Urgent help! Has anyone sent any parcels by courier?

[South-east boy]

I've just been filling the box up that I'm sending by courier to Suzie. I thought I was going to have space left, but in fact I had to make the box bigger as there wasn't enough room! It's also about a 1/3 heavier than I thought it would be! Anyway, I was booking the courier pick-up, when it says where you enter the contents : "The information you enter here will be used to create a customs invoice." Does this mean that when the package is delivered or picked up she will have to pay a charge? Of course I don't really want this, especially if things are tight with money for her. I just wondered if there is a charge everytime and what it might be? Is it a %age or does it depend on what the contents are?

Just need to know urgently as I have to finish the booking tonight if I go ahead with it, but if she could end up getting a bill, I might have to send it in a balikbayan box, but of course it will arrive ages after Christmas. But do you have to pay a charge with balikbayan boxes too?

[Dedworth]

I've just been filling the box up that I'm sending by courier to Suzie. I thought I was going to have space left, but in fact I had to make the box bigger as there wasn't enough room! It's also about a 1/3 heavier than I thought it would be! Anyway, I was booking the courier pick-up, when it says where you enter the contents : "The information you enter here will be used to create a customs invoice." Does this mean that when the package is delivered or picked up she will have to pay a charge? Of course I don't really want this, especially if things are tight with money for her. I just wondered if there is a charge everytime and what it might be? Is it a %age or does it depend on what the contents are?

Just need to know urgently as I have to finish the booking tonight if I go ahead with it, but if she could end up getting a bill, I might have to send it in a balikbayan box, but of course it will arrive ages after Christmas. But do you have to pay a charge with balikbayan boxes too?

You might be stepping into a minefield, I don't think there are charges on Balikbayan boxes however couriered stuff is a different kettle of fish. I've only sent within the EU so no customs there but we did have some wedding give aways DHL'd over from PI and as well as about £50 freight charge paid over there we got hit well after delivery here with charges that had been billed by HMRC to DHL.

[South-east boy]

Do cakes and biscuits count as perishable? They'll only go dry if they go off, not mouldy etc and the service is only meant to take 2 or 3 days! Got ages going by the sell by date! Slightly worrying though as there is a £100 fine if you put prohibited things in!

[Dedworth]

I can understand your desire to send Suzie some goodies before Xmas. Rather than stepping into the unknown with a couriered now overweight box why not send her some £'s by xoom.com or whoever and send a bigger box by Forex for 2010

[South-east boy]

I can understand your desire to send Suzie some goodies before Xmas. Rather than stepping into the unknown with a couriered now overweight box why not send her some £'s by xoom.com or whoever and send a bigger box by Forex for 2010

It's not overweight as I have given them the exact weight and size of the box-it's also the biggest one I have. Can't really afford to send money now as I've spent quite a lot on this -just the make-up came to over £100! It's also her Birthday before Christmas and I don't really want to miss both.

[Dedworth]

It's not overweight as I have given them the exact weight and size of the box-it's also the biggest one I have. Can't really afford to send money now as I've spent quite a lot on this -just the make-up came to over £100! It's also her Birthday before Christmas and I don't really want to miss both.

Tricky one I wouldn't know what to suggest but I'd certainly find out what if any charges were likely over there........... I thought when you said one third heavier you'd gone over a set weight limit

[South-east boy]

Tricky one I wouldn't know what to suggest but I'd certainly find out what if any charges were likely over there........... I thought when you said one third heavier you'd gone over a set weight limit

I'd just guestimated how heavy, going by some things i knew the weight of and guessing the rest. I think the actual box and cardboard to protect everything weighs a bit too! Come to 15kg altogether. Think I'll just send it and if there is a charge, then maybe I'll have to send some money if they can't afford it. No point in her gifts just sitting around in my place! Just a bit worried about the stollen fruit cake and shortbread-don't really want a £100 fine, but if they did fine me it would be taking the pee as there is no way that it would go off in transit. I know that you wouldn't send fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and things with cream etc, but cake and biscuits?

[Dedworth]

I'd just guestimated how heavy, going by some things i knew the weight of and guessing the rest. I think the actual box and cardboard to protect everything weighs a bit too! Come to 15kg altogether. Think I'll just send it and if there is a charge, then maybe I'll have to send some money if they can't afford it. No point in her gifts just sitting around in my place! Just a bit worried about the stollen fruit cake and shortbread-don't really want a £100 fine, but if they did fine me it would be taking the pee as there is no way that it would go off in transit. I know that you wouldn't send fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and things with cream etc, but cake and biscuits?

