AddressPal & Lockers - An Post's Parcel Service SEE MOD WARNING FIRST POST

LeeroyJ.

Damn I ordered something Tiny from the US, a letter basically and only later saw they charge 16 Euro a pop. This is going to be 1 expensive Trading card lol.

j4vier

I went to collect my parcel at the post office to be told it was handed to someone else yesterday and "might" be returned later today.

I haven't used anpost services in a while but it is serious negligence on their part and won't be using them again.

loughrey2887

How does Addresspal work when shipping from the US as the FAQ is very vague and doesn't address many obvious questions. Three questions I can't find on it are: how does Addresspal know what value to declare on the item since any invoice would be inside the parcel? Do they calculate the customs rate and charge you for the value prior to shipping it to Ireland or do they pay on your behalf, charge a clearance fee and bill you for the charge at the door? Another thing that isn't clear is that, while I understand that VAT includes the value of the item and the cost of shipping, but do they include the 15.99 euros you pay An Post for the delivery service on the value declaration form or is it only for the cost of the local shipping from the company to New Jersey? It wouldn't seem right if they added the 15.99 to that as that is a local Irish charge in Euros that has already been taxed as it's money sent to an Irish company for an Irish service, not money sent to an American company. These questions are not very clear on their website.

whiterebel

If you have a look back 3 or 4 pages you will find people's experiences using the service, and in particular the VAT element on the €15.99 charge.

The_Conductor

loughrey2887 wrote: »

How does Addresspal work when shipping from the US as the FAQ is very vague and doesn't address many obvious questions. Three questions I can't find on it are: how does Addresspal know what value to declare on the item since any invoice would be inside the parcel? Do they calculate the customs rate and charge you for the value prior to shipping it to Ireland or do they pay on your behalf, charge a clearance fee and bill you for the charge at the door? Another thing that isn't clear is that, while I understand that VAT includes the value of the item and the cost of shipping, but do they include the 15.99 euros you pay An Post for the delivery service on the value declaration form or is it only for the cost of the local shipping from the company to New Jersey? It wouldn't seem right if they added the 15.99 to that as that is a local Irish charge in Euros that has already been taxed as it's money sent to an Irish company for an Irish service, not money sent to an American company. These questions are not very clear on their website.

In short-

They open all packages and repackage them for shipping to Ireland
A declaration, inclusive of shipping, is put on the outside of all packages
The declaration- is in US dollars- but they don't specify this- so $100 gets transferred as EUR100 when your package reaches here.
The 15.99 *is* added on to the declaration too.
Its processed by a Russian Company who An Post are partnered with (don't google them- you'll get heart failure when you see who An Post have shacked up with).
Some people have reported tracking being available- I've had 3 packages delivered from the US- I've never had packaging of any nature.

You do not have any opportunity to dispute the charges- you pay and get your package, or you don't pay, and you don't get your package. One way or the other- An Post will blame the Revenue Commissioners- who won't have a clue what you're talking about if you do contact them.

No point in complaining to An Post either- their customer services- and their social media team- pawn you off all over the place- secure in the knowledge you'll get tired trying to chase it, and will in all probability eventually just give up.

If there is something in the States (toys for Christmas for example)- that simply aren't available here- then perhaps it makes sense. Otherwise- it doesn't matter what your US purchase cost- by the time An Post have heaped their very many charges on it- its almost inevitable that it'll be cheaper here.

Note- goods bought second hand on ebay- were priced as new by An Post's New England team- adding at least EUR60 onto the price of my last purchase.

Seriously- its a mess- however, if you google the company they're using in the US- you'll rapidly see why its such a mess.

whiterebel

They got a new price for the item for the declaration, and then used that for the customs clearance? If so, you should appeal that to Revenue, if you have proof of the actual amount paid.

rubadub

loughrey2887 wrote: »

How does Addresspal work when shipping from the US as the FAQ is very vague and doesn't address many obvious questions.

You can see them avoiding giving any sort of example on facebook, and are fully aware people are asking about it.

