TOPIC: Customs in the UK!

Hi guys, I'm a new member to the forums, looking to share in the wisdom of those of you who have been members for a while.

I'm in the UK, and placed an order for 2 sabers back on April 7th. I'm obviously pretty darn excited for them to arrive - they got to the UK on the 5th, and yesterday they got Customs clearance. I had got the impression that this would take longer, so I was quite pleased. However, now the sabers are 'Awaiting Customs Charging' - I've googled this process and common consensus suggests it takes ages and you're landed with an import fee! Has anyone in the UK got any knowledge of this process from their experience?

I thought I'd start this thread to satisfy my curiosity and excitement and hopefully help anyone else in a similar agonising situation!

Thanks in anticipation.

Hi Phin, I am in exactly the same situation as you currently! I ordered my saber on 9th April from Etsy and my tracking status now is 'customs clearance processing complete'. Now, all i know so far is that Saberforge have told me that they label up parcels as 'LED torch and plastic tube, valued at £35' in order to avoid excessive import tax etc... But i have also discovered that USPS by default always use Parcel Force to complete the delivery once the package reaches the UK and unfortunately for us, Parcel Force are apparently the only courier in the UK who charge a 'handling fee', payable by us . I phoned Parcel Force today in order to find out if i need to pay any charges before they will deliver. They said i only owe £15 which i presume is the handling fee, so therefore i may have avoided tax

The next stage is paying this fee, which i am told i cant do until my saber reaches the local depot which should be tomorrow, and then i can phone up and pay over the phone. If i do this they will then deliver my saber at the earliest next Monday. I have decided however that if it does arrive at my local depot tomorrow i will just head over there myself, pay the fee and hopefully return home with my saber in time for the weekend!

If you haven't done so already, i suggest you track your parcel on Parcel Force's website, as it gives you slightly more up to date info than tracking through Etsy or USPS. Better still, just phone parcel force to find out if you owe any payment and to properly find out exactly where those lightsabers are!

I hope in some way, my very limited experience helps a little

Thanks dude - that's a great help. I'll be getting in touch with ParcelForce before the day is out, thanks to your advice! Let me know when your saber arrives, I hope it brings you as much joy as it has anticipation!

And also, don't forget to vote!

No problem Phin! Pleased i could help.
I went to pick mine up from my local depot on Friday, and i must say i have been pleasantly surprised by the customs and shipping process. There were no hold ups or unexpected chargers - in total i had to pay £15 at the depot. This covered VAT and the Parcelforce handling fee. Saberforge did a great job labeling up the parcel

Any updates on yours?

Haha yes, very interesting election!

Oh that's awesome dude! Mine reached the local depot on Friday night and the status changed to "awaiting payment of charges" so I took your advice and rang up to get hold of the reference number and paid them Saturday morning, however it would appear the option to collect isn't available on weekends so I'm settling for it being delivered tomorrow or Tuesday!
I only incurred £21 of charges which given that I've got two sabers on the way seems fair enough compared to your £15. My excitement is peaking!