Buying from Europe

[segovia]

I went to buy a Vacuum Clamp from Germany yesterday and could not check out as the United Kingdom wasn't listed as a country. The supplier said they no longer support purchases from the UK due to Brexit but happily supply to all other corners of the world. He redirected me to his eBay site which was nearly 40 euros more expensive.

Can anyone explain how we got into this mess, and what is happening in the background? I feel like writing a letter to my MP!

Full response

"since Brexit, we are unfortunately no longer allowed to sell directly to the UK for tax reasons. For us this is only possible via eBay.
Ebay then takes care of all tax-related things."

Thanks

John

 

[pgrbff]

It is the extra paperwork. I prepared an Amazon UK return 2 days ago. In the UK it is relatively simple, one small declartion on the box of value and country of manufacture. I had 3 copies of the invoice produced by the courier, one copy of the invoice from Amazon, a copy of my passport, a copy of my tax card, Amazons address label, the couriers address label and I had to write in felt tip my address, Amazons address and the tracking number.

 

[Rhossydd]

Can anyone explain how we got into this mess, and what is happening in the background? I feel like writing a letter to my MP!

It's pretty well documented now; in two words misinformation and ignorance.

Neither major party is prepared to admit it was wrong and is being carried out in the worst possible way, so no offer to resolve it.

If your MP is currently a tory it would be a waste time as all the reasonable tories were purged to be replaced by brexiteers before the last election.

 

[Ozi]

In my old job trying to get prototype car parts into the UK was a nightmare, the reason was that customs were so inconsistent, paperwork that had been excepted for one batch would often get rejected for a second with little explanation. I had a similar issue last week trying to buy spares for a spin dryer. Available from Portugal price quoted in pounds £26 but they would not sell to the UK even at my risk if parts rejected. Found a supplier in this country at £67 reason "we import them from Europe, it's a nightmare" - off to my shed for muttering practice.

I never understood why we were ever allowed to vote on the subject, it was a decision that required far more understanding of economics and politics than I have and that is probably true for most people on this forum and I'm making the assumption that people on here probably have intelligence and experience a bit over average.

 

[Fitzroy]

But we got £350mil per week for the NHS!

On a non political note, it does seem hard to find any simple info on what EU sellers should do to sell to the UK. I've been looking at buying a piece of equipment from Dictum in Germany, and whilst they offer free UK postage I can't workout if I need to pay with VAT on the site, or pay VAT during import, or what the import duty will be, etc etc. The item is not sold in the UK and it is really frustrating me.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Current opinion poll on Brexit Poll

I can only deduce the consensus view is that on balance it has been a significant failure - the difficulty of trade in low value goods being an example.

As neither Sunak (predictably) nor Starmer actively support re-entry it is unsurprising Brexit has been ignored in campaigns thus far. More disappointing is the lack of resolve to improve matters through negotiation and agreement which could benefit both the UK and EU.

Perhaps the EU is still trying to punish the UK for its temerity in leaving.

 

[AES]

But we got £350mil per week for the NHS!

On a non political note, it does seem hard to find any simple info on what EU sellers should do to sell to the UK. I've been looking at buying a piece of equipment from Dictum in Germany, and whilst they offer free UK postage I can't workout if I need to pay with VAT on the site, or pay VAT during import, or what the import duty will be, etc etc. The item is not sold in the UK and it is really frustrating me.

I sympathise Fitzroy. I'm not in UK, but Switzerland, also a non-EU country.

I found that whereas in the past Dictum would always accept credit cards, now they ONLY accept cards which have the account holder at an address in Germany! So for the parts I needed from them I had to pay in advance by Pro-Forma Invoice with a transfer from my bank to theirs BEFORE they would ship the goods. Higher costs to me than credit card. So that part is apparently nothing to do with EU/non-EU countries.

However, re VAT: In the above transaction, Dictum did NOT charge me any German VAT (which BTW is much higher than Swiss VAT). BUT on arrival in Switzerland I DID have to pay Swiss VAT on the whole value of the transaction (i.e. including Dictum's packing and shipping charges); PLUS Swiss Import Duty, also calculated on the total value of the transaction, NOT just the value of the actual spare parts.

I have now come to the conclusion that unless Dictum really are the ONLY source of what I want, I don't use them any more.

A pity really, because they WERE, IME, an excellent company to deal with in the past. There seems to have been a change of management/philosophy in that particular company, and that, plus Brexit, has changed the picture with Dictum significantly.

More generally, my own experience with buying stuff from both non-EU countries (e.g. USA) and from EU countries (e.g. UK) varies significantly. With some, it's an outright NO. Others will help, but usually only after jumping through several admin hoops.

