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[StevieB]

Hi there,

Just so you know, you have indeed been very lucky, both with your delivery time and the amount of duty to pay. My blue RB was ordered from GimmeDigi on what looks like the same day as yours but is still stuck in Coventry waiting to be passed to Edinburgh before I can even think of paying my dues... of £85.07!

How on earth does the same box from the same people possibly travelling on the same plane and arriving at the same place and time not get the same duty allocated to it? If it does arrive by Xmas then I'll let you know what my label says but my guess is it'll say exactly the same thing

[Crewella]

Oh no - that  seems sooooooooo unfair!  

Do you know how that charge is made up yet?  My actual customs charge was £9.14 for VAT, so there was no actual import tax.

[StevieB]

Yep, just had a letter through the post from the Edinburgh depot so at least I can pay it online now. Split is £14.61 import duty, £56.96 VAT and £13.50 clearance fee. I guess goods classification is a manual process and someone's classed mine as wildly different from yours. I'm going to challenge customs on Monday when they open and ask what they classed mine as. Have you any idea what yours was classed as? Maybe I can get them to reclassify it and refund some of the VAT.

They must send the letters out before they receive the parcel at the local hub 'cos the parcel's not even in Edinburgh yet, it's still stuck in Coventry in a backlog container. The M6 was closed last night due to snow and I know Edinburgh has it bad too so I don't think they'll make it on Tuesday.

I could be in for a let-down if it's not here by Thursday, it's an Xmas pressie for my unsuspecting fiancee. She loves animals but we can't have a pet because we both work full time, live in a top-floor flat and are both allergic to pet hair! Perfect candidates for Pleo ownership

She knows nothing about Pleos, RB or otherwise but she forms emotional ties with inanimate objects at the drop of a hat so I'm gambling on her falling in love with this rather more animate object at first sight! If not, I might have an untouched blue RB on sale some time early in January, especially if it doesn't arrive soon!

BTW what accessories did yours come with? If Jen likes her new friend, I can see me trying to get hold of all the accessories it doesn't come with for her birthday

[Crewella]

I must admit I was expecting the VAT charge to be around £50, but wasn't sure if there was an allowance level before they started charging.  I'm so sorry you got caught like that - it does sound as if I got off very lightly.  It's well worth contacting Customs and Excise, though - I have got money back off them in the past for taxes paid on the estimated insurance value, as long as I sent them copies of the receipts and Paypal payments.

You do both sound like absolutely ideal Pleo owners - I'm sure she'll love it!  I just hope it gets to you in time! 

Belle came with two boxes of accessories (apart from the very necessary battery/charger/adapter).  One box contained the conifer food leaf, the medicine mint leaf and the rock salt, the other has the bow learning stone and the tug of war toy.

[StevieB]

Ah that's good news about the accessories, sounds like quite a few more than I expected. Will keep you posted on duty but to be honest I don't really mind paying it as long as I get the parcel in time...

[Crewella]

I'm not sure what mine was classed as, StevieB, but I've kept all the wrapping so we can compare when you do get yours.  Let me know. 

[kat]

Any more videos or updates on Belle yet?  I need some distractions to cheer me up.

[Crewella]

Well, we've run through another battery cycle and she's standing up, scratching her chin with her front left foot and waving each leg about as if to test it.  You were right, after about a hour and a quarter she beeped and switched off, but I turned her on again about half an hour later (having tired of waiting to see if she turned back on for herself  ) and she ran for over an hour again before the battery finally ran out.

There was nothing particularly filmable, and I was running her on the arm of the sofa next to me while I was working on  my laptop.  I'm trying to set up better lighting for the next time I video her tonight.

One thing that did happen was that on the second phase of the battery she went into kind of a loop where she went to sleep, woke up, called out or honked, then went back to sleep, the whole cycle going on for no more than a minute or two.  I patted her, fed her, stroked every sensor, but as soon as I stopped doing any of those she went back into the same rapid sleep/wake cycle.  Eventually, as it was started to drive me nuts, I picked her up and held her up against my chest with her butt resting on my left arm and her head against my shoulder, and she snored contentedly for the rest of her battery.  She's taking over already! 

[kat]

If the loop cycle thing happens again you could try switching her off and then back on again.  I'm sure IMR has had this problem and the switching off and on again fixed it.  I'm looking forward to seeing more video of her.  She is so pretty.   

[InmemoryofRomeo]

Yup I have the same problem from time to time, I just remove the battery and turn him back on, although often dangling him by the tail wakes him right up!

[scaledandtailed]

 Lol yeah that would work too but only    if you can stand the crying, whimpering and sulking afterwards. 
 When pleos do sad and dejected they really let you know about it and I’m betting Leo Rb’s aren’t any different. . 
 
