DHL Duty & Vat charges

[Old_Dave]

Recently got a 36v battery from BMS and they sent it via DHL cos they couldn't send using the courier option I chose at checkout..

Anyway the Invoice and paperwork arrived today in the post, Duty £0, Vat £9.98. Admin fee £1.25.

That's very fair and I'm paying it now

Unlike the excessive fees expected by FedEx

 

[john h]

i to got stuff from bms 3 weeks ago[1 ku123 +ku 66 torque crank ]

sent by fedex, last week got the import tax 14.75

the goverment would like people to go green but charge for doing so.[ or maybe green like the hulk ]

 

[Hugh]

FedEx are a total ripoff - stung me for 30-odd quid recently, weeks after actual delivery and without any prior warning.

 

[morphix]

Recently got a 36v battery from BMS and they sent it via DHL cos they couldn't send using the courier option I chose at checkout..

Anyway the Invoice and paperwork arrived today in the post, Duty £0, Vat £9.98. Admin fee £1.25.

That's very fair and I'm paying it now

Unlike the excessive fees expected by FedEx

Looks like DHL have learned the lesson and finally come to their senses over these fees and seen it's a scam that can't continue. I hope FedEx and others follow their example and also stop doing it. None of us begrudge them a fair and reasonable fee for their admin work eh,£1.25 is very reasonable.

I'll tell you another scam is common online with firms these days..the "express delivery" scam.. you see it on eBay, on Amazon but lots of independent businesses do it... they'll offer free "economy" delivery and state 3-5 days, and charge £5 or £6 for next day... 9 times out of 10, if you choose the free delivery with most firms, they're using the exact same next day delivery courier as paying customers who get duped.. Happened to me this week with Expansys..opted for free delivery which said 3-5 days... came ParcelForce 24 next day! What a scam.

 

[amigafan2003]

Do DHL hold your package hostage until you've paid the fee like Royal Mail?

 

[Old_Dave]

Nope... It's only Parcel Farce wot does that


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jackhandy]

AND a handling chharge of £8.00 to boot

 

[Haku]

IMHO DHL can go to hell, I once bought something from the US which cost me about £55 including postage, then 5 months later they sent a letter demanding immediate payment of £34 fees.

 

[103Alex1]

I am hoping that DHL are decent about their charges ... just been screwed for an additional $48.00 shipping because BMS say the courier option selected is not possible (Fedex) on account of shipment containing a battery and they are sending by DHL instead. They could have told me that when I put the order in a week ago before it went through checking, 2 updates, testing, QC and good to go !!!

 

[Cyclezee]

Unlike the excessive fees expected by FedEx

or TNT

I'm guessing some of these shipments are undervalued by the sender which makes a big difference to the duty levied. I should be so lucky

 

[Jeremy]

I am hoping that DHL are decent about their charges ... just been screwed for an additional $48.00 shipping because BMS say the courier option selected is not possible (Fedex) on account of shipment containing a battery and they are sending by DHL instead. They could have told me that when I put the order in a week ago before it went through checking, 2 updates, testing, QC and good to go !!!

BMS do this from time to time, according to others on ES who've dealt with them more than I have. If you tell them you won't pay the extra (as I did when they asked me for a big wodge extra) then they mysteriously find a way to send the package out for the original price the same or the next day............

Personally I think they are just trying it on, as they seem to be making some of their profit on the shipping charges, I believe. If they think you may pay them a bit more they seem to try this trick, as others have had the same experience. Once they know you won't cough up the extra they stop asking you for it. Shipping from BMS (or GBK) is significantly higher than from some other Far Eastern vendors.

 

[103Alex1]

^^ depending on the product you're buying, though, the item costs are competitive so these things usually pan out "near as" in the end. There may well be some of this going on but couriers are in fairness a total nightmare to deal with over cost management and very inconsistent on pricing over time, for low volume sales at least.

Fedex have recently had a major increase in security measures and in the UK now initially accept some items but then reject them if they have contents termed "too dense for x-ray". This can happen with radios and other such things. Items go back to sender, costs lost, no warning if you send through many front-end discounters.

