Serial Kombi and import charges

Hi all, I bought a rear anti roll bar from Serial Kombi in France. Cost was £157 and postage/handling was £23. Now I have an email from DPD saying I need to pay another £45 for import charges. Emailed Serial Kombi to say ‘could have done with a heads up on this’ and then received an arrogant email from the Head of Sales and Marketing stating I signed up for their Terms and Conditions, that they warned me about this (in the tiniest small print you have ever seen) and then had the cheek to lecture me about brexit. Communication was not good with this company from the off but the sarcastic response was priceless. I expected to pay some charges but 30% of the item cost is ridiculous. Serial Kombi kindly informed me that if I returned the item they would deduct £45 from the refund for import charges going the other way. Be careful when ordering from them as their customer care is non existent. To be clear I am not blaming them for the import charges but a clear heads up from the supplier of what to expect wouldn’t be too much to ask. The rude and sarcastic response was totally unnecessary.

 

Send an email reminding them that we had to sink their navy in the war, so they couldn't lend it to the Germans.

Also point out that Johnny Halliday was crap.

 

His response is copied below:



Hi
I am sorry to say, and please excuse my french but, you did see this following picture when ordering



Which means you were aware of these costs and you accepted our terms and conditions.
Feel free to post about Serial Kombis "hidden costs" wherever you like.

Even if the term "Brexit" went passed you, we did make sure to to draw your attention one last time. Not just for kicks but to make sure you are aware of
the shipping company asking for import dutys and taxes. All this before your payment!

Sorry to say, but these costs will be deducted from the amount we will refund to your PayPal account.
Let me know if you have any further questions or if you want to discuss this further.
Best regards,
Philipp

Philipp LORENZWeb & Marketing DE & EN

 

@VW£amper i assume rear anti roll bars aren't available in the UK?

 

That’s brilliant

 

Or even necessary ??

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

Ah, the joys of Brexit

 

I think Serial Kombi sells much the same stuff as everyone else. Not sure why you’d order something as bulky as a roll bar from France. If it’s valued under £135, you don’t pay import duty on it.

 

I don't think that's quite correct, I thought it was lower

 

They are french what did you expect

 

Oui, they 'ave ze 'ump wiv us

 

£135. I ordered about £40 of Dell bits from Gabriele in Italy, and they arrived in about 4 days, no duty payable, just like the old days.

 

Yes, it was the gift level that I had in mind.

 

Did you make a little threat about slagging him off to everyone ??

 

I don't think it seems too rude or sarcastic a response, and to be fair, how many of us would be able to hit the right tone in an email in a foreign language?

Also, it is a teeny bit surprising that a Brit would not have noticed the many news headlines about import duties being payable on goods from the EU.

If you sent it back do you think Philippe would say,"I told them we already got one..?"

 

I would agree. The email maybe lost some kindness in the translation, but you’d surely expect to pay import duty on something of reasonable monetary value ordered from abroad.

 

Thanks for the responses guys - he just gave me the hump.

The Anti roll bars are out of stock everywhere in the UK which is why I went to Serial Kombi.

On a serious but also slightly bizarre note - I was diagnosed with cancer fifteen days ago (treatment starts next week). Since then I have been somewhere between shock and on a serious downer. That was until today. When I got the email from Serial Kombi I was animated to say the least. My wife said she had missed seeing the spark in me! Looks like this little fooker helped me by relighting the fire in my belly.

I’m calmer now but out of the downer.

 

Look on the bright side !

 

I’m surprised he hasn’t mailed to ask for their dinghies back.

you could have charged them 40 euros each.

 

good luck with the French lesson but even better luck with treatment