Behind The Story: Parcel fees and Andrew in legal action
· RTE.ieIn July this year, a €3 customs charge came into effect on goods bought online that originated outside the EU.
Now, Revenue has announced a new charge will be applied from 1 November - a 'union handling fee' of €2.
RTÉ’s Consumer Affairs Correspondent Aengus Cox explains how and why these charges have been introduced.
"You had a €3 charge in July, and now there is a €2 for non-EU purchases from November 1st, so it’s now €5 per item."
The charges are in response to a surge in people buying cheap goods from outside the EU. Low value consignments – that’s any package coming into the EU valued at under €150 – have surged from €660m in 2022, to €5.7bn last year.
If you’re thinking of ordering for Black Friday and Christmas, here’s how you could be affected.
"The companies themselves are responsible for collecting it…the issue is if you don’t get charged, then whatever companies that deliver the items, they will collect it…that’ll be an extra €7," he explained.
Shoppers who buy multiple items online with the intention of returning some of them should note the charges will not be refunded when something is returned.
Andrew challenges Royal search
Meanwhile, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is taking legal action against Thames Valley Police over his arrest in February.
The younger brother of Britain’s King Charles has gone to court to challenge the warrants police obtained to search two properties following his arrest in February.
Jack Royston Chief Royal Correspondent for Newsweek explains how Mountbatten-Windsor lost his titles as Prince and Duke of York over his connections to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
After he was dramatically arrested in February, police searched his new residence in Sandringham and his former residence at Royal Lodge in Windsor.
"The police searched both those addresses while he was under arrest".
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