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[gog]

Hello,

I live in the UK and purchased an item from a Thai vendor that cost around $1000 USD, and wish to return it.

I am a private individual and it was a one-off purchase.

I believe the vendor wishes me to send it via normal post and underdeclared and described as something else, so as to avoid customs charges. (It is a small item that could be 'repackaged' to look like something else, I suppose).

However I would much prefer to pay for Fedex or perhaps DHL and properly declare the goods.

• My question is: if I declare that I am returning the merchandise on the description part of the customs document, will Thai Customs give it a bye?

The fact that it is being returned should be easily provable, with paypal evidence and order numbers etc.

• However I don't know if tax byes on returned merchandise are given by Thai Customs as in some other parts of the world - do they simply tax regardless, especially when the courier companies are handling the goods?
• I have read also of an insurance fee and freight charge, will this be levied also on my seller, regardless?
• Is there any realistic chance of theft of the item if using Fedex or DHL?

I have returned merchandise to the USA before, and signed a form that went in the Fedex document envelope to assert that the goods were being returned, and had a scan of a similar form from the seller. The goods went through US customs back to the seller without a problem.

• Is there an equivalent for Thailand?

I have perused a number of the very useful threads on this forum, including:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/582182-help-how-do-you-solve-irrational-customs-duty-charges/

but cannot find information pertinent to my case.

Any help would be appreciated.

[KittenKong]

Cynics might suspect that a vendor receiving a USD1000 returned item described as something else of much lower value might say he had only received the cheaper item and not the USD1000 one.

[gog]

Hi KittenKong, good point...!

However this gentleman has been in business for at least ten years and has a number of satisfied customers on another forum. Though it is my first purchase from him. Nonetheless, a good point, and well taken.

His other customers on the other forum grumble about the returns procedure too. A couple have had things get lost when returning via the 'normal post' route but it has constituted a small enough percentage of their purchases from him that they aren't put off.

However I can't risk losing $1000. Yet I want to try and do right by the vendor as best I can.