I did NOT have a vote in the UK Brexit referendum (I've been a non-UK resident for too long) so "don't blame me mate"!

 

[brocher]

Current opinion poll on Brexit Poll

I can only deduce the consensus view is that on balance it has been a significant failure - the difficulty of trade in low value goods being an example.

As neither Sunak (predictably) nor Starmer actively support re-entry it is unsurprising Brexit has been ignored in campaigns thus far. More disappointing is the lack of resolve to improve matters through negotiation and agreement which could benefit both the UK and EU.

Perhaps the EU is still trying to punish the UK for its temerity in leaving.

It's not the EU punishing us, it's the brexiteers punishing us! They still spout out through the right wing press, their shameful think tanks, and american right wing nutcases the message that we must hate Europe! It's just unbelievable and to cap it all Sunak can't be bothered to attend the whole of D-Day. These people should never be allowed to run our country ever again

 

[niemeyjt]

From my view (in CH) it is down to lazy sellers.

Some, e.g. shopify and Amazon, do all the sums and you pay what is due (no seller VAT - just local VAT) at checkout time.

Sadly, there are many lazy sellers, e.g. Woodpeckers, who leave it to the shippers to sort it out - for the joy of the buyer paying $25 handling per package - although as I see it the charges are only levied on items and not carriage too

As for referenda - I like the idea - both to create and to overturn laws as here (CH). Imagine in UK how many laws might have been rejected by the electorate in a referendum!

Personally, I think the UK (and other) politicians are so bought by vested interests that they should not be trusted to write any laws on their own.

 

[curryjunkie]

Current opinion poll on Brexit Poll

I can only deduce the consensus view is that on balance it has been a significant failure - the difficulty of trade in low value goods being an example.

As neither Sunak (predictably) nor Starmer actively support re-entry it is unsurprising Brexit has been ignored in campaigns thus far. More disappointing is the lack of resolve to improve matters through negotiation and agreement which could benefit both the UK and EU.

Perhaps the EU is still trying to punish the UK for its temerity in leaving.

the EU hasnt punished the uk at all, it has simply applied 3rd country status as the uk is no longer part of the trading block, in fact it has bent over backwards in regards to N Ireland to accomodate the numptys in the loyalist facton. general consensus is that britain will gradually re-align with europe over the next decade or two, its going to be slow and painful, but thats what you get for collectively losing your minds .

 

[Yorkieguy]

Though it coincided with Brexit, for quite some time HMRC had been concerned about goods 'flying under the radar from overseas on which VAT wasn't levied, which not only lost VAT revenue, it disadvantaged British companies From Jan 2021, the rules applied equally to goods arriving in the UK from EU and non EU countries. 'Online Marketplaces' such as eBay and Amazon comply with these rules - smaller companies often don't wish to, just as many small UK firms don't want the hassle of sending goods overseas, whether it to Austria or Australia. You buy something from China on eBay, eBay passes the VAT to HMRC.

Changes to VAT treatment of overseas goods sold to customers from 1 January 2021

'At the end of the transition period, the government will introduce a new model for the VAT treatment of goods arriving into Great Britain from outside of the UK. This will ensure that goods from EU and non-EU countries are treated in the same way and that UK businesses are not disadvantaged by competition from VAT free imports. It will also improve the effectiveness of VAT collection on imported goods and address the problem of overseas sellers failing to pay the right amount of VAT on sales of goods that are already in the UK at the point of sale'.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...s-goods-sold-to-customers-from-1-january-2021

 

[Scruples]

It's pretty well documented now; in two words misinformation and ignorance.

Neither major party is prepared to admit it was wrong and is being carried out in the worst possible way, so no offer to resolve it.

If your MP is currently a tory it would be a waste time as all the reasonable tories were purged to be replaced by brexiteers before the last election.

Purged, or did they leave because they found themselves at odds with the result?

 

[Scruples]

I went to buy a Vacuum Clamp from Germany yesterday and could not check out as the United Kingdom wasn't listed as a country. The supplier said they no longer support purchases from the UK due to Brexit but happily supply to all other corners of the world. He redirected me to his eBay site which was nearly 40 euros more expensive.

Can anyone explain how we got into this mess, and what is happening in the background? I feel like writing a letter to my MP!

Full response

"since Brexit, we are unfortunately no longer allowed to sell directly to the UK for tax reasons. For us this is only possible via eBay.
Ebay then takes care of all tax-related things."

Thanks

John

The 'mess' was created because the Government asked the population whether they wanted to remain in the EU or leave. Trade with Europe was always going to be affected by a leave vote. Everybody knew that, but the small majority decided that it wasn't as important as our borders and the control of our own laws and mational expenditure.
That's democracy for you, I suppose.