Revenue are not supposed to collect less than €6 in VAT.

It is still not clear to me about the VAT on the €15.99, is it 23%? since some peoples figures do not seem to add up. If the €15.99 is part of the valuation then it would seem if I buy a $2.50 item with $8 postage, then they will possibly value that as €10.50 (straight 1:1), then add on the 15.99 and so you are at €26.49. So VAT on that is €6.09, and €10 to collect that.

I would imagine most would expect the $2.50 item with $8 post would get through with no customs/VAT issue. But overall the extra seems to be 15.99+6.09+10=€32.08, so over double what most were expecting.

I would imagine the majority of people using it would be buying stuff with a combined value & postage of over $10.50.

Copper_pipe

First time using Addresspal. Ordered something on Ebay and according to tracking it was delivered Friday morning to St Albans. How long does it usually take to reach my designated Post office?

Doltanian

Copper_pipe wrote: »

First time using Addresspal. Ordered something on Ebay and according to tracking it was delivered Friday morning to St Albans. How long does it usually take to reach my designated Post office?

The last few parcels I received from Amazon with tracking were delivered to my local Post Office three days after delivery to St. Albans.

The_Conductor

Doltanian wrote: »

The last few parcels I received from Amazon with tracking were delivered to my local Post Office three days after delivery to St. Albans.

Sounds about right- a Friday delivery in St. Albans- normally means an txt advising its ready for collection the following Wednesday/Thursday. Note- this is Lucan PO.

Doltanian

I had a recorded delivery from Amazon to St. Albans last Monday and it was in my local PO Thursday morning so three days.

loughrey2887

The_Conductor wrote: »

In short-

They open all packages and repackage them for shipping to Ireland
A declaration, inclusive of shipping, is put on the outside of all packages
The declaration- is in US dollars- but they don't specify this- so $100 gets transferred as EUR100 when your package reaches here.
The 15.99 *is* added on to the declaration too.
Its processed by a Russian Company who An Post are partnered with (don't google them- you'll get heart failure when you see who An Post have shacked up with).
Some people have reported tracking being available- I've had 3 packages delivered from the US- I've never had packaging of any nature.

You do not have any opportunity to dispute the charges- you pay and get your package, or you don't pay, and you don't get your package. One way or the other- An Post will blame the Revenue Commissioners- who won't have a clue what you're talking about if you do contact them.

No point in complaining to An Post either- their customer services- and their social media team- pawn you off all over the place- secure in the knowledge you'll get tired trying to chase it, and will in all probability eventually just give up.

If there is something in the States (toys for Christmas for example)- that simply aren't available here- then perhaps it makes sense. Otherwise- it doesn't matter what your US purchase cost- by the time An Post have heaped their very many charges on it- its almost inevitable that it'll be cheaper here.

Note- goods bought second hand on ebay- were priced as new by An Post's New England team- adding at least EUR60 onto the price of my last purchase.

Seriously- its a mess- however, if you google the company they're using in the US- you'll rapidly see why its such a mess.

How can they slap a new cost price on a second-hand product? Where did they come up with that figure? Aren't they supposed to use the total cost indicated on the invoice and if there isn't an invoice they're supposed to request the item's value and shipping cost from you before they sign the customs declaration? That's violating their terms and agreement with the customer and there should be somebody to complain about that. Do we not have any regulator here to ensure An Post's new service is complying with the laws and their own terms that the customer signs up to? Did you not try to appeal that and show An Post the receipt for the item or ask them why you weren't contacted to request the total value if they couldn't find your invoice?

