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Nope, I use all lanes available, and then some.
Luc Pattyn [My Articles]
The Windows 11 "taskbar" is disgusting. It should be at the left of the screen, with real icons, with text, progress, etc. They downgraded my developer PC to a bloody iPhone.
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using base #1, the factual of #2222 will take #222 hands and two feet.
«The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled» Plutarch
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So I ordered a package from Japan, some CD's (soundtracks that I can't buy in The Netherlands).
I just got a payment request from UPS, customs that I have to pay since last year I think, mainly implemented to stop people from buying cheap stuff from China.
The total fee is even more than the 21% VAT and I'm pretty sure that VAT was already included in the original price (but there's no way to check), but sure, I really have no other choice.
So I get an SMS, which I open on my phone, naturally, and follow the link in that text.
The following UPS page is not at all optimized for mobile viewing.
I have to put on my glasses, scroll left and right, zoom in and out, get a tiny finger transplant, you know the deal.
After finally filling out the form I get a message that IPPA is unavailable at this time, please try again later 
Maybe UPS should spend some of its billions of profits from last year into making the page they send through SMS mobile friendly and making sure their services are available 
For the money I'm paying I'd expect my package to be delivered in a golden carriage on a satin cushion, not this screw up
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The collection fee being more than the import taxes has also happened in Canada, though it seems to have improved lately. And if they sent you an SMS, there's no excuse for not having a mobile-friendly website. But what really pisses me off are sites that assume that everyone has a smartphone for 2FA. My US and Canadian banks have enough sense to offer a passcode by voice. But GitHub, for one, is clueless.
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Sounds like a classic mafia shake-down to me.
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Nah, I really expected this package from that exact company.
The amount also more or less checks out with what I expected.
Also, I'd expect a scammer to have a more professional website as to not raise suspicion 
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I order products from Japan all the time via Amazon, and I have never had to pay extra money outside of what I paid through Amazon.
Interesting that you have to pay an extra fee of any kind.
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Yeah, it's tax imposed by the Dutch government to anything not coming from EU countries.
Basically, when I order a product from outside the EU, I'm not paying VAT.
Likewise, when I'm shipping products outside the EU, I don't have to charge VAT and I don't have to pay it to my government.
That gives businesses from outside the EU, like America, but more importantly China, an unfair advantage over businesses from the EU, because they're 21% cheaper even without factoring in that those products are cheaper anyway (that's why it's mostly China, since you can find anything for cheap on Alibaba, while countries like the USA, England, Canada or Australia aren't necessarily cheaper + delivery times are a lot longer).
As a countermeasure the government is now taxing everything from outside the EU.
Got it first around two years ago, was pretty surprised*.
After that I didn't have to pay a couple of times, but now they've made it a law or some such**.
* Really not a scam, had to pay it at my local postal office.
** Still not a scam, I know they really did that and the payment requests come from the Dutch delivery services for packages I really expect.
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First imposed two years ago - sounds like a Brexit tax to me. The lead EU Brexit negotiator was from the Netherlands and he admitted publicly that his goal was to penalize the UK and turn them into an EU vassal state.
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The package is from Japan and it's a Dutch tax (afaik).
I have no idea how Brexit fits into this 
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I believe it is a EU directive/law - so not something the Dutch government decided on it's own.
At least AliExpress are on top of this and collect the tax when you order - so no extra fee and custom delays, just the tax which doesn't really matter for something so cheap that I am willing to buy it from China. 
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Correct. Everything from outside the EU, unless the vendor has already charged the TVA, will go through customs, which will cost an additional:
- TVA (based on destination country)
- custom charge if value+shipping exceeds 150€
- courier's handling costs (typ 15€) if the courier gets involved in advancing and handling these charges
Also the "no charge for anything below 22€" rule ended 01-JUL-2021.
Luc Pattyn [My Articles]
The Windows 11 "taskbar" is disgusting. It should be at the left of the screen, with real icons, with text, progress, etc. They downgraded my developer PC to a bloody iPhone.
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I hope you triple-checked the URL before giving them your payment details - this sounds like a typical "postage due" scam to me. 
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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Nah, I really expected this package from that exact company.
The amount also more or less checks out with what I expected.
Also, I'd expect a scammer to have a more professional website as to not raise suspicion 
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Yeah, that sounds scammy.
There's no reason the delivery service would charge that -- on the behalf of customs? The delivery service is just a middle-man.
But a bad site is a bad site.
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PIEBALDconsult wrote: The delivery service is just a middle-man.
The delivery service is the only one who knows my package is coming in, and from where, so they're charged with charging me.
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It is when the government tells you it is.
Just like my job isn't bookkeeping, yet the government wants me to have an administration.
Their job is to deliver packages and charge for any clearance costs and/or taxes.
And if I don't pay, they don't deliver and ultimately send it back.
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Sander Rossel wrote: The following UPS page is not at all optimized for mobile viewing. I have to put on my glasses, scroll left and right, zoom in and out, get a tiny finger transplant, you know the deal.
I never open web pages on my phone, but type the URL into my desktop PC browser.
This is of course a little cumbersome. Is there an app around that will take an SMS on my phone and forward it as an email to my ordinary (desktop PC) email address?
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trønderen wrote: Is there an app around that will take an SMS on my phone and forward it as an email to my ordinary (desktop PC) email address?
Copy/paste + e-mail app 
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Every SMS viewer I have had for the last 10+ years allows you to forward to multiple sources including emails.
You probably need an email client setup on your phone for that option to be available.
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flights from netherland to japan must be costly....................
Caveat Emptor.
"Progress doesn't come from early risers – progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things." Lazarus Long
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I am here and now! (14)
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Nowhere with this one
"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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It was the only "spare" I had ready - I posted the one I had for today, and realized that I needed one less "R" for the solution to work ... so I had to use this fairly unfair one.
Randor and / or Greg should find it fairly simple, though.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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