Tags
Asos, Camden Market London, checkered shirt, Havaianas Brasil, Jane Norman, October Origin, plaids, stud ring, ThePopLook
Edited: 17th August 2011. I finally got my 1st Asos package (with no need to pay customs). It was at the Post Mail HQ where international stuff gets sent to. Weird thing is the note they dropped off at my home was dated 3rd August! Someone must have forgotten to pop it into the mailbox the first time round. Now I’m waiting for my 2nd Asos package (I actually called the lady Ika and emailed her back saying I will pay customs upon delivery ONLY). It better come!
4pm: My 2nd ASOS package arrived at my doorstep (sent by SKYNET WORLDWIDE/DPEX WORLDWIDE) and the deliverer said I opted for paying custom upon delivery. Anyway, it then looked pretty legit. I asked why I was being taxed and he said well your name+address is in the system, and the first few international packages are overlooked. But after that, they will tax because it looks like I am “importing”. 
Anyway, I’m pretty happy with my items to not really cause a big fuss. As long as it arrived safely. (Also, this package/box was rather big so I don’t know if this contributed to the tax?)
Next time though…the man has told me to ship it to Brunei as there’s no tax (really?!) or I’ll just get it shipped in UK (as I may be heading back). I hope the rest of those who have had similar experiences pop a comment below!
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This is a day late, yesterday’s course of events had made me very annoyed:
I don’t know if you have ever been scammed before but I think I was – and I nearly paid for it! I have 2 packages from Asos which is due to arrive within this week and the next. I realised that packages arrive in Malaysia within 3-5 days and it’s basically stuck in Customs for another week before it is released to the receiver. However yesterday some lady called “Ika” from “DPEX” rang me up to ask if my email was so-and-so, so I said yes, she then proceeded to say she’ll email me to pay for tax charges over my parcel. When I opened the excel sheet, I saw details of other people of their ‘charges’ in 2010! There were a few discrepancies as well, even the number and dates were wrong! The excel sheet had it written down that I needed to pay to a certain bank account number (Public Bank) online. Suspicious?
Minty (thank God!) told me to check further as Customs is governmental so why does money need to be banked into a public bank account?
It was all very dodgy as it was not explained to me why I was being taxed. So I dropped by the main Post Office which deals with international posts and the helpful man said it sounds like it’s fake as I have to pay AT the Customs counter in town, when I pick up my parcel! Not online or bank transfer!
Sadly even Asos doesn’t know what “barcode” number I am talking about (which the local Post will need to be able to track if there’s any illegal doing) so Minty has advised me to wait for the due date the packages are to arrive. However if the taxing is real and therefore the packages don’t arrive, it will get sent back to Asos hopefully to be refunded. Well, at least worldwide shipping is free!
Good thing Minty was right in saying: No don’t pay up!!
I guess because I was in such a hurry to go out and had to endure this horrible scamming (which I’m quite sure it is), my mind wasn’t properly working and therefore it looks like I went out mismatched.
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No? I’ll give you a hint. It’s the bag. Or the plaid shirt. Or the fact that it’s together?
Denim zipper skirt – Jane Norman
This skirt is one of my firm favourites. Why? Got it on sale and the zipper actually unzips the whole way through it! Sexay? Totally.
Plaid shirt in blue – ThePopLook; Friendship & jade bracelets – thrifted & gifted
Gotta love ‘Pearl Milk Tea’. No it’s not your Earl Grey Tea sort. This is 100% better with these jelly ‘pearls’! Maybe I’m bias?
Well…I am Asian. And we love our pearl milk tea.
Beaded cotton print bag – thrifted from Camden Market, London
Here’s the bag that makes the outfit look mismatched! It’s a gold-beaded thick cotton print bag I picked up while shopping in Camden Market, London. It only cost me £10! What a steal!
Havaianas Brasil in Purple – Havaianas
It was raining outside later in the day (thank goodness!), so what better footwear than Havaianas? Comfortable and dries quickly!
I am an avid fan of Havaianas so much so that my dream when I was young was to be the CEO of the company one day and have a project of “Give Havaianas” to unfortunate people in the interior as these comfy flipflops last much longer than their RM5.00 ones which fall apart after a few hard days of walking Well…maybe one day that dream will come true.
Okay I’ll end this post with a hit for scammers out there:
Two-finger stud ring – October Origin
♥ P E A C H E S
Hi gurl
That lady called and emailed me as well! I told her I will only pay the duty upon receiving the parcel. I am still waiting for the parcel.
Hi G! Looks like you received the same thing as I did! I actually emailed the lady back yesterday to let me know more details of the package but she has not replied yet. I think that duty customs should not be paid online…even more so to a local bank account!
Where is your package coming in from and when is it due to arrive? Mine is due to arrive before or on next Monday (as said on Asos). I will wait until then. I trust the man at the Post Office (International Mail) when he says you pay customs at the counter to pick up your package – not before it gets sent! Do let me know on your progress!
Peaches
xx
Hey
She said they will clear the duty in advance and I’ll have to pay upon receiving the parcel. According to the tracking status, I ordered from ASOS on 12/7 and it was stucked at the custom since 16/07. Will let you know if they deliver tomorrow.
Hmm usually packages from Asos get stuck in Customs when it arrives in Malaysia for a few days before it gets shipped out. Sounds very dodgy (I’ve never been taxed for Asos packages before this) to me. Hopefully it arrives tomorrow!
Peaches
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I was googled “Malaysia” “ASOS” “Dpex” and found your blog! Glad to know someone went through the same thing I’m going through now. This IKA person called me as well. All seems really dodgy, but your updated entry suggests that it’s legit right? I find it weird that the email she used was gmail and not dpex. Strange indeed.
Hi Gabby! Yes, it’s the first time I’ve experienced this sort of thing and I really thought it was dodgy – until the postman arrived (mind you, it wasn’t the local postman but an independent courier called Skynet Worldwide/Dpex Worldwide) and told me that I had requested to pay upon delivery.
Nevertheless…I think next time I’ll be sending my parcels to a different name and address to see if the package will get taxed!
Yes, it’s weird that the email was gmail. But she did print out my email msg stating I will pay upon delivery and stuck it with the Asos receipt/inventory outside my package.
I hope yours comes okay, I was very glad my items all came in one piece!
Peaches
xx
I received a call like yours too saying that I had to pay tax duty. I asked the caller how to make payment, and he said i would be able to pay upon delivery. However, he will email me the documents. An email from a dpex address was in my mailbox. They gave me a Public bank account number too. Im not sure whether to bank in. Im tempted too though, just to get it release immediately. Thought i google up for similar cases and found you.
What I did was I paid upon delivery, so have exact change! Apparently if you buy in a large amount this tax duty is imposed. My advise for next time? Get it delivered to different names or different address and in smaller quantities!