Samsung USA had a closeout sale for their Icon X earphones which retail at 199 dollars but had a 75% discount to bring it to 49.99 dollars. I hope they wouldn't try to charge me the full retail when I only paid 53 dollars plus tax and shipping for them from Samsung. they would surely have an invoice included in that as a company like Samsung would generally include invoices. But that abuse of the agreement with the customer is very concerning and really puts me off. The customs declaration part with these middlemen companies shipping to Ireland seems to be very shady in general because we really don't know what they're putting on the declaration until the delivery man comes to the door and you can't appeal it to customs because they'll say that that is what value the sender put on the customs declaration.

loughrey2887

Does anybody else not see a problem with them adding the 15.99 to the customs declaration? Customs VAT is supposed to include shipping but that is only if the shipping is paid to an American company where the Irish government can't tax that part of the service. But, the 15.99 has been taxed by the government as it is charged in Euros within Ireland by an Irish company so it shouldn't be legally subjected to customs VAT. Did anybody challenge An Post to explain this because it seems I'm the only person on this thread that sees something wrong about that? It seems that whatever clowns were involved in creating this service don't understand how Irish customs laws work.

The_Conductor

loughrey2887 wrote: »

It seems that whatever clowns were involved in creating this service don't understand how Irish customs laws work.

I challenged it (three times actually).
The response I've gotten- is the company who perform the parcel/package examinations for An Post in the US, are an independent company and not employed by An Post. While they have received instructions from An Post on how to complete a CN22 customs declaration for sending a package to Ireland- they are non-nationals working in the US- many of whom have only poor English (they're all Russians- I've tried to talk to them- both in English and in my very poor Russian).

They are physically opening and repackaging anything they receive- for onward transmission to Ireland.

The benefit of the service- is what An Post are highlighting- aka- get items that aren't normally shipped abroad sent to Ireland (it could be Christmas toys, or whatever)- with your own US postal address- at a flatrate charge. The highlight all the Pros associated with the service. I don't see it anywhere- about your package being opened and rummaged through, a random valuation being decided by the guys in New England- and then a USPS flatrate shipping box being used to get the item back to you.

The company have a deal with USPS (its akin to 75% off flatrate international shipping- providing they ship over 5,000 items a week- An Post used do a similar whizz for people selling stuff on etsy or ebay here- obviously with far lower package numbers- but you got half price shipping providing you met certain minimum number of items shipped).

If you accept that its a service for hard-to-find things- and don't get hung up over the absolute price charged for the service or the shipping and customs and VAT charges- then, yes, its a good service- however- and the point that most of us are making- is An Post are selling this as some of remarkable value proposition for getting items to Ireland from the US- which patently it is not.

loughrey2887

The_Conductor wrote: »

I challenged it (three times actually).
The response I've gotten- is the company who perform the parcel/package examinations for An Post in the US, are an independent company and not employed by An Post. While they have received instructions from An Post on how to complete a CN22 customs declaration for sending a package to Ireland- they are non-nationals working in the US- many of whom have only poor English (they're all Russians- I've tried to talk to them- both in English and in my very poor Russian).

They are physically opening and repackaging anything they receive- for onward transmission to Ireland.

The benefit of the service- is what An Post are highlighting- aka- get items that aren't normally shipped abroad sent to Ireland (it could be Christmas toys, or whatever)- with your own US postal address- at a flatrate charge. The highlight all the Pros associated with the service. I don't see it anywhere- about your package being opened and rummaged through, a random valuation being decided by the guys in New England- and then a USPS flatrate shipping box being used to get the item back to you.

The company have a deal with USPS (its akin to 75% off flatrate international shipping- providing they ship over 5,000 items a week- An Post used do a similar whizz for people selling stuff on etsy or ebay here- obviously with far lower package numbers- but you got half price shipping providing you met certain minimum number of items shipped).

If you accept that its a service for hard-to-find things- and don't get hung up over the absolute price charged for the service or the shipping and customs and VAT charges- then, yes, its a good service- however- and the point that most of us are making- is An Post are selling this as some of remarkable value proposition for getting items to Ireland from the US- which patently it is not.

That's ridiculous and is a cop-out because since they are the ones providing the service to the customer they are responsible for any issues that occur, whether it be directly by them or the company they hire in America. By law, if you provide a service then you are bound by a contract between you and the customer and the responsibility is on the company providing the service to ensure that all the standards are met and you're the one liable if something goes wrong at some point along the way. I know it wasn't a big amount and wouldn't be worth it but if you were to do it that would be an easy win against An Post in the small claims court as they would obviously be the ones deemed liable for what happens as they're the ones providing the service and would be financially responsible for any unjustified loss incurred by the customer as a result of mistakes made suring the service.