 

[scaledandtailed]

  Blimey just when  I   thought it might be safe to  order one from the UK 
      Guess I’l need to facter £80 in to the cost  of pleo if and when I ever do manage to scrape enough to get one.   
When I orderd  the 2009 moddle last year from pleoworld I didn’t have to pay anyany charges at all. . However I’ve  had to pay just as much as Crewella  for a compleateley unrelated itom  but at a 3rd of the price  than Pleo RB,
   talk about randum 
  anyway hope you manage to get  a refund  or at the very least get your pleo before christmas. Got my fingers crossed that it arives on time  for you.   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 

Hi there,

Just so you know, you have indeed been very lucky, both with your delivery time and the amount of duty to pay. My blue RB was ordered from GimmeDigi on what looks like the same day as yours but is still stuck in Coventry waiting to be passed to Edinburgh before I can even think of paying my dues... of £85.07!

How on earth does the same box from the same people possibly travelling on the same plane and arriving at the same place and time not get the same duty allocated to it? If it does arrive by Xmas then I'll let you know what my label says but my guess is it'll say exactly the same thing

[StevieB]

Well, I just got my box, a bit bashed but finally in my hands. Was a bit touch and go whether it would arrive in time for Xmas but I can relax now. For anyone that's interested, the import duties of £85.07 do appear to be correct and anyone paying less would be best to keep quiet because someone somewhere has given your parcel the wrong code!

Here's my tracking details as it panned out:

Date            Time    Location                                               Tracking Event
22-12-2010    12:34    Edinburgh West Depot                       Delivered
22-12-2010    08:44    Edinburgh West Depot                       Loaded to vehicle for delivery
22-12-2010    00:01    Edinburgh West Depot                       Received at delivery depot
21-12-2010    04:43    Edinburgh West Depot                       Received at delivery depot
15-12-2010    12:54    National Hub                                       Received and processed
15-12-2010    00:47    International Hub                               Received from Customs - charges to be paid
13-12-2010    17:21    International Hub                               Received in destination country
11-12-2010    16:31    Delivery Agent - HONG KONG - PTT     Forwarded for export
11-12-2010    14:20    Delivery Agent - HONG KONG               Collected

Yep, that's right. It took 2 days to get all the way from Hong Kong to Coventry and 9 to get the last 400 miles! That's with the express option too.

[kat]

Are you going to open the box?  Or are you waiting till Christmas?

[StevieB]

Opened it to check for damage but didn't do anything else, it's now all wrapped up and under the tree! Looked all fine to me, interestingly the healing leaf thingies and the tug of war and bow thingies came in 2 separate boxes so that's three presents to unwrap on Xmas day!

[Crewella]

Hi StevieB - I'm glad your Pleo rb got there safely and in time for Christmas!  It was the same for me - two days to get to the UK and the rest lurking in the customs/delivery process! 

I've no idea why I got off so lightly, they did put the full value on both the delivery slip and the customs label with the weight (3.8Kg), the description 'Pleo rb colour blue' and the gift box ticked.  I certainly won't be challenging it! 

[ehschw76]

I am just curious.  Does the same thing happen with customs coming into the US?  or is this a UK / European thing?  Forgive me...I'm pretty ignorant on how things work outside the US. 

[Crewella]

I don't really know how it works in the US - from experience I've had few problems sending items to the US from the UK, especially when compared with Canada who seem to be a lot tighter on customs regulations.  As far as I'm aware,  most if not all of the forum members who ordered blue or pink Pleo rbs from China were in Europe or Australia/New Zealand, and knew they would have similar issues whether they imported from China or the US.  Obviously, the green rbs are being sent out from within the US so are a much better bet for US buyers.

[StevieB]

I've no idea why I got off so lightly, they did put the full value on both the delivery slip and the customs label with the weight (3.8Kg), the description 'Pleo rb colour blue' and the gift box ticked.  I certainly won't be challenging it! 

Aye, it was exactly the same for me - same amount, same description and gift box ticked. I can only assume the customs official that got your parcel was having a bad day (or a good one, depends on how you look at it!)

[InmemoryofRomeo]

Our customs is mostly aimed at preventing harmful things getting into the country like insects, diseases and drugs, I've never had to pay any sort of tax. I believe only businesses pay import duties. My Pleo spent a whole four hours in customs before being cleared to send

[scaledandtailed]

Our customs is mostly aimed at preventing harmful things getting into the country like insects, diseases and drugs, I've never had to pay any sort of tax. I believe only businesses pay import duties. My Pleo spent a whole four hours in customs before being cleared to
send

     
 Now that’s how customs should be run. I don’t think it should be up to the individual to pay up for import tax  but I’m guessing it’s to discourage  people trying to get items from  oversees which are often  cheaper  than  they are in the UK. 
   

Glad   you managed to get your pleo before Christmas StevieB, 
Especially with all this snow that’s been causing so much delivery problems. .