A cautionary tale for all UK sim racers considering a purchase from Fanatec - Post Brexit

Deleted member 696088 · Feb 5, 2021

Fanatec Delivery Delayed
Delivery date received - No delivery
Shipment currently still in Germany
Shipment delivered 11/2/2021

GagarynGaribaldi · Feb 5, 2021

No surprises here, I expect people in the UK now understand that there are backlogs at ports due to post Brexit changes - been plenty coverage in the media. I hope that they now understand that they don't pay VAT at source for UK purchases from EU too and know to factor that 20% into their landed charges - plus the couriers fee for dealing with the import paperwork. Think UPS still charge £11.50 flat fee. That may change in the future, several couriers have moved to a percentage fee due to the massive ball ache that Brexit has caused them.

Napao1000 · Feb 5, 2021

I was about to hit the "buy" button on a DD2 (I'm UK based).

So I would need to pay an additional 20% VAT on top of the 1499.95 (Euros) price advertised by Fanatec?

Am I understanding this correctly?

Deleted member 696088 · Feb 5, 2021

Napao1000 said:
I was about to hit the "buy" button on a DD2 (I'm UK based).

So I would need to pay an additional 20% VAT on top of the 1499.95 (Euros) price advertised by Fanatec?

Am I understanding this correctly?

The advertised price in euros on the main page should have an asterisk after it - when I scrolled down the page the comment in my case said includes VAT. On logging in and going to checkout, the item price had been reduced to reflect the difference in VAT - you may find this also if you log in to check. I understood all this before placing my order and my issue is not with the cost but the failed delivery and payment demand for import fees and VAT when the promised delivery date could not be met as the items had not been sent. Check out the Fanatec forums as they have a dedicated UK delivery tab with other UK based consumers having similar delivery issues.

Napao1000 · Feb 5, 2021

sh3ph3rd said:
The advertised price in euros on the main page should have an asterisk after it - when I scrolled down the page the comment in my case said includes VAT. On logging in and going to checkout, the item price had been reduced to reflect the difference in VAT - you may find this also if you log in to check. I understood all this before placing my order and my issue is not with the cost but the failed delivery and payment demand for import fees and VAT when the promised delivery date could not be met as the items had not been sent. Check out the Fanatec forums as they have a dedicated UK delivery tab with other UK based consumers having similar delivery issues.

Thanks for the information and heads-up, very helpful.

GagarynGaribaldi · Feb 5, 2021

Napao1000 said:
Thanks for the information and heads-up, very helpful.

Probably worth mentioning that the price will only be reduced at checkout by the current German VAT rate which is 16%. You will need to add 20% to the total shipped cost (i.e. including shipping cost) plus the £11.50 UPS fee, plus any foreign currency charges your bank may impose, to calculate your landed cost. And be prepared for a week or so delays which is affecting everything coming into UK from EU.

Napao1000 · Feb 5, 2021

GagarynGaribaldi said:
Probably worth mentioning that the price will only be reduced at checkout by the current German VAT rate which is 16%. You will need to add 20% to the total shipped cost (i.e. including shipping cost) plus the £11.50 UPS fee, plus any foreign currency charges your bank may impose, to calculate your landed cost. And be prepared for a week or so delays which is affecting everything coming into UK from EU.

Thanks again for the information. Lots to consider.

BrightCandle · Feb 5, 2021

There is a severe problem with getting lorries across the border right now and non-urgent (not food and not medicine) is having severe delays, a good 2 weeks or so. I had UPS tell me there were going to deliver 1 week prior at one point they had got so out of whack a couple of weeks ago. They didn't actually end up having time travel to my disappointment.

UPS is one of the more expensive in terms of charge for customs and can be up to £40, using German national mail would have saved you about half on customs charges since it cames in via Royal mail who want £6.50. You may still get unlucky and get charged £50 for them to open the box and confirm it does indeed match the product on the listing, no way to tell if that is going to happen yet, it is the sort of thing you get charged for once its entered into the country.

CRMS · Feb 5, 2021

Buying UK to EU or other way won't be as simple as before. Basically net of country VAT at despatch and then VAT added plus plus at delivery end.
UK firms are being advised to set up subsidiaries in EU to mitigate against the changes. John Lewis, and I expect Screwfix, have stopped EU deliveries. (Screwfix used to offer free delivery to EU for a £40 shop and screwfix.eu is not up and running).

