Custom charges UK to Spain - buyer not paying them.

[dusteppe]

Hi! I have sold an used item valued at 106£ GBP (inc shipping) from UK to a buyer in Spain. They got charged 40,40e in VAT and customs fees and have decided not to pay. They contacted me to tell me they did not pay as this was "unplanned money". I am not a regular seller and only send to Europe occasionally, never to Spain. I am surprised that the buyer doesn't know that there could be customs when buying from outside the EU and I am worried he might decide to make a claim and I will be out of pocket and also lose the item. What's the general approach in this situation?

[PayPal_JonK]

Hello @dusteppe, 

Welcome to the PayPal Community! I'm sorry to hear your buyer is not willing to pay the VAT and Customs Fees associated with your sale. If your buyer opens a claim through PayPal on this item, it's likely they will not be awarded a refund through us. A recipient is responsible for paying any of the country’s customs fees or taxes and is responsible for items that can’t be received in the country. However, they may receive a different reply if they file a charge through their external funding source. 

I might recommend reaching out to your shipping company to see if the option to get your item back is available.

Good luck with this and future sales, 

 - Jon K