I had some personal used goods (old clothes, old pictures, old books and old tools) sent to me from Italy via UPS Italy, arrived in Bangkok 29th June. UPS Italy did not send the correct documentation and it has taken almost 4 weeks to sort this problem out. UPS Thailand have been very slow at responding to emails and phone calls. I have email documentation as proof. Today they sent me an invoice for 26,919.60THB (see attached file). Can they charge this much for tax and duty on used personal goods?

 

Any advice greatly appreciated, if anyone has experience of this situation, or knows a good cheap lawyer, please help. THANK you so much.

 

CUSTOMS.INVOICE.pdf

Edited July 23, 20196 yr by Aaydium

@Aaydium Ouch that's harsh!

 

Sorry, no advice re the import issue but unless you want a bunch of trolls hassling you I'd remove that PDF, sanitise it (i.e. remove personal details such as telephone number, name, address etc.) and then re-upload.

Edited July 23, 20196 yr by Salerno

Thank you for your response, I did remove the personal details but somehow didn't save... anyway it's done!

Good luck, hope I'm wrong, but sadly from anecdotal evidence I have a feeling they have you over a barrel, it will be a case of pay up or say goodbye to your possessions ☹️

Crikey - my wife was thinking off sending over a crate of her old clothes and shoes for the family - think we might give it a miss now. 

Yes thats exactly what they do.. All items, used or not attract a tax.. The rates of that are very 'variable' so while the rate may be 7% on clothes, theres nothing much stopping them adding a cumulative 30% 'luxury goods' tax on top.. Plus that tax is on the CIF so inclouding the shipping costs.

Then add in your using a courier, they try to cover themselves being billed the taxes, by billing them in the highest most aggressive amounts possible, and they also charge you a fee for that service. 

You can try to argue it, I have successfully negotiated a few times but only by just not caring and ignoring them for a while. If its something you want then your going to have to pay it. 

As someone whos a terrible mail orderer, I have decades of toe curling stories argueing over import duties, the only way to treat is like a game, win some, lose some. 

Ok, thank you for your advice.