Beware the hidden tax when shopping online

You are surfing the net for indulgences. You exult in the bargains to be found on American websites. Even with the postage the savings are irresistible and so you pay up.

But later, there is an unpleasant surprise in store when the courier tells you the parcel cannot be yours unless you pay up to £25. Your purchase is a bargain no more. The wail of frustration has reached us from numerous readers lately, all caught out by the pernicious penalty known as a customs clearance fee. This is levied by delivery companies when the item is valued at £18 or more (or £36 if it is a gift between private individuals) and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) raises duty or VAT on it.

Parcel Force, which requires £13.50 from recipients for express delivery items and £8 for the rest, explains that the charges reflect the costs involved in hauling a parcel through customs. "These include paying duty and taxes so that parcels can be released to us, dealing with the relevant paperwork and processing the payment collected from the customer," says a spokesman for Royal Mail.

Parcel Force's charges are modest compared to some of its rivals who charge up to £25 for customs clearance. And, while it is true that most of them clearly state their fees on their websites, it's the sender who selects the delivery company and the recipient, who ends up paying the extra, often has no idea that they will be liable at the other end of the transaction. "In an ideal world, all retailers would make all costs for which customers are liable very clear at the point of purchase," says a spokeswoman for the postal watchdog Postwatch. It advises that all we can do is study HMRC guidelines before ordering overseas and warn granny in Australia not to be too generous with her gifts in future.