Moving personal goods to Spain for a holiday - Page 2

Hi just to clarify a few points raised, a family member has recently moved personal goods from the UK to Spain to a holiday home are won't be residents any time soon, we used a transport company for our move pre Brexit and can say it makes sense to leave it to the guys that do this on a weekly basis.

They had to complete a Customs declaration to export from the UK and an import declaration on entry to Spain costs were £250.00 approx. Also IVA@21% based on the inventory values as requested by customs agents for the transport, if you are not  residencia in the destination country you are exporting/ importing items even though they are your personal belongings tax is liable for the transport. This is for entering Spain or the UK post Brexit, incidentally they did the transport themselves via car and it make no difference between private Import or via a transport company, a lot of paperwork and stress as Customs clearance can take 5 or 6 days before you travel to be confirmed.

Use a transport company as the hoops you jump through would try the patience of a saint

Hope this helps and good luck Ian.

That's interesting that you had to do customs declarations pre Brexit, so I am assuming they were not Uk residents or even EU residents as we didn't need to do anything pre Brexit at all. I,d be very happy to pay for the customs side of the process but not one haulier offered this service as we were not using their transport. 

I,d be grateful for the Companies' details so we can get ready for our next visit. 

Maybe we can get one step closer. Having ready Spain,s govt transporting goods it states by sea or flight there is a €380 duty free allowance (though it reduces to €330 if travelling by road) which could almost cover items in a car if items are realistically valued as 2nd hand, but we have furniture and large items too so bought a van just for this purpose. Its very degrading to consider 2nd home owners as tourists especially if they live 180 days in Spain(2x90) which is 5 days less than primary residence, but still have to pay 365 days worth of maintenance every year. 

I look forward to obtaining a Company to assist us without shoving their transportation service down our throats. 

Regards 

Pauline 

Hi Pauline

The goods we brought over pre Brexit did not require Custom clearance declarations, sorry for the misunderstanding. I think you may struggle to find a transport company who would offer you a route to entry by supplying there contacts within the Customs clearance declarations sector, and therefore offering potential clients a way to bypass there business, that does not make good business sense from there perspective. In regards to the amount of work involved in gaining Customs declarations. I personally would argue that a company that can take away all the tooing and froing and getting my belongings here with a minimum of fuss outweighs the savings.

If you need the company we have used many times from the UK to Spain let me know and I'll send you on the details

Hi Ian I’d be grateful for the company names too please. 

Hi Ian

Have to admit still confused as your initial reply stated your relative drove their belongings by car and the transport company assisted by supplying the customs declarations charging £250, but now stating we will have difficulty finding any company to provide the service. I have already found companies not wanting to assist without doing the transportation themselves, but as we bought the van to do this I am loathe to pay thousands of pounds for their service. I, m sure there has to be many more individuals who also want to do the same and there must be a way forward. Please let me have the details of the company you have used and recommend assuming this same company supplied the customs declarations for your relative and I,ll contact them. 

Regards 

Pauline 

Hi Pauline

The company was Got Transport Services based in Sax and they have a Facebook page as well 

Oh my days it’s crazy how much it costs for removals. For one standard 3 piece suite (goes by cubic metre) £690 (approximately)!!!! 

I need to get some more quotes. Just never realised how expensive it would be!

Bear in mind you get what you pay for, if you compare prices and 1 seems very cheap chances are no insurance, or even just a man with a van ( no offense but you're best with a removal firm with an idea what's what) and if you get your items underquoted and on the day the van isn't big enough what then? at least the bigger firms have a better idea of what's required.Better to pay a price to get it all over in 1 piece at the same time. I'm sure we paid around £5k for our 3 bed home to to transported from Birmingham area a few years ago and those guys were absolutely brilliant and took a whole lot of stress from me as they had everything arranged and nothing was a problem

Good luck Ian

Oh I completely agree! We’ve looked into doing it ourselves and we never realised just how expensive just the ferry crossing would be, never mind van hire etc. etc. Plus the stress of it all. Sorry I wasn’t saying the companies are expensive more a statement of how much it’s going to end up costing. I agree I think around £5k! I have far too much beautiful stuff to leave behind.  I’ll just have to be very sensible about what we take and what we leave behind!

On top of that still trying to get a definitive answer to the whole 21% tax question! The consulate in Manchester are unbelievably so unhelpful.

We paid £5k in 2007 for 4ton of belongings so 14 yrs later price hasn't risen much. However I know price after Brexit compared to prior has risen a lot due to the extra paperwork. Some companies are adding up to an extra £500. Brittany ferries are expensive but don't think with tolls, fuel and overnight stops in France and possibly 1 in North Spain there's a huge differrence but so much easier. I have a membership code for anyone interested, 10% off the fare and it all helps. 

My hubby bought a van so no hiring charge for one cos he knew it would take several loads at least. In fact we, ve done 2 loads and barely halfway through. The reason we are moving items is because we were ransacked in 2008, everything stolen, fight lasting 2yrs with insurance Co. and refusal to pay out. We lost approx £15k of belongings and we replaced everything in Uk cos we had no faith it wouldn't happen again. Problem is it took a lot of time and my UK home is too full of stuff to allow us to refurb and sell. I refused to send stuff over until we had replaced it all and became anxious about the transport so hubby bought a van to allow me to feel more comfortable. Now this Brexit lark causing more problems, and if we need to pay iva and import duties that will be the straw breaking camels back. We won't pay it, we,ll have to sell it all and do without. I noted your statement"I, ve too many nice things to leave behind" that's exactly how I felt 14yrs ago and again now but I,m not paying over the top in charges. I am awaiting a reply re an email I sent to London Consulate. I think if you can show proof of ownership of a Spanish home whether full time resident or part time then it should be exempt, just another way 2nd homeowners are made to feel inferior. 

With all the costs for us, ie van tax(£280) mot, insurance with international breakdown, fuel and ferry cost I, m sure we are not saving much from getting a company to do it, but mentally I have become territorial over my belongings( blame the trauma of losing everything) btw I do mean "everything". Now we are closer to travelling to Spain I, m hopeful we will receive more info from people's experiences, particularly non residents. 

Regards 

Pauline