CAN ANY NATIVE GERMANS HELP ME A MOMENT?

[Terramax]

Hi there,

I'm currently in an ebay dispute with a buyer from Germany, who's claiming they were charged €60 for the item apparently being sent to the wrong address.

They've given me a photo of part of the receipt, but it's in German, and I can't tell what it's for.

I don't suppose, if any native Germans have a few minutes to spare, they could look at the below form and translate what all the sentences say?

I'm under the impression that the charge is because either a.) a customs charge or b.) the buyer said they were on holiday for 7 days whilst the item was delivered, hence, the charge might have been because the German Zoll attempted to deliver when they were away.

The buyer has given other inconsistent details too. For instance, he hasn't taken a photo of the whole receipt, leaving out some information which may be important i.e. a reference number.

Another question: EMS tracking says the final delivery date was the 20th of June, but this receipt is dated 26th of June. The buyer says the 20th is the day when the post office contacted him to come and pick the item up but, of course, I have my suspicions.

Please see the photo below. Again, thank you in advance to anyone who can help me out here.

[ryu]

He paid for customs. There's nothing on there that would imply that there was an issue related to the shipping of the item.

Another question: EMS tracking says the final delivery date was the 20th of June, but this receipt is dated 26th of June. The buyer says the 20th is the day when the post office contacted him to come and pick the item up but, of course, I have my suspicions.

That means the package arrived at the customs office on the 20th, and it took them until the 26th to contact the recipient of the package (to tell him to pick it up). That's normal procedure for customs.... edit: Actually, wait.
Does that mean the item was delivered to customs on the 20th and that's the same day they called the byuer to get the item? My customs office takes 1-2 weeks for that...
But if that's in a place where not many people get imports from I imagine it's possible for them to be much quicker about it. The buyer probably doesn't lie about that.

My guess is the buyer doesn't know jack and thinks you sent the item to customs instead of his home address, when it's normal for customs to check packages from outside the EU if there's no invoice attached to the outside. Even if there had been one, he would have had to pay anyways unless you lied about the product's value .

Didn't you specify in the ebay auction that dealing with customs and all related issues is the buyer's resonsibility? It's his fault if he didn't look into the matter before buying.

[Terramax]

He paid for customs. There's nothing on there that would imply that there was an issue related to the shipping of the item.

Hey there,

Firstly, I would like to thank you for taking the time to reply. You are the second person to tell me that this a customs / taxation sheet, and as such, your works are a HUGE relief to me.

That means the package arrived at the customs office on the 20th, and it took them until the 26th to contact the recipient of the package (to tell him to pick it up). That's normal procedure for customs.... edit: Actually, wait.
Does that mean the item was delivered to customs on the 20th and that's the same day they called the byuer to get the item? My customs office takes 1-2 weeks for that...
But if that's in a place where not many people get imports from I imagine it's possible for them to be much quicker about it. The buyer probably doesn't lie about that.

Well, here is how it's written on the internet site I use to track the item.

My guess is the buyer doesn't know jack and thinks you sent the item to customs instead of his home address, when it's normal for customs to check packages from outside the EU if there's no invoice attached to the outside. Even if there had been one, he would have had to pay anyways unless you lied about the product's value .

Didn't you specify in the ebay auction that dealing with customs and all related issues is the buyer's resonsibility? It's his fault if he didn't look into the matter before buying.

Yes, with every item I have information at the bottom that writes that I'm not responsible.

Indeed, I think it's like you say, that this person doesn't know anything about customs charges, and has jumped the gun and pinned the blame on me without getting facts right first.

I don't suppose you'd have the time directly translate some of the important lines on this letter which actually confirm this to be related to tax and customs?

For instance, there is a bit in the black box which begins "Unsprungliche forderung:
- bereits abgewickelt:
- - mit diesem beleg quittiert"

This bit in particular seems to talk about what they're being charged for.

Another person has told me that 'Zoll' refers to 'tol', or import duty, and that 'Eust' means 'taxation'.

Basically, I'd like to be a little more specific when I go back to the guy and explain things to him. I'd like to refer to key places in the letter and emphasis that they're related to customs and tax, and in no-way are they related to the address.

[ryu]

Firstly, I would like to thank you for taking the time to reply.

Sure, no problem.

For instance, there is a bit in the black box which begins "Unsprungliche forderung:
- bereits abgewickelt:
- - mit diesem beleg quittiert"

This bit in particular seems to talk about what they're being charged for.

It's just business language for
"What we wanted you to pay"
"What was paid in advance"
"What you paid right now, and this notice is the receipt for that"

Basically, it's really just a receipt for a customs charge.