Is this a rare thing or is it pretty common that they make up a value which generally far exceeds the price you paid? I don't hear anyone else complaining about that so I hope that's a rare thing.

But i wouldn't trust them with any expensive items if it's dodgy Russian workers opening packages because I'd definitely be worried about one of them stealing an expensive item like an iPhone when they open it and see what it is.

I contacted An Post about the 15.99 being applied to the customs declaration and they told me that Customs requires them charge a 1% of the value fee with a minimum of 10 euros to every parcel. But, I told them that this fee has nothing to do with adding 15.99 service fee to every order because if you were to buy something with a value of 53 dollars plus tax and shipping then the minimum rate of 10 euros should apply, not 15.99.

Apart from that bad experience has it been decent overall? Are they slow to get it to your doors and is there a chance of avoiding customs like some parcels entering the country using regular post where there's a 30% chance that customs won't inspect the smaller packages?

It seems to me that it's not a great service when it comes to the USA service. I'm not sure if MyUS and the other services are better and more cost effective.

LeeroyJ.

Hey guys, I plan on order an iPhone X via address pall, I'm aware of all the cost, import and so on but I'm worried about insurance and it getting stolen. Has anyone had something gone missing? It seems a bit worrying as it goes through so many different vendors. Thanks!

whiterebel

LeeroyJ. wrote: »

Hey guys, I plan on order an iPhone X via address pall, I'm aware of all the cost, import and so on but I'm worried about insurance and it getting stolen. Has anyone had something gone missing? It seems a bit worrying as it goes through so many different vendors. Thanks!

They will provide cover up to €40 only. Seriously, have a look back through the last 5 or 10 pages of this thread before you commit to anything.

The_Conductor

LeeroyJ. wrote: »

Hey guys, I plan on order an iPhone X via address pall, I'm aware of all the cost, import and so on but I'm worried about insurance and it getting stolen. Has anyone had something gone missing? It seems a bit worrying as it goes through so many different vendors. Thanks!

I've ordered a couple of hundred quid in circuit board, pneumatics and robotics equipment- which was delivered fine (but had a totally spurious value put on it in a CN22 declaration).

Honestly- I'd not use it for an iPhoneX- it would be repackaged- and given a full description and valuation- you'd end up paying significant duty as well as VAT on it- which might very well negate any upfront saving you made on the price (and then you also have the worry about it going missing or getting damaged in transit).

Virtanen

Absolutely not. If you're going to buy an expensive phone, there's no point in being stingy on the postage costs. Play it safe, mate, either buy locally, or buy online and have it sent directly to you

ED E

Virtanen wrote: »

Absolutely not. If you're going to buy an expensive phone, there's no point in being stingy on the postage costs. Play it safe, mate, either buy locally, or buy online and have it sent directly to you

Its not about being stingy I suspect, the X will be short stocked so the US will get it first.

rubadub

LeeroyJ. wrote: »

Hey guys, I plan on order an iPhone X via address pall, I'm aware of all the cost, import and so

Might be an idea to share these costs you expect to pay. People might give you info to make you think twice.

Have you a link to where you plan on buying it? people might be able to predict the highest price you can expect to pay.

loughrey2887

I ordered something in the US and it has been shipped by FedEx Two-Day to the US AddressPal in New Jersey. But I notice in the 'special handling section' of the Fedex tracking information that 'residential delivery' is mentioned. I understand that companies generally have to pay more for residential deliveries but would that affect them delivering to the Panda Express address considering it's not a residential address? Anyone know how that would work? I guess most companies you order from assume the address is a US residential address.

LeeroyJ.

rubadub wrote: »

Might be an idea to share these costs you expect to pay. People might give you info to make you think twice.

