Import VAT charged at point of sale, and again on delivery

Hello

I live in England and regularly buy records from outside the UK so have to pay import VAT on these orders. The Import VAT is added to the cost of the record and shipping when ordering, so no problem, you know the full cost of the order including Import VAT and make the payment at the point of sale.

A record I bought recently didn't arrive, so I tracked it down to the local Post Office, where I was informed that they couldn't deliver the record until I paid the Import VAT. So I've now paid the Import VAT twice.

So, how can this happen? Why did I have to pay Import VAT twice? Is this the sellers fault? Discogs fault? Some other reason?

Cheers :)

It doesn't often happen when importing into the UK but it probably helps if the seller attaches the commercial receipt to the package.

There's a form you can fill out to claim it back - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-customs-dutyimport-vat-relating-to-imports-by-post-bor286

Ok thanks, I'll claim it back