Hi guys, I hope you and your families are safe and well.
I've found myself in a strange situation that I would like to share here in order to see what other members themselves think about it and where I stand officially. It is related to the model railway hobby aswell
Here goes:
Background: In December 2019 I bought X2 bespoke DCC sound fitted Romanian outline locomotives in HO scale from a major box shifter based in Germany.
(The company is big and is the German version of Hattons)
I paid top dollar for the locos as you could imagine and I purchased them through the website. I added to basket and paid the advertised price by credit card.
Goods were shipped to UK and everything was fine. I thought nothing more about the transaction which was over 16 months ago now until I received an email from the retailer regarding that particular transaction over the weekend.
I have deliberately excluded the retailers name at this stage however the email is an exact word for word copy of what I received:
'Dear Mr OwL
I hope that you have a nice Easter and that you are healthy too. It's about my delivery to you with two Romanian locomotives on December 24th, 2019. I am contacting to you today because the German tax office wants me to make an additional payment. The reason is that I made a mistake when issuing your invoice. Inadvertently, the positions were given here without German VAT, even though the United Kingdom was still a member of the European Union at that time. I am sorry that this mistake happened to me. I would like to ask you to pay the difference. Thank you for your understanding.
With kind regards'
I really couldn't believe it at first and my 1st thought was it's a scam however attached were the original invoices which includes all my personal details and a new invoice with the tax added which amounts to about €105.00 euros!!
This is a legitimate email. I haven't replied yet as I need to know where I stand officially hence my question here.
My own thoughts it's their mistake therefore they are liable for any taxes owed to the German government.
I thought the price I paid for the locos originally included all taxes and their website allowed me to add to basket and check out accordingly with no issues.
What do other members here think about this and what would be the best course of action. I obviously don't want to be chased for this money but at the same time I paid what was asked at the time, which I believed included all taxes etc.
Please help?
Thank You everyone.
Probably one for Martin Lewis (MSE) and might be worth putting on his forum. From what I think I know (No expertise);
The price was advertised on a website. By accepting and placing the order, you made an offer to buy. The dealer then accepted your offer and supplied the ordered goods. Therefore, although they can ask, I don't think they have any legal right to the disputed amount.
The only "wriggle room" I can think of on the dealer's behalf would be if the price was so low as to be obviously wrong but it doesn't seem to apply here.
If you want to do business with the dealer again, it might be worth pointing out that they state it was their mistake and, as a goodwill gesture, offer half of the additional tax but I wouldn't pay the full amount and would be reluctant to pay anything.
Just my thoughts.
Do you have your original invoice and/or receipt?
It should state on it whether it was inclusive of taxes and at what rate. Only if it specifically says exclusive of tax, are you likely to be liable, otherwise the retailer is liable for the proportional amount of what you actually paid.
Terms and conditions apply on the date you paid, not on date the seller decided to ship.
I would cancel the order and claim a full refund, get you credit card company to do a chargeback if the dealer refused.
NGM
The first thing to note here is that, presumably, German/EU consumer laws would apply. As I understand things, the seller agreed to sell and you agreed to buy, at the agreed price. You could always contact the UK Consumer Protection people or Citizens Advice and see what they say.
There is a European consumer organisation for cross border consumer issues. The Centre is
https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/consumer-rights-and-complaints/resolve-your-consumer-complaint/european-consumer-centres-network-ecc-net_en (https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/consumer-rights-and-complaints/resolve-your-consumer-complaint/european-consumer-centres-network-ecc-net_en)
To make an enquiry use the UK ECC
https://www.ukecc.net/ (https://www.ukecc.net/)
This is available if you live in the EU, Iceland, Norway or the UK.
Tony
Quote from: N_GaugeModeller on April 06, 2021, 02:06:02 AM
Terms and conditions apply on the date you paid, not on date the seller decided to ship.
I would cancel the order and claim a full refund, get you credit card company to do a chargeback if the dealer refused.
NGM
The goods were shipped and received in December 2019.
I had a similar issue recently when a German retailer wanted me to pay the charges of 12.50 euros HIS bank raised on a payment I sent him in Euros. i explained there was no point sending him more money as his bank would take another 12.50 euros. He conceded and supplied the order in full.
In the case of the OP here the liability to collect tax correctly is the vendors. I would issue him an invoice for the amount corresponding to the German VAT for providing the service of correcting his mistake.
I've sent a consumer query email to the UK ECC. I will of course report any/all updates here as other forum members may get some benefit from it.
A big Thank You to all the members whom have replied above. It is much appreciated.
Kindest regards Dave