PO worker said no customs form needed??

niennamarie · Post by **niennamarie** » 28 May 2016, 03:04

I took 4 packages to the post office today, heading off to Australia. Lady at the post office put a stamp on them and I paid for them, and she told me that was it. I asked her whether they needed a customs form, but she gave them a quick look over and said 'nah, not for these'. They were small packages from my childrens pen friends, only had a letter, some stickers, a pen and some erasers in, but I was under the impression all packages going to Australia needed a customs form?

I decided the post office worker must know best, and I left. But now I'm left worrying about it and the last thing I want is to have to pay all that postage again. I've looked online and I'm getting a lot of conflicting information about this, and a lot of it is from years ago. So I was wondering if anyone here can help me? And does anyone know what will happen to my packages if they do indeed need a customs form?

Post by **Snaggletooth** » 28 May 2016, 08:03

Yes, anything going to Australia that has goods in it needs a customs form. There are two honest mistakes which could have happened here:

1. Mixing up Australia with Austria, which is in the EU therefore does not need customs forms;
2. Given that it was only a couple of pencils & erasers, I guess it might have been within the large letter size guide, the clerk may have incorrectly interpreted this as meaning it was a letter so didn't need a customs form (the two sets of rules are entirely unconnected, but people can be confused by Royal Mail using the word 'letter' to mean entirely different things depending on the circumstances).

The second mistake should have been picked up when the clerk asked you what was inside the package: if this didn't happen then there is a fairly serious problem, and it would help everyone if you made a complaint to Post Office customer services (03457 22 33 44, open Saturdays).

As for what happens next, there is a chance it will get picked up by Royal Mail and returned to you, but it's more likely to end up with Australian customs and whatever their policy is. In the former case, the postage you paid before will be invalid, but you should be able to claim the money back from Post Office (not Royal Mail) customer services: might be best to get your claim in early via the number above.

niennamarie · Post by **niennamarie** » 28 May 2016, 08:22

Thankyou for your reply.

She said to my kids 'wow, do you have friends in Australia' so I'm can say for certain she knew where it was going. I've just looked on the royal mail website too and the price is definitely for Australia.

She did ask me what was inside it and showed me a list of restricted items to make sure there was nothing like that in it. But I'm also pretty sure she know it was a small parcel and not a letter as I've been charged for one.

I'll phone that number and see what they say. Thanks.

niennamarie · Post by **niennamarie** » 28 May 2016, 08:53

Ok, so I phoned. They told me that I am right, I did need a customs form for it and he put me on hold while he contacted the branch. Then got back to me and told me there was a bit of confusion in the branch about it, and that if I ever needed a parcel sending again they would give me a customs form, but not to worry as I won't have a problem this time. So I'm slightly confused as to why he said I did, then changed his mind. But it seems I can't do anything about it now except wait.

Post by **Snaggletooth** » 28 May 2016, 09:40

If you were in the PO at the end of the working day yesterday it's possible that you missed the last collection, so the PO staff have now written out a customs form for each item and stuck them on the parcels.

niennamarie · Post by **niennamarie** » 28 May 2016, 09:57

It was yesterday morning. He said because its only pens and a notebook and stuff id get away with it this time. I think I just have to stop worrying now and get on with it. Its all very confusing to me!