Have you already confirmed that you shipped it to the right address? If you kept the receipt from shipping it off at the post office it may specify the destination address. Otherwise you can use DHL's website to check the specified destination address of the shipment if you have the postal code.

[Terramax]

Heya,

Yes, I've reiterated on about 3 occasions that it was sent to the correct address. However, I put the account holder's name as the person to send to, rather than the addressee' name.

Therefore, I was originally under the impression that maybe it was my fault. But when he wrote that he had to pay €60 and that he was on holiday for 7 days during when they first contacted him to come and collect the item, that's when I became suspicious. €60 is just way too much money to ask for just for someone to come to the post office and come and collect the item, because the person's name was different.

I think I've got enough to go on so as to go back to the person and explain things. I'll try and be as polite as I can, but at this point, it's pretty difficult considering how aggressive he has been in some previous emails.

Again, I want to thank you so much for reassuring me, with your details. It really means a lot to me. This guy has put me under considerable stress, what with daily emails for over a week now.

[ryu]

I can't really imagine you being at fault for a customs charge. Sorry to hear about the guy stressing you out. Hopefuly this will end well for you.

€60 is just way too much money to ask for just for someone to come to the post office and come and collect the item

Well... customs here do actually charge a fee for storing packages. It's not that much and the first week is free too, so that shouldn't have caused those 60euros.

[Terramax]

Thanks.

BTW, I'm thinking of sending these two links to him:

Regarding EUSt

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/EUSt

Regarding Zoll

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoll_%28Beh%C3%B6rde%29

Do you think they would be beneficial in explaining things to him?

[Casey120]

He is trying to fool you, Zoll is customs .
What an ass .

[ryu]

If you want to link him something about customs you might just link him to the german custom's website explaining this stuff

http://www.zoll.de/DE/Fachthemen/Steuer ... _node.html

But, to be honest, I kind of can't believe that the guy's completely oblivious to this since he went there and paid them the tax money. It should be enough to tell him that the recipient's name is not linked to customs charges. If he still thinks you're at fault, he's either stupid or trying to scam you (if he's opened a paypal dispute).

[Casey120]

If he opens a paypal dispute he is going to lose .

I had the same thing twice with a US buyer, one got really angry and told me I should have warned him for his states custom obligations

[Terramax]

If you want to link him something about customs you might just link him to the german custom's website explaining this stuff

http://www.zoll.de/DE/Fachthemen/Steuer ... _node.html

But, to be honest, I kind of can't believe that the guy's completely oblivious to this since he went there and paid them the tax money. It should be enough to tell him that the recipient's name is not linked to customs charges. If he still thinks you're at fault, he's either stupid or trying to scam you (if he's opened a paypal dispute).

This was another alarm bell - he hasn't opened a claim / case with ebay.

Right now, I've just about finalised my email to him. I've been very tempted to tell him that I suspect him of fraud / scamming (as, right now, the more you guys and others on another forum have told me, I am becoming increasingly more convinced he's attempting to scam me), but I'll try to avoid it. I guess it's always good to remain as polite as possible in emails until ebay step in. I'll secretly flag an attempted scam with them.

I'm going to include that link also for clarification.

EDIT: I have now responded to him with a pretty deep email, as well as having reported him for possible scam / fraud to ebay. We'll see what happens.

Yet again, thanks to everyone for the support with your emails. It makes me feel a lot better.

[brentsg]

If he opens a paypal dispute he is going to lose .

I had the same thing twice with a US buyer, one got really angry and told me I should have warned him for his states custom obligations

Easy now.. Don't make us bust out the drones.

Edit: Honestly though, it's VERY rare that we'd see any customs charge in the USA for items related to our hobby. I've been hit with fees twice in the past year and both were errant. I was able to dig up the appropriate documentation and prove that the charges were bogus. Heck, on one of them the carrier (UPS I think) coded the item as "Christmas Lights" and it was taxed as such.

[Terramax]

Hey guys,

I just wanted to update and say that the comments have been removed. I sent a lengthy email to the SOB, and told him that if he thought I was screwing him over, then he should contact ebay about it. He has neither emailed me back, nor has he set up a claim on ebay. My ebay score is back at 100%, as it should be.

I'd like to thank everyone here again for helping me translate, and confirming the guy was a liar (and possible fraudster). It's just a shame I can't leave negative feedback for him. I'm tempted to send another email giving him a piece of my mind, but I'll leave things as they are.

Again, thanks again to everyone above who has helped me out here.