The customer does not have a name but a number and a name of a flat

[ValeryAccessory]

Hi,

I'm encountering an issue with my recent order, which is from a different store. The customer's name begins with "69 ..... flats," which appears to be a part of the address rather than an actual name.

The customer is located in the United Kingdom. When I attempt to create a FedEx label in my shipment panel, I receive a warning stating, "no number in the name field," which seems reasonable. I'm considering writing it as "sixty-nine," but I'm unsure if this is the correct approach. I've reached out to the customer to ask if it's acceptable to represent the number as words instead of digits. I'm currently awaiting his/her response.

I wanted to share this situation with you to see if you have any insights or suggestions. I'm feeling a bit confused about how to proceed.

Warm regards

[FeltOnTheFly]

I would contact the buyer through both Etsy message and email.

I'd tell her that my postage provider is advising me that the address is incomplete, and I would ask her to provide all details - name, etc.

I would ask her to reply by (day/date), and I'd tell her that I would cancel the sale and refund in full if I don't hear from her by then.  

[MinnieMaudsAttic]

In the UK, items are delivered to addresses rather than people. So, as long as the address is correct, the item should be delivered.  We often receive things addressed just to ‘The Occupier’.

[ValeryAccessory]

Thank you for your response. VAT is collected by Etsy on my behalf for shipments to England, and I'll declare this value on the package. However, I'm concerned about the possibility of customers being charged VAT twice. In the case of international shipments, how would this double taxation be managed? Tax is collected ok but from whom? The address? Wouldn't that be a problem for international shipments? 

[TwiLdCapitHog]

Mail addressed to "the occupier" is predominantly sales/marketing. 

When purchasing postage from Royal Mail a name or business name is required. 

I have cancelled sales where the buyer has not provided a full name having explained it is necessary. What if there is a problem and all you have is jiberish for a name! 

[ValeryAccessory]

I'm curious about how taxation is managed at customs. How is the tax collection process initiated? Does Etsy collect tax based on the recipient's address? I'm a bit confused from a legal perspective and just want to send a package for an experiment. It's all a bit strange, isn't it?

[TwiLdCapitHog]

My understanding is that customs want to see a clear path. They want to know who the exporter is and who the importer is. Jiberish as a name for either one of those would be a red flag and reason to hold up the item at customs. 

To answer your question Vat and any other charges are charged to the recipient (the importer).

[ValeryAccessory]

I'm really eager to challenge HMRC on this issue. If we could make history by having tax collected from a building, just imagine the motivation it would give us as sellers!

[MinnieMaudsAttic]

@ValeryAccessory   If the proper paperwork is provided, buyers shouldn’t be charged twice. Is your buyer aware that you are using FedEx - courier companies are often more expensive and more unreliable for UK customers.

If the item is over £150, Etsy will not have charged  VAT and the tax (plus customs fees) will be due from the customer before the item can be delivered.

I am sure other sellers will be able to advise on what constitutes the ‘proper’ paperwork.  Sorry not to be more helpful but I don’t sell or buy from overseas so I am a but out of touch.

[ValeryAccessory]

@MinnieMaudsAttic It is not over 150 Pound. the order is from another store, a choker and VAT was charged. Technically providing the documents is not a problem. ETSY collects the VAT. I will just declare it but the problem here is ETSY collected VAT from a building. That is just funny and I cannot write a number in the name field and in ETSY VAT declaration the name is the building. If I write Occupier which is a good idea there will be a contradiction. I do not know. 

[DragoninKnots]

I think it would be best to get a full name or business name from the buyer. I don't know about the UK, but I would think that there would need to be a named "importer" on the custom forms.

[ValeryAccessory]

For the current order, tax is being collected from the building. Even if the customer agrees to provide their name, the Etsy transaction name and the customer's actual name will still be different.

Should I consider canceling the order? Perhaps the customer could repurchase it with the correct name.

[DragoninKnots]

It doesn't have to match the display name from their Etsy profile.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@ValeryAccessory 

Etsy knows the customer, they collected the money from their payment provider, which will have the correct billing details, including name.

you don't see the billing details, or who paid, you only see the ship-to address, which may not even be the same person.

........

Normally you can guess part of a name from the e-mail address

[ValeryAccessory]

I can predict the name yes but the declaration is the problem. If I was a UK seller this would not be a problem at all. What if question is all about the custom declaration.  For the international sales ETSY cannot know if the seller used a proper name or not. Have you ever sent a product to England or Europe without a proper person, business name?

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@ValeryAccessory 

Etsy's VAT number says that's who HMRC will be getting the import VAT from.

and HMRC doesn't even care who pays them, as long as someone does - and that someone, is Etsy

it doesn't matter who paid etsy, or who it is being sent to to.

.......

Etsy will have the name and address of the credit card the person paid with, and that would have been validated by the payment processor,
but that is absolutely nothing to do, with sending the parcel, and it going through customs

.....

I have sent to France, where I put the name - Sue Susan

as they only put Sue as their name, it went through customs with no problem

[VINTAGEbytheMAGPIE]

heres a link to Royal mails address checking site ( this may help ) https://www.royalmail.com/find-a-postcode 

[ValeryAccessory]

I have checked the address by merging the name ( name of the flat ) and the entered address. Thank you. 

[catfluff]

okay when I have lazy customers that can't be bothered to give me a name , or a full address, I ask them first here on Etsy then I email them, then if still no response I extend the ship by date by a few days. after that I cancel and refund. I have had too many failed delivery's due to no name.  One time the package was going to France her name she put as Rayon Magenta, not sure what that was suppose to be  but i used it. when It came to collect her package she had no ID that matched that name. They wouldnt give her the package. So  now I don't mess with that anymore. Either I have a complete address or I refund.

[MinnieMaudsAttic]

@catfluff   Just because it works a certain way in France, doesn’t mean it works that way in the UK.   Carriers are supposed to deliver to an address, rather than an individual.  

If an item was being sent via Royal Mail, proof of address should be sufficient for collection.  As the OP is sending via FedEx, I’m not sure where the customer would go to collect a parcel if she wasn’t at home/at work for delivery.

[TwiLdCapitHog]

Just this morning I had a delivery from Yodel and the first thing he did was check I was the recipient stated on the parcel. 

[MinnieMaudsAttic]

@TwiLdCapitHog   The courier firms seem to make up the rules as they choose.  I don’t buy from sellers who use them but my partner does and he’s lucky if the person can actually read - they certainly don’t ask for a name.

[ValeryAccessory]

After I opened this thread here, I also shared this link with the customer for transparency otherwise this would be kind of a gossip. I shared my concern about the custom problem, a probable double tax, package destruction, suspicion package issues because they are all human beings...etc As one of you also stated that I could use the name from the mail but I would not do that without buyer's permission and reliability of mail's name is an issue but the buyer let me use that specific name from the mail. 

Some buyers do not want to share the name and I can understand it but for the international shipment when there is a rational ground for the need for the name, they will probably be willing to share it.