Plus you don't get a day out in London! You're so dull. That's what happens when you move out of a city and into a field to become a farmer or whatever it is you do now
Which still sometimes requires ordering from the "international" version of a website, with delivery charges, and pick-up charges to get the things from over the border, plus their charges.
Is stuff really cheaper, better quality than France and Germany? Necessity is the mother of invention, over the years I've found acceptable alternatives to most of my favourite British brands allowing me to sever that particular umbilical cord. Amazon.de for example is a revelation, I have a Prime acct with unlimited free next day delivery, and most things I buy often (shoes, trainers, vitamins, gadgetry, tools etc..) are on there. As for electronics, Switzerland is usually cheaper than its neighbours and you get 2 years warranty.
London is for dining and entertainment, I ain't got time to join shopping scrums
Interesting to see the comments about DHL. I paid €25 extra for quick delivery of the Interrail ticket I ordered at the weekend. DHL do delivery for this.
Since it hadn't arrived today, I checked the tracking info. They claimed they'd tried to deliver it. But there was no card in my mailbox, and they should have left one. This made me wonder if they had actually bothered visiting, or if the driver just made something up and stayed down in the valley.
They are supposed to retry tomorrow. My travel is already delayed by a day.
and you still pay their 18-20% VAT.
So they responded but I don't feel they really answered my question...
I guess I will not be recommending Next (which I have done a lot in the past) or ordering from them until they use a different shipping company.
Oh wow just had a similar thing with Gap Borderfree. I ordered some clothes from OldNavy for around CHF 80, and then because it's Xmas and I am desperate, I checked the box for delivery within 7 days for an extra Sfr. 50 (I know - don't judge).
But guess what?!?! It came after 15 days - the normal delivery time! So I sent..let me see.... about 7 emails complaining that it wasn't right what was happening, and got a reply that b/c it is an international delivery same rules do not apply. However, nowhere is that stated on the order, plus, I was allowed to check the box and pay the money! Hmmmmm. -_-
this is so wrong!
Actually not really the same issue at all, unless you were also using AAS Freight and they charged you extortionate fees for shipping something that every other shipping provider in Switzerland doesn't charge for (at least in my experience). My tip for Christmas delivery stuff - check the times stipulated by the postoffice as stated on their website and accept that they can't change the sheer bulk of post coming in. But like I said, yours is an entirely different issue.
In other news, I told Next that I did not find their answer helpful and they replied back, assuring me that their supervisor has been given my feedback. One can hope.
So, I ordered something from NEXT uk, and it was well below CHF62, and yet I got billed CHF48 from customs!
All because they do not display an invoice on top of their package
Instead of complaining here, why don't you contact them so they are aware- and can do so next (!) time. They are probably not aware of this at all. You could also put a message when you next (!) order, asking them to ensure this is done. My sil sent us a pair of worn trousers OH had forgotten at ther house and put £80 value on the customs' declaration, totally unaware we would have to be tax on it (we got it back... but it was annoying).
Did you order from http://www.next.co.uk or http://ch.nextdirect.com/en/?
Next are aware of it and don't do anything about it. It's been happening since they change their courriers to AAS freight services.
There's already a thread about it on here somewhere.
From nextdirect.
Same thing happened to me a couple of years ago, haven't ordered from them since.
It's the shipping company, they include their (excessive) admin charge in the value of the order and then calculate if import duties are due. Oh, and they always round everything up to the nearest franc, in their favour always. They seem to operate a business model designed to extract as much as possible from the customer.
The way around this is make sure your order is no more than 32-33 Chfs.
Here you go
A whole thread about it already. Loads of oeople are pissed off by Next.
I read so many posts here about Next and their shenanigans that I decided that I will not order from them. And that is from someone who bought a LOT from Next when in the UK. Instead I buy kids clothes from H&M or C&A. Good quality and at the same price as the Next clothes. I replaced M&S socks, pants with those from Migros/ Coop/ Aldi. Result - no tax to pay and we buy "local"
Vote with your wallet and ditch them, if their service is so poor!
If that is the case- then fair enough. I'd still write to them, to the highest possible person in the firm, to tell them that their reputation is damaged with expats due to this- and give them a chance to respond.
In fact, as I have recently had a very pleasant surprise recently with an on-line complaint- I've written to them to explain the problem with Swiss taxes and asked Senior manager to respond. Let's see what happens It only takes a minute.
Just ordered from Selfridges a few days ago.
I was very impressed with them. They deducted UK VAT and pre-paid the Swiss MwSt, so no surprises or extra customs fees and it arrived in two days.
Brilliant, well worth knowing, thanks.