To balance things on the shipping quotes China give, try sending something the other way to China via DHL from here ... it's about $200 without a volume trade account for a few kg at the moment so China-UK is about half the cost on a like-for-like weight comparison <10kg. The shipping fluctuations just introduce a load of uncertainty into budgeting on top of exchange rate fluctuations, but sometimes that works in your favour. I'm just hoping the final landing costs balance the scales a bit !

 

[103Alex1]

Well, I got my bill through today along with a load of backed up post (1st class mail taking 3 days again ... bit of a PITA !).

£27.03 VAT and £5 admin fee = £32.03. On the scale of the whole kit ordered that's not so bad as there's no statistic value duty, just VAT, and it's about a third of what it would have been on a shipment coming from the USA.

I was far more miffed about BMS taking an extra $48 off me to send DHL after my order had been paid and progressed to final dispatch stage "because Fedex won't carry batteries". So why do they offer it as a shipping option in the 1st place ? mad. I wanted the stuff to get on with the project, paid it and got my box in just before couriers got recalled on account of snow disruption - but was still a nasty unexpected sting in the tail at the time. So in all the BMS package has worked out around £60 or 11% more than budget estimate.

All in all though, just looked at BMS site and they have sold out of the motor I have, just 6 of the 350W ones showing ready to ship and with Chinese New Year if I'd procrastinated any longer than I did I wouldn't be sat here with a nicely advancing project. So I'm paying the DHL bill and looking forward to having a nice bike ready for the Spring in a few weeks' time.

 

[morphix]

Good timing Alex indeed, and good luck with your project, it looks to be progressing along nicely! I wish I could say the same about mine Oh well, with a bit of luck, new inner and tyre should have me up and running again.. Are you going to fit a Speedict to your set-up or not bother?

I'm fitting one to my Mezzo as I think I will miss the LCD console and flexible speed controls I had on my 26" build else.. I'm looking how best to tackle the wiring now to keep everything neat and easily removable..probably two DIN connectors approach should do it. I'm lucky to have the Mezzo water resistant rack bags so not to concerned about water-proofing.

 

[103Alex1]

Are you going to fit a Speedict to your set-up or not bother?

I'm fitting one to my Mezzo as I think I will miss the LCD console and flexible speed controls I had on my 26" build else.. I'm looking how best to tackle the wiring now to keep everything neat and easily removable..probably two DIN connectors approach should do it. I'm lucky to have the Mezzo water resistant rack bags so not to concerned about water-proofing.

That is the biggest problem I have at the moment and a huge set-back for me as I was relying on Speedict for controller management system. Speedict haven't sorted out the problem of Bluetooth compatibility with my Samsung Galaxy SIII phone (can't change my phone just to fit Speedict having just spent £350 on it and use it for all my work etc.. !) ...

This leaves me in a bit of a mess at the moment coz Cycle Analyst display too clunky for the limited space I have for accessory mounting. I haven't yet worked out the options - need to know what these 3-spd switches will do, how to get to work, whether to now install a pedelec etc etc and struggling to find time to get my head round it all.

I am hoping Speedict sort this problem out soon but I am not holding my breath and need to work on the assumption that they won't and will just dodge the problem or take weeks to sort it out. Bottom line is I want the bike built and out riding it come Spring not sat around waiting for technology bugs to to be investigated (if you know what I mean). I can only hold back building my box and building the system in for so long. Once I take it down to the South West I won't have the tools to make major changes to it there.

On the wiring, going to build in all the wiring and likely use a drillable deck gland (as per yacht decks) to feed most of the cabling into the box provided it's neat enough and not too chunky. It's fit and forget, reliable and long-lasting/waterproof so I can relax when it's finished and take the bike out in all conditions, go off-road through puddles splashing water up etc without worrying. Once it's in and the finishing is done it'll be a pain to disassemble everything and add/change remove cables so I want it all tested and decided on before I go ahead and make it permanent.

May give up on the halcyon idea of screw-less sides because there are bound to be times things need fixing or I want to make changes to the circuitry. In the end practicality has to take precedence over beauty

Yes, DIN for me for lighting and phone charging socket and maybe even a USB socket mounted on the outside for possible later product installation / data downloading - I am still trying to work out how many step-down converters I need or whether I can find decent lights running on same voltage as charger etc etc (all on another thread waiting to progress). I have one step-down converter on order at the moment but expect it'll be a few weeks to come.

