Saxophones US sax purchase from overseas - Has anyone had to supply DHL with their SSN?

[iiVb9I]

Has anyone had to supply DHL with their SSN along with other personal info after purchasing a sax from Sax Shop, and well into the delivery cycle? I purchased a Trevor James RAW at the end of 2024. It was shipped via DHL on jan 2, and than on Jan 7 I get a notice from Sax Shop UK that I 'may' get a request for a tax ID and proof of ID. I did indeed get that request from DHL just today for SSN and other personal info (phone no, email, address as posted on tax docs etc) and via an internet form, I'm assuming before it can be released by customs. Here in the US we're constantly reminded to be vigilant and not respond to requests on the internet. Needless to say, I might return horn to sender. I've had a brush with identity theft in the past and if I thought I would have to give out my SSN when purchasing something whether Amazon or Sax Shop UK I would've not made this purchase.

From what I've read from some other forums, Customs requires this for anything over $2500.

Just wondering about other people's experiences.

 

[ghostler]

Almost sounds like info I had to supply to ship our personal things from Japan to US roughly 15 years ago.

You could contact U.S. Customs, perhaps even US Post Office or check their web for info. The fact the company you purchased from flagged you ahead of time may indicate that this is legitimate. May be a customs requirement.

Good luck, maybe someone else may chime in.

 

[Pete Thomas]

The scammers phishing for ids do indeed try this on as more more these days they get lucky and the email arrives with someone who is expecting a parcel. I would ask DHL themselves (and obviously not by replying to that email).

It may not be foolproof but to check for an obvious scam I always look at the raw source code of the email for a suspicious “from” email address and domain.

 

[Pete Thomas]

From what I've read from some other forums, Customs requires this for anything over $2500.

Looks legit

CBP Customer Service

It would seem this is not confined to imports from UK, but a US CPB requirement on any import over $2500 from anywhere.

However due to it being legit, it’s an obvious thing for scammers to operate on the back of.

 

[mizmar]

good to be cautious.
I'd suggest - at least, what I do is - contact the sax shop / DHL directly via their customer contact to cross check.

Better to sit on the phone on hold while you get passed around, than call a boiler room scam.

Almost two decades ago I got a text from my bank asking to contact fraud people via a given phone number - calling main contact number it turned out to be legit; but i filed a complaint that they should never send phone numbers, email addresses or links because every legitimate example opens the door to scammers. And here we are.

 

[Jules]

Its absolutely legit- pretty much any sax over about $2000 value triggers this request from US customs. We ship a lot of horns stateside and this issue comes up weekly

 

[Pete Thomas]

Its absolutely legit- pretty much any sax over about $2000 value triggers this request from US customs. We ship a lot of horns stateside and this issue comes up weekly

I think that answers the question (Jules works at sax.co.uk, probably the biggest UK saxophone retailer). In the interest of other members finding this information I'll mark that as the answer to the question and edit the title to reflect the fact it isn't just the UK, it's a US customs import thing.

However that isn't to say it definitely is not something that scammers might try on so I'd still follow the advice above of checking with the carrier and inspecting the email code.

 

[iiVb9I]

Yeah, I already emailed sax.co.uk about this. Hope to hear from them today. A little disturbed that it wasn't mentioned before purchase, but well after it was shipped. It's probably legit, but considering the weirdness of it and that I get things from banks, the government, DMV, my IRAs etc all the time to be highly suspicious of anyone requesting information over the internet, not to mention the suspected malware and vulnerabilities on my own computer broadcast by mainstream media, it seems this should be mentioned ahead of time.

My other question that probably cannot be addressed here, is why an SSN? Why at all? Why do they need to know the identity of a buyer? Tax reasons?

 

[turf3]

Well, I'm glad I found this out; I surely won't be buying any saxophone for over $2000 from overseas! Is the $2000 a fixed amount? Does it vary with the type of merchandise? (I see a note above that it's actually $2500 and required for any importation.)

I don't have trouble supplying the Customs service with my SSN, but I do have trouble with sending it to some shipper, and I'm absolutely NOT going to send it via some internet form. Name and SSN are the gateway to pretty much every aspect of a person's life.