Have you a link to where you plan on buying it? people might be able to predict the highest price you can expect to pay.

I don't really care about the price paid. I'm just worried about the security around the parcel going through so many vendors. I've decided to not order it and wait for the Ireland release due to these reasons, Parcel theft is probably likely when it goes through 3 seperate Vendors and it is opened up.

loughrey2887

So, my package has been delivered today in New Jersey and signed by an A. Sean, how long does it take for them to let you know they have received it in the New Jersey hub?

loughrey2887

So far I'm happy with the New Jersey USA service. They requested the value and description of the item and actually valued it in dollars on the CN23 form so there isn't a 1:1 conversion rate like some people here are saying. If I'm overcharged by customs then it'll be Irish Custom's fault and not An Post or Panda Express who filled out the form correctly judging by the PDF scan. Only thing is I wish they would give you the USPS tracking number because the An Post tracking number seems to only tell you when it's dispatched from Englishtown, there's no tracking until it reaches Ireland it seems.

addictedtotea

I just got my card in the post. I want to order stuff from the UK, lets say on amazon uk. and have it delivered to the post office. Is all I need to do to change my postal 'address' to the one listed under 'UK Address' on the Deliver to My Post Office side of the card? aka AP whatever followed by the Merlin Centre St. Albans address underneath? I just want to totally sure I have it right before I order.

loughrey2887

addictedtotea wrote: »

I just got my card in the post. I want to order stuff from the UK, lets say on amazon uk. and have it delivered to the post office. Is all I need to do to change my postal 'address' to the one listed under 'UK Address' on the Deliver to My Post Office side of the card? aka AP whatever followed by the Merlin Centre St. Albans address underneath? I just want to totally sure I have it right before I order.

Yes, you only need to input your Addresspal address found on the card into the shipping address box on the Amazon order page. just make sure to also add your full name above the Addresspal number.

addictedtotea

loughrey2887 wrote: »

Yes, you only need to input your Addresspal address found on the card into the shipping address box on the Amazon order page. just make sure to also add your full name above the Addresspal number.

Thanks loughrey

The_Conductor

Guys- just had a small run-in with the 'An Post' staff in Herts. The upshot of it- is apparently they have been told the size restrictions don't apply to any products for home delivery- in the same manner that they do for the original post office delivery- and have been told to talk people through how to upgrade their accounts to the £6.99 home delivery.

Its significantly more expensive than the post office delivery- and its an annoyance if you've no-one at home during the daytime and will have to take time out to pick up your parcel in the central sorting office- but if you have anything on dodgy grounds size or weightwise- the home delivery as opposed to the post office delivery- is probably the way to go.

My high-gloss printing posters (in a tube) despite coming to less than 4kg in weight- squeeked in at being a centimeter or two too long- but they rang me for permission to upgrade it to a home delivery (or said the only other alternate was to send it back).

Sigh......... I'm learning a whole new suite of reasons to dislike An Post.

loughrey2887

The_Conductor wrote: »

Guys- just had a small run-in with the 'An Post' staff in Herts. The upshot of it- is apparently they have been told the size restrictions don't apply to any products for home delivery- in the same manner that they do for the original post office delivery- and have been told to talk people through how to upgrade their accounts to the £6.99 home delivery.

Its significantly more expensive than the post office delivery- and its an annoyance if you've no-one at home during the daytime and will have to take time out to pick up your parcel in the central sorting office- but if you have anything on dodgy grounds size or weightwise- the home delivery as opposed to the post office delivery- is probably the way to go.

My high-gloss printing posters (in a tube) despite coming to less than 4kg in weight- squeeked in at being a centimeter or two too long- but they rang me for permission to upgrade it to a home delivery (or said the only other alternate was to send it back).

Sigh......... I'm learning a whole new suite of reasons to dislike An Post.

That's probably because for home delivery they allow a length of 150cm but with post office delivery it's 72cm. Any overweight items I'd definitely go with Parcel Motel though as their oversized charges are a lot less than the Addresspal penalty.