Fingers crossed here

[South-east boy]

ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH! Stupid booking form! It says list the items with the value, so I write them out and tick the box that says you haven't included any prohibited items, click on continue to next page and it just refreshes my page with all the info that i filled in cleared! I have now being filling it in for the last hour about 8 times! Don't know what to do now and I should be in bed!

[South-east boy]

Well, it's on it's way, I hope it arrives there ok with no problems and without any charges!

[IanB]

I just did the same today. DHL to Angeles City because most stuff I sent by post never arrived. I expect she may have to pay some duty, but the total value is less than £100 for my package so should be OK. The Interparcel customs invoice was annoying - when I changed from 7 to 8 items I lost everything I had typed - but the service was good and DHL actually found my house.

My parcel is now in DHL's East Midlands depot, presumably on its way to East Midlands Airport.

Will be interesting to see how we both get on!

[South-east boy]

I just did the same today. DHL to Angeles City because most stuff I sent by post never arrived. I expect she may have to pay some duty, but the total value is less than £100 for my package so should be OK. The Interparcel customs invoice was annoying - when I changed from 7 to 8 items I lost everything I had typed - but the service was good and DHL actually found my house.

My parcel is now in DHL's East Midlands depot, presumably on its way to East Midlands Airport.

Will be interesting to see how we both get on!

I wonder if our parcels will be on the same plane? Mine left East midlands airport at 1.47 am and then left Leipzig in Germany at 8.40am. It's being sent by DHL air express and it said 2-3 days (I wonder if it will really be that quick?!) which I didn't think was too bad for £62 for the size and weight of the parcel. It's quite interesting keeping tabs on how it's progressing!

[IanB]

Wow, same plane! Mine is now in Manila - only 37 hours after leaving my house. Incredible! I wonder how long it will take from Manila to Angeles City?

[South-east boy]

Wow, same plane! Mine is now in Manila - only 37 hours after leaving my house. Incredible! I wonder how long it will take from Manila to Angeles City?

Mine's just been processed at Hong Kong. Just found out I have another bill as they say the chargeable weight is 6.5kg more than what I said! I weighed mine on bathroom scales and was surprised that it weighed 15kg! The heaviest things were two large tins of sweets and the box which everything was packed in which would be about 5 kg at the total max. No way did all the other things come to 16.5kg! What can I do though? Think I'll ask Suzie to weigh the box (if possible) when it arrives there.

[South-east boy]

Parcel arrived in Cebu @ 12.37pm Phils time. Said there was some delay on clearance.

[IanB]

Mine is now "arranged for delivery". Feel sorry for the DHL driver going into my gf's rather dodgy area. My parcel was a mere 4.5kg, but even at £50 if it really does work this well I will use DHL again.

[RickyR]

I always declare items as, 'Gifts, Balakbayan'. I tend to have more problems with items being sent Fedex into Europe from the Philippines. My boss forwarded me an invoice from our import agent in France who deals with all our incoming mail, and we were billed a 200 euro clearance charge for a letter from Marvie sent via Fedex, thankfully they didn't make me pay but was asked for it not to happen again. The annoying thing is that fedex would have cleared the item anyway, and if it was sent to my home I would never have been charged that fee.
The Philippines isn't too bad for imports, just a bit of hassle on occasions. I'm in Egypt at the moment and spent about 2 days a week just dealing with declaration and import/export issues for spare parts and sorting out crew visas! Absolute nightmare!

[South-east boy]

The Philippines isn't too bad for imports, just a bit of hassle on occasions. I'm in Egypt at the moment and spent about 2 days a week just dealing with declaration and import/export issues for spare parts and sorting out crew visas! Absolute nightmare!

That sounds like great fun! All the items I sent are gifts, but there is a packing list where you have to list everything and it says failure to list anything can result in fines etc. Well I listed most things, but I'm not listing every single one of the 60 odd items!

The parcel has now been cleared there and is at the sorting depo where again there is another clearance delay! I guess everyone is at home & in bed now though.

Does Marvie live in Cebu city Ricky?

[RickyR]

No, we've been renting an apartment in Marikina, Manila. It's a great place, and ideal for us a the moment. I like Cebu too, but we're still not yet sure where to settle down.

Do you like Cebu? Plan to go out again anytime soon?

[South-east boy]

No, we've been renting an apartment in Marikina, Manila. It's a great place, and ideal for us a the moment. I like Cebu too, but we're still not yet sure where to settle down.

Do you like Cebu? Plan to go out again anytime soon?

I asked if she lived in Cebu as I thought she might have lived there as you had asked about flights to there.

No, I haven't been there yet, but want to as soon as possible, but seeming as I am stuck on a high interest rate mortgage, have had no overtime whatsoever and hardly any bonuses over the last year, things aren't easy at the mo. If I had a decent rate mortgage like they are at the mo, was having the odd bit of overtime and usual bonuses, I'd be about £200-£400 (occasionally more)a month up on what I am now. This recession has come at just the wrong time!

