# Amazon price inflation on checkout



## Carnmore (21 Dec 2016)

I am a regular Amazon purchaser. Each time I proceed to checkout the basket subtotal price inflates. I have notified Amazon and they are claiming it is due to the higher VAT rate in the Republic of Ireland.

 I do not accept this as the applicable VAT rate is that of the country where the sale is transacted. The price inflation is also in excess of the 3% VAT differential between the UK and ROI. 

My most recent order inflated from £68.90GBP to £72.53GBP at checkout. This issue occurs with each and every transaction. I am seeking a refund of the price differential for this and all previous transactions.

Has anyone had this issue with Amazon and resolved it?


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## mathepac (21 Dec 2016)

I've never noticed this, but I buy using my Parcel Motel or my An Post UK addresses. I then pay Parcel Motel or An Post €3.50 for their fee upon delivery to their collection point here.

In the example you quote the difference -20% + 23% should be £1.72. Puzzling.


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## odyssey06 (21 Dec 2016)

The applicable VAT rate for an Amazon.co.uk delivery with a delivery address in the Republic of Ireland is that of the Republic, not the UK:


In fact the VAT you pay goes to the Irish government not the UK.
If you use a Parcel Motel \ Address Pal type third party with a UK delivery address, you will pay UK VAT and it will go to the UK government.

So the question is whether the Irish VAT rate has been applied correctly as per:
_The Recommended Retail Price (RRP) and/or price displayed for goods sold by Amazon are inclusive of UK VAT. However, your final price may differ depending on the actual VAT rate that applies to your order. For orders to other EU countries, the UK VAT amount will be deducted from the price and the applicable VAT rate for the destination country will be added. Your final price during checkout will reflect the correct VAT rate for the destination country of your order._


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## newirishman (21 Dec 2016)

Not just VAT (which is exactly as odyssey06 describes) changes, but usually the porto&packaging changes as well potentially at that point.

There's absolutely no case to be made against Amazon. They are very much correct on how they apply the VAT rules.


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## tallpaul (22 Dec 2016)

The amount of recent Amazon bashing on this site lately is unreal. It is also mainly from people who simply cannot read what is in front of them; be it terms and conditions or the FAQ's. Yes Amazon has a poor reputation when it comes to paying its taxes but as far as customer service goes, it is pretty much exemplary. I consistently read comments where they have gone above and beyond what many other companies of their size would do to remedy customer issues.

This case of different prices when an Irish address is selected is very basic at this stage. I would suggest that if the OP got out his calculator and worked out the final price applying the Irish VAT rate, the Amazon price will be correct to the penny. Interestingly I see that the OP also posted his rant on Boards and was told in (naturally) more frank terms that he hadn't a clue of what he was ranting about!!

The main thing to ensure when buying on the UK Amazon site is to ALWAYS pay in sterling.


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## Jim2007 (22 Dec 2016)

tallpaul said:


> The amount of recent Amazon bashing on this site lately is unreal.



It's the next evolution in popularism!  If I hear it or think it, that trumps facts!

It's like another example I can a cross of a customer demand a refund from Lufthansa on a no refundable ticket... her position since she cancelled the day before the flight it must count for something!  After about 10 posts she went off in a huff with the statement - people on this forum are too stupid to understand!


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## Carnmore (22 Dec 2016)

Jim2007 said:


> It's the next evolution in popularism!



*populism



Jim2007 said:


> people on this forum are too stupid to understand!



The irony.


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## Carnmore (22 Dec 2016)

tallpaul said:


> The amount of recent Amazon bashing on this site lately is unreal. It is also mainly from people who simply cannot read what is in front of them; be it terms and conditions or the FAQ's.



The inflated price is inexplicable - a simple onscreen notification would not be difficult to provide




tallpaul said:


> Yes Amazon has a poor reputation when it comes to paying its taxes but as far as customer service goes, it is pretty much exemplary. I consistently read comments where they have gone above and beyond what many other companies of their size would do to remedy customer issues.



Who said anything about their customer service?



tallpaul said:


> I would suggest that if the OP got out his calculator and worked out the final price applying the Irish VAT rate, the Amazon price will be correct to the penny



The figures are provided for you to have done this; 68.90 / 1.20 = 57.42 x 1.23 = £70.62.

The amount charged was £72.53



tallpaul said:


> Interestingly I see that the OP also posted his rant on Boards and was told in (naturally) more frank terms that he hadn't a clue of what he was ranting about!!



