DHL claiming money we don't owe and never have

[IHateDHL]

I pay the invoices for a large exhibition venue and we keep receiving DHL invoices for goods couriered to venue for third parties who are exhibiting or using the exhibition centre. We are not involved shipping goods to the exhibition centre and we have no contract, relationship or account with DHL, but they take the delivery address and assume that we are the company that has ordered the goods to be couriered.

DHL has been told repeatedly over the last eighteen months that the venue is not a recipient of these goods and has not asked for them to be shipped. We provide the exhibition space including set-up and take-down and associated facilities, and we bill the exhibitors for this. Goods are shipped, by exhibitors or their suppliers, for the purposes of the exhibitions that our space is used for and presumably are shipped back to the point of origin - we are not beneficiary of these shipments in any way and we have no relationship or contract with DHL – I have told them that we do not have them set up as a supplier and that we have no purchase orders or record of payment.

Each time I receive an invoice I tell them all this, it all goes quiet and then a couple of months later I get a letter before action from their tame debt collector and I go through the whole rigmarole again.

Is there any way to get through to these clowns? We have a legal firm, but my manager doesn’t want to involve them because that costs money. At the moment all it is costing is massive irritation. The last invoice I received today clearly showed who had ordered the goods and who she works for, so I did the research and sent it to DHL telling them who they should be chasing on this occasion. I have threatened that the next invoice will provoke escalation as high as I can – has anyone a) any ideas who this should be and b) how to get this whole performance to stop?

Many thanks.

[MIKE770]

How much is import tax UK?
If you buy goods online from outside the EU for delivery to the UK, you'll have to payCustoms Duty (if over £120 value) and Import VAT (if over £18) on top of the purchase price (including duties), though Customs Duty is waived if the amount of the calculated duty payable is £7 or less. but if your clients knowledge of regulations????

[Amethyst]

I pay the invoices for a large exhibition venue and we keep receiving DHL invoices for goods couriered to venue for third parties who are exhibiting or using the exhibition centre. We are not involved shipping goods to the exhibition centre and we have no contract, relationship or account with DHL, but they take the delivery address and assume that we are the company that has ordered the goods to be couriered.

DHL has been told repeatedly over the last eighteen months that the venue is not a recipient of these goods and has not asked for them to be shipped. We provide the exhibition space including set-up and take-down and associated facilities, and we bill the exhibitors for this. Goods are shipped, by exhibitors or their suppliers, for the purposes of the exhibitions that our space is used for and presumably are shipped back to the point of origin - we are not beneficiary of these shipments in any way and we have no relationship or contract with DHL – I have told them that we do not have them set up as a supplier and that we have no purchase orders or record of payment.

Each time I receive an invoice I tell them all this, it all goes quiet and then a couple of months later I get a letter before action from their tame debt collector and I go through the whole rigmarole again.

Is there any way to get through to these clowns? We have a legal firm, but my manager doesn’t want to involve them because that costs money. At the moment all it is costing is massive irritation. The last invoice I received today clearly showed who had ordered the goods and who she works for, so I did the research and sent it to DHL telling them who they should be chasing on this occasion. I have threatened that the next invoice will provoke escalation as high as I can – has anyone a) any ideas who this should be and b) how to get this whole performance to stop?

Many thanks.

Have you discussed the issue with the clients who are having deliveries made to your exhibition space at all? It sounds like DHL have an issue with the ordering process that they are using the delivery and collection address instead of the billing address. So it may be their process is poor or it could be certain clients complete the orders incorrectly and tick billing address is same as delivery address?

Presumably as well as responding to DHL you are forwarding the invoices to the clients?