Have not received watch as yet but have just received a bill from DHL for £30 and item has NOT left Singapore!
Watch is under UK Customs threshold of £135 and VAT would be £19.60, so I have been charged extra when I was advised to take the faster shipping method by CreationWatches.
I emailed and they had the cheek to say I should have selected Royal Mail?
If I pay, it will be the same as if I purchased locally and I am minus one years Seiko warranty!
So I would not advise anyone to buy from CreationWatches.com
Just chatted to DHL and the additional £10.40 is a DHL charge called Advance Payment to fasttrack Customs on CreationWatches web site it states Free
DHL say
It's an amount of £11.00 or 2.5% of the total Duty and/or VAT incurred, whichever is the greater.
Replies I have received from Seller contradict eachother, one says for future transactions use Royal mail to avoid fees another says Some fee is usually charged by all these courier companies for handling the clearance.
I do not object to VAT, I object to being pushed to upgrading my method of shipping and not being told about DHL Standard Charges, when CreationWatches were aware of the additional charge.
I also have transcripts from DHL Web-Chat
Your statement The request for additional payment pertains to import duties levied by the customs of your country - is incorrect it is a DHL shipping charge, which you say is Free and is not passed to the Customs authorities.
What DHL say
The advanced payment or the disbursement fee, is a DHL administration fee (not an HMRC fee) for the customs clearance of the shipment, and becomes payable once the import charges exceed £5.
Update: If in UK ring Seiko for advice, as there's a likelihood you have no warranty as CreationWatches is NOT an official Seiko Dealer!
I have contacted UK HM Revenue & Customs
If I have not received the item I am not liable to VAT
If I have paid the VAT and then returned the item, I can claim the VAT back
You have emailed me saying you will be liable if I return, that is not the case as you can claim the VAT charge back
Item returned, all my money refunded thanks to Paypal