Seller frauding customs and VAT, item being sold as "no customs"

[pepeiolabs]

Hi.

I purchased an expensive item (about 500€) last week. I choose to get it from Europe, as i recently had to pay a fedex custom bill two months after reception of an item, that ought not to have import taxes too.

Item ought to have been sent from London, so that was ok. Everything was green "no customs", bla bla bla...

The package i received was direct from china, never came through London.

Contacted seller about customs and i got different stories each time "no, really it came from London, sir", "we paid in London for a pack of items, no worries even if it came from China", and now "if you get a bill, contact me, i'll pay for it". Yes the "trust me" thing...

Last statement clearly indicates that he did not pay and did fraud.

I am aware that except his account being closed, this person will not have any problem. However, i am in risk of being caught back by customs and have no proof that they were paid. I could have chosen to get the item from some other sellers in Europe, however, this one was slightly lower price than the others.. About 10€. This seller did abuse from the others, as some certainly paid for taxes. 

Reporting this to ebay ought to bring me nothing to secure my purchase. What would you do, except hope for customs to never show up?

[femmefan1946]

"no customs"

Did the listing say Customs services and international tracking provided

or

No additional import charges at delivery!

This item will be shipped through the Global Shipping Program and includes international tracking. Learn more

If so, the item was sent through the GSP which is now available to UK sellers as well as US sellers.

When you paid for the item, you paid CANADIAN  duty and sales taxes as well as the cost of shipping and a service fee to Pitney Bowes, which runs the program.

You did NOT pay British duty. You did NOT pay British taxes.

There will be no duty or tax or service fee to pay on your doorstep.

The package i received was direct from china, never came through London.

And you didn't pay any CANADIAN  duty and sales taxes on your doorstep?

Since the item was an export, I doubt that British Value Added Tax would have been charged on the sale. Perhaps afantiques, who sells from the UK can clear that up.

If the seller is charging VAT on the sale, and there should have been none, then the people to contact would be the British revenue department, since that would be a criminal question not a commercial one that can be handled by eBay.

[pepeiolabs]

Hi, thanks for replying.

I think i made a mistake, as i thought i was on UK ebay, not Canadian. Please forgive me.

Here is the item. http://www.ebay.fr/itm/RIGOL-DS1054Z-50MHz-DIGITAL-OSCILLOSCOPE-4-CHANNEL-1GS-s-

I see no mention for GSP or anything. just "no custom fees" as it is an item sent between european countries. There was no tracking.

Maybe should i close this thread and start it on a more appropriate ebay site (regarding nationality..)?

[afantiques]

Who was the item delivered by. Does it include either inside or outside a commercial invoice with a stated value. The item appears to have been removed from ebay.fr.

Is the item OK? How big is it?  It says an oscilloscope but I have no idea how big they are nowadays. If it was feasible it may have been sent with a low valuation to ensure no extra charges. Assuming it was not sent by Fedex you are free and claer. No need to report anyone to anyone.

[pepeiolabs]

Item was sent through a shipping company called SXY and delivered to me by Chronopost, part of French postal system. 

Item is OK, it works fine and i am happy with it. However, i would hate paying 20%VAT and import duties for something whose price ought to include all that.

It is quite small, the package was about 30*40*60cm..

The original airway bill showed no value, not even 0. There is a red stamp over that part, but it is in Mandarin (i guess). Can not read it.

[afantiques]

I'd say forget it, then. You should be free and clear.