Don't know what's going on with my parcel! It took 2 days to get from my work in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK to Cebu in Phils and since Thursday 12.37pm Phils time, it's sat for a day and a half waiting clearance! So the clearance has taken nearly as long so far as the parcel to took to fly half way around the world!

[RickyR]

The banks always win! :-( As for Cebu, well we're planning our Wedding in Cebu, and my family are all pretty excited to come out. We're planning 12 months in advance to give everyone enough time to save in anticipation. The cheapest way i've found is to fly to Manila and then get a cebu pacific 30 quid return flight to Cebu, but not really ideal for family. I do hope you get out there sometime soon, Cebu is a great place for a holiday.
As for clearances in the Philippines................... like most things official in the country, its never easy, but everything is possible for the right price.

[Dedworth]

Just being curious Ian SEB & Ian if the parcels have been delivered yet - any extra charges ?

[South-east boy]

The banks always win! :-( As for Cebu, well we're planning our Wedding in Cebu, and my family are all pretty excited to come out. We're planning 12 months in advance to give everyone enough time to save in anticipation. The cheapest way i've found is to fly to Manila and then get a cebu pacific 30 quid return flight to Cebu, but not really ideal for family. I do hope you get out there sometime soon, Cebu is a great place for a holiday.
As for clearances in the Philippines................... like most things official in the country, its never easy, but everything is possible for the right price.

Why did you chose Cebu? Have you stayed there many times before? Does any of Marvie's family live there or near there? That return flight from Manila to Cebu is cheap!

On Saturday the parcel still hadn't cleared, but I think there will be a charge. When I spoke to Suzie on Saturday, she still hadn't heard anything (so it's taken longer to clear than to fly there!) so I asked her to call them on Monday morning and I'd also try to find out as well. Just hope that charge isn't too much!

[Dedworth]

Why did you chose Cebu? Have you stayed there many times before? Does any of Marvie's family live there or near there? That return flight from Manila to Cebu is cheap!

On Saturday the parcel still hadn't cleared, but I think there will be a charge. When I spoke to Suzie on Saturday, she still hadn't heard anything (so it's taken longer to clear than to fly there!) so I asked her to call them on Monday morning and I'd also try to find out as well. Just hope that charge isn't too much!

Cebu Pacific flights are cheap they make it up on baggage charges - you are allowed 15kg free or 10kg on some ATR 72 flights

[RickyR]

yeah Marvie has quite a lot of family in Cebu, she is originally from Cebu, but her parents moved to Manila when she was quite young. I think when you visit the Philippines its definately worth touring, especially since its so cheap.

Dedworth, it's pretty much the way with low cost airlines that they earn the money on the add ons. I still think Cebu Pacific is value for money, and if you pre book the baggage its quite a good price.

[IanB]

Parcel not delivered yet . . . .

[South-east boy]

Parcel not delivered yet . . . .

Same as with me then! What does it say with the tracking for yours? Just annoying that it seems to fly there super quick, then just sits there doing nothing for days! Getting frustrated as it's her birthday tomorrow! Phoned the courier company, they phoned DHL and they are phoning DHL in Cebu to find out why they haven't phoned Suzie. I did ask her to phone them, but not sure of she has or not?

[RickyR]

I'm sure it'll be cleared soon South-east boy, sometimes just takes a bit of prompting at her end.

[Dedworth]

Dedworth, it's pretty much the way with low cost airlines that they earn the money on the add ons. I still think Cebu Pacific is value for money, and if you pre book the baggage its quite a good price.

You are right CP are pretty good on the prepaid excess rates. Wife got clobbered recently cos of arrival time having to change an internal Cebu flight to a PAL one and getting hit with 15kg excess after a KLM 30kg flight - seems PAL don't do a prepay system. Their Econolite allows 15kg against 20kg normal Economy so one needs to gauge whether its worth the fare saving against the excess.

[South-east boy]

After nothing happening for 5 1/2 days, they finally rang Suzie to say that there is a 6000 pesos customs charge! Not happy as that's crazy and about 35% of the marked value of the parcel! I'm surprised that anyone sends anything back to Phils with those crazy charges! How do they think the average not well-off Filipino can afford charges like that?

Do balikbayan boxes have such charges as well?

Annoyed now as all the time it's sat there doing nothing, now this means that she won't receive her Birthday things on her birthday.

What I've spent on the presents, courier, extra courier charge and now if I have to pay these new charges, I could have easily have flown out there, though I wouldn't have had any spending money or much to stay anywhere!