GagarynGaribaldi · Feb 5, 2021

[sh3ph3rd, post: 3337521, member: 696088"]
The advertised price in euros on the main page should have an asterisk after it - when I scrolled down the page the comment in my case said includes VAT. On logging in and going to checkout, the item price had been reduced to reflect the difference in VAT - you may find this also if you log in to check. I understood all this before placing my order and my issue is not with the cost but the failed delivery and payment demand for import fees and VAT when the promised delivery date could not be met as the items had not been sent. Check out the Fanatec forums as they have a dedicated UK delivery tab with other UK based consumers having similar delivery issues.
[/QUOTE]
To put this thread in context, the order was only placed 10 days ago. You acknowledge you knew Brexit and COVID would impact delivery, so why are you so surprised that its not here yet? And why the surprise that you've been asked to pay the VAT? Did you think that would be waived because it didn't arrive when you hoped it would?

Deleted member 696088 · Feb 5, 2021

I was expecting to pay the VAT as part of the import charge but had done the VAT calculation in my head and was happy with the cost. I had not realised that the VAT reduction was at 16% and appreciate your help on that. I also understood there might be a delay all of which is understandable - but as I tried to explain to Fanatec, not delivering on a pre allocated delivery date is one thing. Not to contact the recipient during, in advance of or even after - explaining that the item will not be delivered has nothing to do with Brexit. Its just bad practice. The least I would have expected was an e-mail to let me know what was going on.

markie44 · Feb 5, 2021

I've already had a few things delivered from Europe to UK post Brexit and UPS seem to be aggressively profiteering from the move with advance duty charging and admin fees. To put it into context, I've had other things delivered from Europe via non-UPS couriers that haven't even incurred fees OR duty.

Their drivers have also been refusing to accept Duty payment on delivery (for fear of getting infected) and marking the delivery as 'Rejected' , leaving the recipient having to chase the tracking ID only to discover packages have gone back to the depot and the duty must be paid in advance, and redelivery arranged.

And that's Just January 2021. Honestly starting to dread receiving a UPS tracking ID...

stigs2cousin · Feb 5, 2021

Just one small addition which will not really help with the problem:

since 01.01.2221 the German VAT is 19% again, we had a reduced VAT for corona relief reasons.

MFG Carsten

GagarynGaribaldi · Feb 5, 2021

stigs2cousin said:
Just one small addition which will not really help with the problem:

since 01.01.2221 the German VAT is 19% again, we had a reduced VAT for corona relief reasons.

MFG Carsten

That's a good point. UK customers seem to be losing out here as Fanatec are only removing 16% at checkout. Shabby!

stigs2cousin · Feb 6, 2021

I´d hazard a guess that their customer service is as fast as ever, but that would be illogical.
Brexit and rise of VAT occured on the same date

.

MFG Carsten

Deleted member 696088 · Feb 6, 2021

Thanks for the info on the VAT rate. I didn't check the rate in Germany. I did the numbers in my head prior to ordering and they seemed ball park in my case, notwithstanding the currency exchange rate.
A Google search this morning returned a standard VAT rate in the UK at 20% and in Germany at 19% so it would be prudent to check your numbers before ordering.

CRMS · Feb 6, 2021

Fantec removing 19% MWST today. Eg CSRW €850 inc MWST and €714 less 19% MWST.

AmazingReflex · Feb 11, 2021

I ordered a Clubsport 2.5 and Formula V2 Rim 10 days ago and it has just arrived to my house in UK.

Looks like when I ordered they removed the German VAT off the price and that is what I paid plus 27 euros postage.

I then got a UPS tracking number off the Fanatec website which I used on UPS tracking site. I enabled email updates.

I then got an email after seven days saying I have to pay the import charges which was the UK 20% vat plus additional £10 or so (I guess for UPS customs costs?). I was able to log in and pay the charges via the website in advance of delivery.

It has been a bit confusing as I got mixed up thinking the initial reduced price on Fanatec was my final cost.

Makes me feel the final total cost to me is quiet expensive at £725 (Euros to pounds conversion rate) + £154 (UK vat and customs) = £879.

I have a T300RS wheel set and I initially was just looking at buying a TS-XW base for £379. I then got tempted by the Fanatec kit which means I have spent an additional £500 than planned. Don't even ask me about pedals and what I'm going to do.

I think in the darkest recesses of my mind there is some logic telling me I' m now set for going to Fanatec DD in the future.

There I go again trying to apply logic to this stuff.

Mr Latte · Feb 11, 2021

Correct me if I am wrong.....
So if the website is fixed.

The German standard VAT rate has returned today to 19%. It had been reduced to 16% between 1 July and 31 December 2020 to help businesses and consumers during the COVID-19 crisis.

German VAT removed at 19% from basket?
UK VAT 20% to be charged
UPS Handling Fee £10

Meaning 1% additional VAT and £10 Charge?

VAT may vary depending on situations and country