Anyone else had a nightmare returning goods to Europe recently?

I’m trying to return jeans to Edwin that don’t fit and have now had them returned to me 3 times for “service disruption”. UPS and Edwin blame Brexit related customs red tape and been very specific about what should go on the returns invoice, where it should be stuck on the parcel etc. This has all been done but nobody is even opening the document pocket before rejecting it so I’m at a loss what to do.

Has anyone had any success returning to Europe recently? Any tips? Is any courier better than another?

I work for a European based brand and have had lots of problems. DPD (who have traditionally been very good) managed to return my parcel to me around 3 months after sending it.

I did manage to send a shipment via parcelforce, there was a reasonably well structured set of forms to fill in, and I needed to provide a commercial invoice. It took a little longer than quoted but did eventually arrive.

I think there’s an element of luck, but my advice would be to use a courier that either directly operates in the country you are delivering to, or has a sister company there. The issues I’ve had often seem to come when one courier company is passing on deliveries to another separate company.

Ordering clothing from the EU which has a high chance of needing a return in this covid/brexit world seems like a pretty daft thing to do. Might settle in a year or two but there’s no way I’d do it right now.

Have you (or who ever is booking the shipment) submitted the invoices electronically to ups? I wouldn’t expect anyone to be opening the document pouch.

Is there a value declared on the invoice? (despite them being returns they have value)

Can only comment on stuff coming from UK to EU, nightmare. Stuff disappears into Madrid customs for ten days. Postie turns up asking for duty to be paid in cash only (of course no warning so no cash in the house). Plus, you don’t even know it’s coming from the UK, ordered some Vans from a “Spanish” website – despatched from UK according to DPD, now stuck in Madrid for a week and counting.

I’m not a big shopper, but all this is a pain so there’s a grand or so a year not going to the UK if I can help it.

We had a parcel posted in the UK with Hermes at the beginning of June disappear. Last weekend it turned up….. at the senders address!
I’d give any UK – EU post a miss until this Brexit bonus is sorted…

Has anyone had any success returning to Europe recently?

apparently a second referendum would have be undemocratic.

I live in Spain and there’s been huge problems with mail / parcels being sent from family back in the UK. Stuff turning up after months of waiting, stuff getting stuck in customs then returned without me being notified, stuff disappearing into the ether and never being seen again etc.

Everything was ok and worked fine before the Brexit transition date. Just saying.

I’ve got clothing from the island sitting in customs in Rotterdam right now. Been there since the 12th of July. Can’t see me ever seeing it at this rate, so I’m another in the ‘not buying anything from the island anymore’ camp…

From what my brother was saying, there were some VAT changes in July causing all packages he had sent to Europe to be returned even though they had been sent before that VAT date change. So anything sent around that date could still be in whatever limbo has been chosen!

The post brexit customs system is causing no end of problems shipping to our lab, some items take days, some months

Ordering clothing from the EU which has a high chance of needing a return in this covid/brexit world seems like a pretty daft thing to do.

Especially when there are shops in the UK that have good stock of Edwin jeans where you can even try them on. Fat Buddha in Glasgow had loads when I last went in.

Thanks to the majority of you that actually gave helpful replies, will see if anything can be done with electronic versions of the invoices.

Had to return our au pair.

Yep I sent a cassette back to bike-discount in July only for German customs to return it to me as ‘not collected’ – delivery wasn’t even attempted. Cost £14 to send it back.

Ive tried again, and tracking now says it’s stuck in the UK!! With delivery attempted the day after posting and it’s not even in Germany yet.

It took 2 months to come back last time – I’ll be claiming with royal mail at the end of this month if it’s not delivered this time.

One can only hope that some people who voted for brexit are actually experiencing these problems too 😡

One can only hope that some people who voted for brexit are actually experiencing these problems too 😡

Doubt it will make a difference, no doubt they’ll blame something else.

The United Kingdom of dunces.

Well I would think it would be obvious that the people who voted for Brexit will insist on buying within Britain so they won’t be affected.
Seems like the dunces are the ones ordering from abroad when it’ll obviously be more difficult. 🙄

Thanks to the majority of you that actually gave helpful replies

Ooh get you.

will insist on buying within Britain

Assuming that’s even an option. Which increasingly it will not be.