It's a bit like giving birth ... going to be some labour pains along the way by the looks of it

 

[jackhandy]

@morphix - How do you intend using speedict for flexible speed control, Paul?
I'm not saying it can't be done - just that I've no idea how.

@ 103alex1 - If you put speedict in a metal eclosure you may well have trouble with the bluetooth connection:
Speedict claim "up to 80 metres range", but my Samsung & Htc phones/tablets struggle to maintain 3 metres in free air.

 

[103Alex1]

@ 103alex1 - If you put speedict in a metal eclosure you may well have trouble with the bluetooth connection:
Speedict claim "up to 80 metres range", but my Samsung & Htc phones/tablets struggle to maintain 3 metres in free air.

Interesting. My box is most likely going to be made out of Okume marine ply I got from a kayak building kit supplier, balsa edges which can be sanded round and jury is out on what to use for inside and socket bracing plates. The wood is very light and marine ply doesn't rot or degrade with moisture. Finishing with solarfilm or painted/epoxied - I am not sure yet and kind of shelved this bit for a bit till I get my head round what wiring / bits were going to have to be routed inside and what sockets needed where/ what cable-ins/outs and where. It all changes every time I add something else lol.

Likelihood is the only metal used will be backing panel(s) for socket mounting etc. and stabilization (likely on the back edge along the seatpost tube) and this should be away from the controller side in the front of the triangle where the Speedict would also sit (as the internal layout plan is is at the moment anyhow). So hopefully the signal transmission shouldn't be a problem because Speedict would be in the wooden box about 0.3m from my phone mounted on the stem.

 

[morphix]

@morphix - How do you intend using speedict for flexible speed control, Paul?
I'm not saying it can't be done - just that I've no idea how.

I'm not sure yet Jack, you probably know much more than I do! I've only looked through the user guide and glanced at the Android app. From what I understand so far, it's more intended to set a power/speed range and sensitivity for your throttle (rather than replace it)..and presumably you can set PAS levels. That's one thing I will miss from my old e-bike, the LCD console which had the simple up and down arrows for 6 PAS levels. Anyway I'm going to wire up the Speedict when my bike gets back and then I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[morphix]

That is the biggest problem I have at the moment and a huge set-back for me as I was relying on Speedict for controller management system. Speedict haven't sorted out the problem of Bluetooth compatibility with my Samsung Galaxy SIII phone (can't change my phone just to fit Speedict having just spent £350 on it and use it for all my work etc.. !) ...

Bummer :-( I've heard you can buy very cheap unbranded Android tablets/phones on eBay from China, that might be one option if they can't support it...and it's maybe not a bad idea if mounting to bike anyway to avoid damage your prized phone.

This leaves me in a bit of a mess at the moment coz Cycle Analyst display too clunky for the limited space I have for accessory mounting. I haven't yet worked out the options - need to know what these 3-spd switches will do, how to get to work, whether to now install a pedelec etc etc and struggling to find time to get my head round it all.

I am hoping Speedict sort this problem out soon but I am not holding my breath and need to work on the assumption that they won't and will just dodge the problem or take weeks to sort it out. Bottom line is I want the bike built and out riding it come Spring not sat around waiting for technology bugs to to be investigated (if you know what I mean). I can only hold back building my box and building the system in for so long. Once I take it down to the South West I won't have the tools to make major changes to it there.

Speedict are pretty fast and responsive with their firmware updates so I think there's every chance they will do it, if it's possible to do.. another option might be BH Neo Bluetooth Kit, but I'm not entirely sure if that is intended to work with bikes other than their Emotive e-bikes. It looks similar to Speedict but has a nice LCD console you can remove and replace with a BT transceiver.. best of both worlds..

Actually you can get nice permanently mountable backlit LCD consoles from China (on AliExpress) quite cheap, but they only work with certain controllers I think. If all you want is simple power indicator, speed/distance and adjustable power PAS levels, that might be a simpler way.

