Jason P

Up until now I have tried to use Hattons as they are VAT registered in EU (I live in Spain) and receiving goods from them was as before Brexit. Now that Hattons are closing does anyone know of an alternative supplier that is VAT registered in EU? Kernow and Rails of Sheffield both deduct UK VAT before sending. The problem with that in Spain that as well as paying the VAT owed (I have no problem with this!) I'm also hit with an administration fee by Spanish customs, not to mention the complicated way I have to pay the courier before they'll release the goods.

Contacted Hattons who confirmed I should not have been charged by the Spanish authorities as they are VAT registered in Spain and have processed a refund of the additional charges. Likewise, very happy with the service from Hattons. I have something on pre-order from Kernow...see how that goes!

Well after some time waiting for some Peco items to come into stock I've finally received my order from Hattons. Total value just over £100 and VAT paid as Hattons are registered in Spain. Used Royal Mail signed for. On arrival had to pay 21,34€ which was 2,31€ VAT import charge, the remainder being admin charges. So all in all I've paid around £26 post and charges on an order of £100 - joy!

That appears to be correct (150€). The following link from the Royal Mail explains: https://www.royalmail.com/business/international/guide/delivered-duties-paid

That's great...all slowly starting to make a little more sense! Yes, I was talking about Hattons - missed that section on their website. Suspect it will all settle down in the fullness of time (hopefully!)

Thank you very much for your feedback, much appreciated.

Hi, I've read with interest the posts on this thread. I thought I would share my experience and perhaps someone could shed some light! I live in Spain and currently have two pre-orders from two different UK model retailers. The first is for some track and DCC decoders and value is approx 100GBP and UK VAT has been charged (they inform me they are VAT registered here in Spain). The other, from a different retailer, is for a 4 car unit plus two decoders (value 300GBP) and UK VAT has NOT been charged. I have contacted each but am still none the wiser if I will have to pay import and customs charges (and more importantly how I do that and how much!). The unit is definitely manufactured in China and I suspect some of the other items are too. Reading the horror stories of large customs bills for overseas customers I am tempted just to cancel the orders. Any ideas?!

I have a question about the roofboards. It appears that in the '60s only one roofboard was carried, I assume this was "Brighton Belle" as opposed to "Victoria-Brighton"? Looking at various photos the single roofboard appears to be carried in either the left or right-hand position as per photos in previous posts. Was the position purely random?