Brb, hustling the Norwegian postal service, whose policies are hustling the consumer, seller and the EEA by way of ESA alike.
May the best hustler win!
(Guessing it won't be me, but worth a shot.)
Conversation
Replying to
Stalemate. No traction either side. Ultimately, cost goes to seller.
Root cause:
Combination of Norway breaking EEA rules in introducing superfluous barriers to internal market trade and seller showing exceptional ineptitude in compliance.
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Ultimately, stalemate also a relative loss. Could probably have won, but got an exceptionally clueless and pig-headed public servant.
Winning would be net positive for everyone (double package for me, double tariffs for Norway, smaller self-incurred loss for seller). Shame.
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It's always frustrating when poorly developed systems lead to compounding losses like this.
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Situation;
Norwegian VAT regulation is illegal by EEA commitments, due to demand for redundant paperwork.
Seller charges Norwegian VAT but fails to meet paperwork requirements.
Norway charges VAT + import duties on package at customs, including VAT on already paid VAT.
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Meanwhile, package is delayed. I confer with seller, as I am leaving Tromsø soon.
Seller sends new package.
Week later, package arrives in Norway. Norway wants VAT and import duties.
I already paid VAT on package, don't need, but could use double the stuff.
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Seller is responsible for paying for return, at net loss, and shares responsibility with Norway for additional VAT charge.
I am willing to pay the extra import duty, but not the VAT. Not worth that amount to me (nearly twice sales price).
Postal service: regulation says no.
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Should probably also have asked seller if they'd rather pay me back the VAT or the return cost. Ah well. Next time.
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Complaint here isn't "I didn't get an extra package at lower cost" (although that does suck) - value to me personally not much higher than extra import duties.
It's the overall wastefulness of the system, due to regulatory incompetence, that pisses me off.
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Each of these losses are comparatively minuscule, but e.g. Sweden had a rise in returns of small packages from low 10.000s to over 400.000 a year after implementing bad tariff regulations.
Cost of this is then borne by the entire logistics chain, consumers and environment.
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Every time you see something like suppliers burning food to raise prices, planned obsolescence, factory farms, slave labour...
There is regulatory incompetence and/or malice somewhere in the system. It may not be the only cause, but it's very often the most significant one.
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