Truth in advertising...

[GG]

Well, However, like Matt says, this means they lied on the import documentation

As I told earlier I had the same experience with Utilikilts, regarding the price. And I didn't complain.

[Chas]

However, like Matt says, this means they lied on the import documentation

I find that hard, if not impossible to believe. Why would they do it? There is no financial benefit to them in any way, shape or form. In fact, they could be penalised by Customs and Excise, if they could not prove it was a genuine mistake.

We are talking about a very large company that deals with hundreds, if not thousands of exports every day. They have automated processes to deal with this. Labels are automatically generated, by the company's bespoke software. Export labels would not be hand written unless there was a major computer breakdown and even then I can't see that happening as these systems are self checking. People can't just go in and bypass parts of the process.

But - G I G O

Garbage In = Garbage Out

So if a product is mis-labeled at the start then the system won't know and will incorrectly label something. That is possible and believable.

The title of this thread is "Truth in advertising...", the very least we can do is not bandy about unsubstantiated and unproven accusations to the detriment of others.

Regards

Chas

[ForresterModern]

I find that hard, if not impossible to believe. Why would they do it? There is no financial benefit to them in any way, shape or form. In fact, they could be penalised by Customs and Excise, if they could not prove it was a genuine mistake.

We are talking about a very large company that deals with hundreds, if not thousands of exports every day. They have automated processes to deal with this. Labels are automatically generated, by the company's bespoke software. Export labels would not be hand written unless there was a major computer breakdown and even then I can't see that happening as these systems are self checking. People can't just go in and bypass parts of the process.

But - G I G O

Garbage In = Garbage Out

So if a product is mis-labeled at the start then the system won't know and will incorrectly label something. That is possible and believable.

The title of this thread is "Truth in advertising...", the very least we can do is not bandy about unsubstantiated and unproven accusations to the detriment of others.

Regards

Chas

Chas

Having recieved multiple different packages of multiple different valuations from multiple different oversees scottish clothing or materials vendors over the past few years, I can honestly say that I do not ever recollect recieving a package that did NOT have a handwritten Declaration of Value for customs purposes, and that I have never seen one that was computer generated, other than the general invoices themselves. That little sticker always has handwriting telling briefly what the item is supposed to be and what its value is supposed to be, albeit I can verify that what is written there is not always accurate, and when not it is usually undervalued and occasionally misrepresented as to actual contents. I think most of the companies do not ship that much oversees on a daily basis that they would install an automated system. I also think some vendors think they are "doing their customer a favor" by misrepresenting and undervaluing shipped items for customs duty purposes, in order to entice that customer to buy from them in the future, so they do have return business as a potential benefit to this action. And I figure that with the small sizes and relatively small valuations of those packages, it is unlikely that customs will really take a second look, so their "risk" in their eyes is minimal. It is not like they ship a full package container (those big truck sized shipping containers) of wool kilts oversees everyday mislabelled as PV kilts and undervalued by 80%, which might get the attention of a customs inspector.

I agree with Matt that these kinds of actions do tell a lot about the vendor's ethics and integrity. It is one thing to ship by Royal mails, knowing that a properly represented and valued package is more likely to slip through customs uncharged, instead of shipping by Fedex knowing that duty will be assessed along with a hefty handling charge. It is another to frankly and blatantly mislabel the contents of a package and grossly undervalue it, regardless of how you are shipping it. One is knowing the system's weaknesses and taking fortuitous advantage of it, and the other is just outright fraud. Some may see only a fine line between the two and understandably so.

jeff

[Chas]

Whatever