If you were a gluten for punishment and into hacking code, you could pick up a Raspberry Pi for £20 and turn that into something equally as flexible as the Speedict (if not more so) with an inexpensive USB BT dongle and DC inverter board to power it off your battery...stick them into a little housing with some status LED's and an I/O connector on side connected inside to the Raspi's GPIO pin's... Now there's a thought! Making an Android (or other mobile OS) app with a decent GUI would be a challenge though unless you did something very rudimentary in Java.

 

[103Alex1]

I know we're going off-topic here but hey ho this is a pretty fundamental issue to get to grips with and now's a good time to do it since the rest of the build is progressing so well... and a load of interesting and very relevant points being raised...

Bummer :-( I've heard you can buy very cheap unbranded Android tablets/phones on eBay from China, that might be one option if they can't support it...and it's maybe not a bad idea if mounting to bike anyway to avoid damage your prized phone.

That's an option ... what sort of ££ are we talking about ? I use this case on my other bike and just got a compatible mount for the new one so I can mount it on either :

Motorcycle U Bolt Handlebar Mount + Waterproof Tough Hard Case for Samsung Galaxy S3

I've dropped the phone in that case a couple of times onto tarmac and would have been in pieces without - used in the rain too perfectly fine and I use the phone for SatNav/GPS. The mount on the bike is rock solid. So be keen to identify and cost out a phone which is definitely compatible with Speedict and which there's a mount and waterproof tough case from this range to fit too. It would need to accept my micro-SIM and also give me back the SatNav app functionality I rely on my Samsung for.

Interestingly there are a few cases from that supplier which come with DIN/Hella charging connector kits :

Motorcycle U Bolt Handlebar Mount + Waterproof Tough Case + Din Hella Charger for Samsung Galaxy S3

and hardwire kits :

Motorcycle U Bolt Handlebar Mount + Waterproof Tough Case + Hardwire Charger for Samsung Galaxy S3

... so maybe if I could get a waterproof tough case for the 2nd phone and also use the charger add-ons that would be a neat solution. I'm thinking a new phone plus different case (as can't use my current one with a different sized phone) etc will all add ££££££££ which needs to be thought about carefully.

I don't understand circuitry (or phones !) enough yet to know what I'm doing trying to match these options up so any help is appreciated.

another option might be BH Neo Bluetooth Kit, but I'm not entirely sure if that is intended to work with bikes other than their Emotive e-bikes. It looks similar to Speedict but has a nice LCD console you can remove and replace with a BT transceiver.. best of both worlds..

Not sure what that means if I'm totally honest. Tranceivers ? Removing consoles ? Wot wot ? ... lol

Actually you can get nice permanently mountable backlit LCD consoles from China (on AliExpress) quite cheap, but they only work with certain controllers I think. If all you want is simple power indicator, speed/distance and adjustable power PAS levels, that might be a simpler way.

That would be nice - except I have a 30amp controller and this leds me to believe I cannot use them :

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/13684-led-lcd-display-manufacturer-product-details.html

If you were a gluten for punishment and into hacking code, you could pick up a Raspberry Pi for £20 and turn that into something equally as flexible as the Speedict (if not more so) with an inexpensive USB BT dongle and DC inverter board to power it off your battery...stick them into a little housing with some status LED's and an I/O connector on side connected inside to the Raspi's GPIO pin's... Now there's a thought! Making an Android (or other mobile OS) app with a decent GUI would be a challenge though unless you did something very rudimentary in Java.

No idea what that would involve lol. Isn't a Raspberry a bit rude and Java in Indonesia ? .. seriously, I know nothing about programming beyond Basic inputs to BBC Micro of yesteryear, and my brain aches more trying to understand IT terminology than physics so put these two together and I am really struggling to get my head round what any of it means for my bike build !

I only got my 1st Android phone to have SatNav and music player on my current bike (yes, seriously) and because I resented paying a fortune for Garmin that locked me into on-going subscription charges at a time my income had just taken a big nosedive. Still haven;t worked out how to sync it to Exchange servers and neither have 2 separate IT departments of firms I do confidential work for and need access to their e-mail servers rolleyes.

My faith in IT being consistent or reliable is not great and being ignorant means wary of that which you do not understand. It's a challenge and doing my best but can only take so much in on so many different fronts at once. That said I do need to get something sensible decided on soon now if at all possible.