I am currently in the process of having a bad experience using the global delivery service UPS sending items from the UK to China.

The items in question were 11 pieces of baby clothing (baby grows, bibs, socks, shoes etc.) with a value of about 500RMB (£50) that my sister had bought for my newly born son. On arrival in China the UPS branch in Shanghai sent me an email asking me to confirm several details and send them some information including details from my passport (info page, residence permit and exit and entry stamps for the last year) as well as a letter that could be used by them to help wave any duty.

Having sent the information above, the branch in Shanghai then contacted me again to tell me that the electronic copies of the above information weren’t clear. I found this hard to believe as I have used the digital copies of my info page and residence permit many times when doing things like applying for visas, etc. without any problems. Granted there was a problem reading an exit stamp from Macau (a one day holiday I had earlier in the year) but this was due to the poor quality of the stamp and lack of ink used at the time. Still, I re-copied the documents and sent them back.

The branch then contacted me again to inform me that I should pay 40% import duty on the item. At this point I began to lose my temper and argued (in Chinese) with the girl on the other end of the phone that this seemed far too high for a small, relatively cheap gift. We finished our ‘conversation’ with me having left her in no doubt that I was unhappy about the service to date. A few minutes later she called back to say that they could lower the duty to 20%! I asked why she had just told me that it was 40%? Surely the rate of duty that you pay on an item in these circumstances is non-negotiable. She wouldn’t/couldn’t answer me so I asked to speak to her manager at which point she hung up the phone. My package is still sitting in the UPS Shanghai branch.................

My advice to people or their families sending packages from the UK to China would be to use the Royal Mail. The UPS service was very quick in regards the package leaving the UK and arriving in Shanghai (about 36hours) but it has now been a week of wasted time and effort trying to get it from the branch/customs in Shanghai. This is the first and last time I will use the UPS service. Every other time I have sent or had something sent from the UK using the Royal Mail it has arrived within two weeks and I have not had to go through any of the issues detailed above. I have no idea what the correct amount of duty if any should be paid on such a package but in the past I have sent or had sent to me larger packages of greater value that I was not asked to pay any duty on, again this was all done via the Royal Mail. At this point i'd be happy to pay the duty just so that i could get the gifts that my friends and family bought for my baby but they don't even seem to be willing to make that an easy process. As per usual in China, information has been leaked to me over a series of emails and generally only when i've asked or chased them for it rather than them providing the details upfront.