldest son lives in south africa and will be getting engaged to his girlfriend in december

my wife decided to send him her diamond ring which I gave her when we got enaged many years ago

arrived there today via DHL, and he received a call from DHL saying that he needs to pay R5000 (about £500) for import duties and has 7 days to collect it or else it goes into storage for 3 months, and if still not collected, it will be auctioned off

the young lass who filled in the forms at the DHL depot never stated that it was a present and insured it for £1000 ... my wife did tell her that it was a diamond engagement ring and was being sent to my son as a gift as he is getting engaged

will send the UK DHL MD a friendly email tonight and see if he can assist .... R5000 is approx 1 months house rent in South Africa ... my son is gutted

the way things look at present, it seems like I will end up sending my son an additional £500 just to get it, as they have just moved into a new home and have bought a brand new car 2 weeks ago, so they are skint at the moment

 

I can understand you being cheesed off - although isn't sending diamonds to South Africa a bit like taking coals to Newcastle?

 

the prices of diamonds are regulated by a cartel/monopoly called De Beers, so the prices are the same all over the world (if bought legally)

it's a bit like gold .... there is a universal/global price per ounce

and it's not so much about the money, my wife just thought that it would be a nice thing to do, i.e. let our eldest child get engaged/married with the same ring that she got engaged with (sentimental value)

it's a nightmare sending stuff to south africa .... earlier this year, I sent my son an iphone via royal mail .... sent it insured with tracking number .... could track it all the way to south africa ....

then ... POOF ....gone ....

waited 2 months for the claim to be processed

 

Sorry it wont help you, but your story made me feel better, so thanks for that.
I have had stuff come from America over to here, and I have had to pay import duty and VAT on it, dammed annoying.

 

will send a polite mail to DHL UK in the morning ....

if that does not work, will tell my son to send a mail stating that he refuses to accept the parcel

I used to sell loads of antiques on ebay, and once shipped a mantle clock to australia .... the buyer sent a mail after the item was shipped, stating that he no longer wanted the clock, as he had lost his job

to cut a long story short, he refused to accept the parcel, and it was sent back to me ... cost me £68 for Fedex, I received the clock back, and had to refund the buyer for the purchase price via paypal

I don't see how they can say that they will 'auction' the ring (and keep the money) if the reciever does not pay the import duty?

the package has not even been openened and inspected by a certified diamond dealer to ascertain the value? .... a young 18 year old girl in a UK shopping mall decided it was worth £1000 and they believe her valuation?

 

Congratulations on the Engagement, comiserations on the hassle.

 

A relative of mine lives in Panama and their postal system is woefully hit-and-miss.
Not one single greetings card has ever reached her, i don't bother sending them now.
She too has to pay fairly hefty tax on any birthday and xmas gifts i send there.

 

got it sorted .... sent an email this morning to DHL complaints dept ...

about an hour later, received a call from a woman stating that she had handed the case over to her collegue, who was dealing with South Africa as we spoke

received a call later in the day, stating that they have emailed me forms to fill in, and I should value the ring at £200 .... my son would then pay approx 1060 ZAR (£90) instead of approx £500

whole problem stemmed from the lady who filled in the DHL waybill info ... she valued the ring at £999.99 ....so, customs and excise in South Africa work out the customs duty on this figure

Don't have a clue what it's worth, (but it's worth more than £200) and is nearly a carat in size and is a D colour and flawless .... when I bought it, it was worth 2 months salary 27 years ago (and I had a pretty good job) ... and was bought directly from a diamond dealer who was a family friend (friend of my dad) ... he gave me a full lecture when I met him, and remember that he said that D was recomended .... so bought it

so, my son is well chuffed .... he will collect it on monday, and have the stone reset in a 18k platinum band

overall, DHL have been really good, and the lady went out of her way to sort things for me, as she spent a long time on the phone negotiating with customs in south africa

she also stated that some countries such as South Africa add import duties on most items that come into the country, even if they are 2nd hand, so it's always worthwhile checking before sending something

 

Glad you got it sorted *dim*