 

[Scruples]

It's not the EU punishing us, it's the brexiteers punishing us! They still spout out through the right wing press, their shameful think tanks, and american right wing nutcases the message that we must hate Europe! It's just unbelievable and to cap it all Sunak can't be bothered to attend the whole of D-Day. These people should never be allowed to run our country ever again

The EU isn't making trade as easy for the UK as some other non-European countries but the UK has yet to get through the transition and set up trade deals with individual EU members and the EU collectively. People don't hate Europe but the majority want less EU control for various reasons which, collectively, resulted in the Leave vote.
Sadly, the pandemic arrived at a bad time and any benefits were masked by having to spend any savings on medical investment and workers' protection.

 

[Scruples]

In my old job trying to get prototype car parts into the UK was a nightmare, the reason was that customs were so inconsistent, paperwork that had been excepted for one batch would often get rejected for a second with little explanation. I had a similar issue last week trying to buy spares for a spin dryer. Available from Portugal price quoted in pounds £26 but they would not sell to the UK even at my risk if parts rejected. Found a supplier in this country at £67 reason "we import them from Europe, it's a nightmare" - off to my shed for muttering practice.

I never understood why we were ever allowed to vote on the subject, it was a decision that required far more understanding of economics and politics than I have and that is probably true for most people on this forum and I'm making the assumption that people on here probably have intelligence and experience a bit over average.

Or have their own trade-based agendas? Industry and trade are a part of the whole, and the majority of whole decided against remaining in the EU. The negativity about Brexit was always going to, and continue to,emerge, and the reasons, mostly as ill-informed, are the result of the gripes of the self-serving industries and trades.
The country was given the choice and the country made the choice. The intelligence of the population is irrelevant since, to criticise the masses for a lack of it, indicates an assumed superiority by some which doesn't put them in a good light. Perhaps the majority decided that to leave was the greater good.

 

[jcassidy]

Everybody knew that, but the small majority decided that it wasn't as important as our borders and the control of our own laws and mational expenditure.
That's democracy for you, I suppose.

EU didn't have any say on anything that the UK disgreed with. The UK had more opt-outs than you could shake a finger at never mind the veto.
Immigration policy? Not an EU competency.
Tax? Not an EU competency.
Health? Not an EU competency.

The EU was, and is, a trade block, to increase commercial ties between states, removing barriers to the free movement of goods and people.

For whatever reasons the UK has shown itself to be an unreliable treaty partner in that it has refused to implement or backtracked on many aspects of the BREXIT arrangements it signed up to.

Anyone here who works for a living will know how difficult it is to deal with a customer who agrees a deal and then demands something different, or won't accept delivery or doesn't want to pay as agreed.

It's no different between nation states...

 

[Rhossydd]

Purged, or did they leave because they found themselves at odds with the result?

They were deselected and kicked out because they wanted a reasonable deal, not brexit at any price. Only the compliant were allowed to be put up for selection.

 

[Rhossydd]

up trade deals with individual EU members

That's not possible and never was. A fallacy that politicians should have known and that anyone still peddles this nonsense demonstrates they don't understand what the EU is and how it works.

 

[Distinterior]

The EU isn't making trade as easy for the UK as some other non-European countries but the UK has yet to get through the transition and set up trade deals with individual EU members and the EU collectively. People don't hate Europe but the majority want less EU control for various reasons which, collectively, resulted in the Leave vote.
Sadly, the pandemic arrived at a bad time and any benefits were masked by having to spend any savings on medical investment and workers' protection.

I like to think of myself as a rational, level headed person who researches to a high degree to gain as much information about something before I buy into it or make a decision.

Back in 2016, i treated the Vote in exactly the same way and i like to think i studied all the pros & cons of both sides of the argument.

But, ....I have to say, there are so many things in the above statement that have seriously wound me up this morning .......

I'm going to stop now before I say something that will get me in trouble with the Mods...

 

[niemeyjt]

They were deselected and kicked out because they wanted a reasonable deal, not brexit at any price. Only the compliant were allowed to be put up for selection.

No - they wanted to reverse Brexit - and in doing so ended up with a harder Brexit than was necessary.

Blame Bercow for the order he presented the "binding resolutions" - putting Nick Boles Common Market 2 to the vote before that for a second referendum - leading some who wanted a second referendum to vote against Boles's CM2.

Had the votes been the other way round, or had those wanting a second referendum been more pragmatic, the Boles option would have been carried and none of these issues would have arisen.

But whilst looking for those to blame, let's not forget Merkel completely misread the situation when Cameron came begging. Her legacy unravels by the day.