Speaking of not having a clue, who posted a rant?



tallpaul said:


> The main thing to ensure when buying on the UK Amazon site is to ALWAYS pay in sterling



GBP means sterling


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## mathepac (22 Dec 2016)

tallpaul said:


> The main thing to ensure when buying on the UK Amazon site is to ALWAYS pay in sterling.


Yeah, good point. I've always done that by default, just forgot to mention it.


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## mathepac (22 Dec 2016)

I cannot explain the price differences. Even if Amazon used the (very) old UK VAT rate of 17.5% in their calculation, it doesn't explain the difference.

If their UK calculations are correct, 20% VAT rate, that means the VAT-free price is £57.42, adding 23% to this price should give £70.63 as the "23% VAT inclusive shipped to an Irish address" price. Shipping is always charged on a different line by Amazon.

So either

Amazon's sums are wrong - shock horror, the world might end!
They have a different RRP for goods sold to Ireland
Some goods are VAT exempt in the UK but not in Ireland (??)
Some other reason.

In the EU Amazon must provide an invoice which shows pre and post VAT pricing. What does it show? @Carnmore


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## newirishman (22 Dec 2016)

mathepac said:


> I cannot explain the price differences. Even if Amazon used the (very) old UK VAT rate of 17.5% in their calculation, it doesn't explain the difference.
> 
> If their UK calculations are correct, 20% VAT rate, that means the VAT-free price is £57.42, adding 23% to this price should give £70.63 as the "23% VAT inclusive shipped to an Irish address" price. Shipping is always charged on a different line by Amazon.
> 
> ...



Not all items have the same VAT rate, and so your example calculation on its own does not explain anything.
There are no RRP differences, any difference I have encountered so far are solely due to VAT or P&P. 

Given I haven't ordered everything possible, there is of course a risk however small.


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## peemac (22 Dec 2016)

To "demand"  a refund is just ridiculous and will be seen as such by Amazon.

Its best to understand an issue fully and have verifiable facts before "demanding"  something from someone.

You do understand that the UK has a different vat rate to Ireland and different items have different rates?

To "demand" a refund you need to find out the vat rate in uk for each item you bought and vat rate in Ireland for each item.

In Ireland you have 0%, 9%, 13.5% & 23% rates. In uk you have 0% 5% and 20%.

If your purchase included a comic book, the rate of that item is 0% uk and 9% Ireland. 

So best to understand the difference than to "demand"  a refund that is not due.


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## amtc (23 Dec 2016)

Just to be pedantic there is also a 4.4% VAT rate in Ireland


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## vandriver (25 Dec 2016)

amtc said:


> Just to be pedantic there is also a 4.4% VAT rate in Ireland


Pedantry needs accuracy.Its 4.8%.For livestock.Which Amazon don't sell.


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## amtc (25 Dec 2016)

4.4% for greyhounds...


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## vandriver (27 Dec 2016)

No,it's 9% for the supply of greyhounds.
Here's a handy leaflet
http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vat/leaflets/horses.html


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## postman pat (27 Dec 2016)

mathepac said:


> Yeah, good point. I've always done that by default, just forgot to mention it.


When i pay in Amazon, it converts to euro automatically, is this normal?


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## vandriver (27 Dec 2016)

postman pat said:


> When i pay in Amazon, it converts to euro automatically, is this normal?


It's a setting.You can change it.


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## Eithneangela (28 Dec 2016)

postman pat said:


> When i pay in Amazon, it converts to euro automatically, is this normal?


Just select GBP when you are about to finalise the order. There is an option to pay in either € or £.


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## postman pat (28 Dec 2016)

aah ok,got it now..and my own credit card does the conversion.


Thanks all round


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## mathepac (28 Dec 2016)

Just watch that the advance payment, when the transaction is 'pending', will be different to the amount eventually debited. The actual debit will always, IME, be a few cent dearer.


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## hfp (29 Dec 2016)

I would assume that the higher difference in price than expected would be due to the fact that there will be a currency conversion involved in paying the Irish tax - it's not as straightforward as saying that the exact amount charged should be purchase price divided by 1.2 and then multiplied by 1.23, as it then has to be converted to Euro to actually pay the tax, which will incur additional expense for the retailer.

As previous posters have pointed out retailers tend to charge more if they are doing the conversion than if it is being done by the card provider so I don't see why it would be any different here.


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