Problem With IOSS on EU Order VAT not Sent Electronically, Item Stuck awaiting Payment

[LovesVintage43]

Posting here and tagging a couple of mods trying to get some help on my issue @ModJose @thatregina 

I sent an order from UK to Ireland, it's a larger value order for me and so I upgraded to tracked & signed at my cost to ensure it would get there quickly and safely.

It didn't and was stopped by Anpost for payment of VAT and an administration fee. Of course the customer had already paid the VAT at time of purchase. I ended up phoning them in Ireland and they told me Etsy had made an error and had not transmitted the credit for the VAT and it had come through to them as unpaid,

I have been in contact with the customer and to Etsy chat , and I've also had a callback from Etsy the other night to try and get this resolved, but Etsy are insisting that the customer contacts them directly. The customer accidentally opened a help request so I readvised her she needed to contact Etsy on the link I already gave her to get the issue resolved, but she has now unfortunately gone silent.  

I have 5 of my items stuck in a depot since 21st Nov and have been trying my hardest to get this resolved quickly without having to bother the customer but I am worried that she is not going to act and the items will eventually be returned to me as they hold them for 16 days, whereby I will end up losing a nice order and being out of pocket for the postage paid.

This isn't my fault and nor is it the customer's fault, I asked when I spoke to Etsy if someone from customer service could please reach out and contact the customer directly , but she said no, they can't do that, the customer has to contact them. Why are we having to do all this running around? Why is the onus on the customer to reach out? It's terrible customer service . This was Etsy's system/admin error so Etsy really should sort this out and get this parcel released so she gets her items and I get the order. 

Please help me !!! The package will be returned to me next week if this isn't sorted and god knows what state it will be in x

[LovesVintage43]

Please can somebody at Etsy help me, this package is only going to be held until 13th December, I have been attempting to sort out this issue since the 21st November. Tagging current mods in again @ModJose @thatregina 

[LovesVintage43]

Still needing help only a few more days left to resolve this issue @thatregina @ModJose 

[FancyTogs]

Customs require documentation.

Have you provided the commercial invoice to Customs showing seller name & address, and the VAT paid at point of sale, "VAT collected by Etsy" with Etsy's IOSS number?

Lawrence (Clare's other half)

[LovesVintage43]

I have spoken to customs in Ireland personally on the phone, there was an administrative error made by Etsy who did not pass on the credit paid by the customer. They will not release it until someone pays. As far as they are concerned, the money is owed. 

[LovesVintage43]

UPDATE: My customer has been in touch this morning and tells me that she has got on to Etsy and they have asked her to open a case against me which she doesn't want to do... I don't understand this at all. What difference would opening a case against my shop do other than damage my shop?

I can't do anything to help her with this and I've not made any error ! Please would somebody contact my customerand get this resolved, there are only a couple more days ! @thatregina @ModJose 

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

@LovesVintage43  It is YOU who needs to take action. See below.

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

Nobody here can help you with An Post.  You or the customer will have to pay the fee in order for the items to be delivered.  If it is a large order and you want it delivered then pay for it yourself and write it off in your taxes or ask the buyer to pay and then reimburse them. Alternatively, just wait for it to be returned to you and refund when you have it back.  

After either of the above scenarios have taken place, then you can contact Etsy to try to be reimbursed if it was indeed Etsy's fault and you have proof it was unpaid and due and you have paid it. 

[LovesVintage43]

@JJewellerySuppliesUK I already have taken action, continualluy for the past couple of weeks ! I am trying to get a moderator to take action which is why I am posting here because I have got nowhere and now am unable to use the chat facility, It is absolutely not down to me or my customer to pay this VAT again, I have tried my hardest to get this resolved since the 21st when I saw that the package was being held so as not to bother my customer unduly. She has already paid her VAT at the time of placing her order, I have posted the package as required, I have sent all documental proof to ANPost of monies paid by the customer to Etsy and they have told me themselves on the phone when I called them in Ireland that there has been an administrative error on Etsy's part and the credit was not passed along to them as it should have been. Etsy know this and asked my customer to contact them directly. Etsy should either be paying this on the customer's behalf, or asking her to pay it and reimbursing her. 

[LuvianWoollens]

@LovesVintage43 

It somehow doesn't sound right to me.

Did you really speak with Irish customs, or was it customer service representative at AnPost?

I have received couple of orders from UK last month and not an issue with any of the order. 

How Irish customs know Etsy did adminstration mistake.  

Was the order over €150?

And on top of everything Etsy recommended for the customer to open a case against your shop!?

Wow...

[LovesVintage43]

@LuvianWoollens  I didn't say I had spoken to Irish Customs. I contacted ANPost who referred me to the department that deals with collecting unpaid import VAT. They know it was an error because I have sent them documentation to prove it was paid and they can see it was not passed on via IOSS  electonically by looking it up on their system

[ArtDollsbyJD]

I'm in the US so excuse my lack of knowledge but is Anpost an Etsy label?  The IOSS number is transferred electronically through Etsy labels.  If it is not an Etsy label, I believe you have to supply Etsy's IOSS number to the service.

Now did you use chat?  They don't always have enough knowledge to correctly handle some things.  Ask for a supervisro or have that supervisor call you back.  

[FancyTogs]

@ArtDollsbyJD 

An Post is the national postal service in the buyer's destination country of Ireland.

The seller would have bought postage in their own country, UK, so Royal Mail if using Etsy labels, but they could have bought postage online from RM or the PO, or in person at the PO.

Buying a RM postage label from Etsy should automatically transfer the IOSS number (if VAT was collected by Etsy), but any of the other postage methods requires setup or input from the seller for the IOSS number to be included on the customs declaration.

Additionally, if the intrinsic (excluding delivery) order value was over €150 then Etsy would not have collected VAT, the IOSS number would not be valid, and teh customer would be expected to pay VAT & customs duty on delivery.

Lawrence

[LovesVintage43]

@ArtDollsbyJD ANPost is the Irish postal service. I purchased an Etsy label which is indeed spposed to transmit a credit via the IOSS system through to them for VAT paid at the time of purchase. Unfortunately this information wasn't passed on electronically due to some kind of error. I had used chat a couple of times, and also had a callback from an Etsy customer service agent who told me there was nothing I could do and that the customer had to reach out to Etsy directly by email using the help link x The amount spent wasn't enough to also attract import duty, the customer is being asked to pay the VAT again and an administration fee before they will release the package.