The Journal Shop - buyer beware!

[adhoc]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to write about my experience with The Journal Shop. What they did to me is illegal, however there is no realistic chance of me achieving anything, so I at least wanted to spread a word of caution about them.

Due to Brexit, the way goods ordered from UK into mainland Europe go through customs has been changed. This is why I specifically wrote to them before making an order to check whether or not I will have to pay tax on import in addition to the tax they already charge;

"Hi,

how is it with VAT now post Brexit for orders to mainland Europe? My wife and I used to order quite a bit from you pre-Brexit, but now I'm unsure how things work.

Do I pay double tax? No tax on your site (if so, how do I shop without tax) and I'm taxed upon arrival to EU? Custom duties are now added either way, or?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Best regards"

To which they replied:

"Hi -,

​Thank you for your email.

I can confirm that for international orders there are no taxes applied upon the products but there may be customs fees to be paid in addition to the order total. These are calculated by the recipient Country based on the type of goods and their declared value, and are the customer's responsibility. If there are any commissions to be paid upon delivery, you will be contacted by the postal service in your country.
​
I hope this helps. Do not hesitate in contacting us if you need any further assistance.

Ticket: -
Kind Regards,

-
Customer Advisor"

When I received the package, I had to pay customs fees, which is fine, but I was also hit by VAT.

FEDEX importing agent sent me this as proof that they never declared VAT paid (I cropped some of the picture to protect my data).



I was sold items under false information. In addition to this, the package arrived mangled. Pic here shows the status of the package before opening it at all and FEDEX also has it marked as "mangled upon delivery" - you can also see this on the label "zmečkano" which translates to mangled in my language.



When I contacted them about it, they gave me a 15% coupon. When I told them that is unsatisfactory, they closed the ticket. They no longer wish to deal with me.

Buyer beware.

EDIT: I had to pay tax twice, sorry if this wasn't understandable from my post.