 

[iiVb9I]

Well, I'm glad I found this out; I surely won't be buying any saxophone for over $2000 from overseas! Is the $2000 a fixed amount? Does it vary with the type of merchandise? (I see a note above that it's actually $2500 and required for any importation.)

I don't have trouble supplying the Customs service with my SSN, but I do have trouble with sending it to some shipper, and I'm absolutely NOT going to send it via some internet form. Name and SSN are the gateway to pretty much every aspect of a person's life.

I have the same issue with supplying a mail carrier my personal info, and on an internet form to boot. I wouldn't give it to sax.co.uk either. Not that they have anything but honest intents, but I just got an email from one of the largest financial institutions in the US about yet another data breach. If they don't have my data they can't lose it.

 

[Pete Thomas]

My other question that probably cannot be addressed here, is why an SSN? Why at all? Why do they need to know the identity of a buyer? Tax reasons?

Perhaps maybe it is to save you tax so that CBP can identify you as an individual not a business. It isn't required for business that import regularly and so would have set up a customs bond.

I don't have trouble supplying the Customs service with my SSN, but I do have trouble with sending it to some shipper

I think it would apply to any shipping company involved in importation to the US. Fedex, UPS, DHL. I think customers can get round it by setting up a bond with CBP, I have no idea how easy it is though.

 

[iiVb9I]

Perhaps maybe it is to save you tax so that CBP can identify you as an individual not a business. It isn't required for business that import regularly and so would have set up a customs bond.


I think it would apply to any shipping company involved in importation to the US. Fedex, UPS, DHL. I think customers can get round it by setting up a bond with CBP, I have no idea how easy it is though.

Wasn't aware of the Customs Bond, but this is just a one-time quick hitter. Purchasing a horn that runs into the thousands is not something I do on a regular basis. sax.co.uk was very helpful when researching this horn, responding to my emails rather quickly to any questions. But this kind of thing probably needs to be addressed. Maybe the US isn't that big a market for them. The Trevor James Raw is not very common here. If this doesn't pan out I might go for an Eastman. Those are readily available here in the US.

Thanks

 

[Pete Thomas]

If this doesn't pan out I might go for an Eastman. Those are readily available here in the US.

Bear in mind that if they have to return it, the cost may be more than the outward shipping cost. But then Sax Shop UK may be liable for not disclosing the full T&C before shipping. The problem will be getting your full money back if they decide you should be paying for return shipping.

 

[Jules]

Well, I'm glad I found this out; I surely won't be buying any saxophone for over $2000 from overseas! Is the $2000 a fixed amount? Does it vary with the type of merchandise? (I see a note above that it's actually $2500 and required for any importation.)

I don't have trouble supplying the Customs service with my SSN, but I do have trouble with sending it to some shipper, and I'm absolutely NOT going to send it via some internet form. Name and SSN are the gateway to pretty much every aspect of a person's life.

Hi- you've got this situation wrong. Sax.co.uk never ask for this information. Lets face it- that's probably illegal for a start. The request is made by the US customs authority via DHL couriers & is nothing to do with us.

By the way- the $2000 amount was a very rough guess on my part, I'm by no means certain that is the exact figure. Can I rephrase that as higher value horns

But this kind of thing probably needs to be addressed. Maybe the US isn't that big a market for them.

Its a huge market for us but we have no leverage over the US customs authorities, sorry. I'm by no means certain what we could do to make this run smoother

 

[iiVb9I]

Bear in mind that if they have to return it, the cost may be more than the outward shipping cost. But then Sax Shop UK may be liable for not disclosing the full T&C before shipping. The problem will be getting your full money back if they decide you should be paying for return shipping.

They charged $127 I think for shipping. If in the end if I have to return it and pay for return shipping then I will probably eat the cost and chalk it up to experience.🙁 But who knows moving forward.

 

[Jules]

I can assure you they're great horns (I've been playing on one for about the last 8 years (see image on the left)

 

[turf3]

Hi- you've got this situation wrong. Sax.co.uk never ask for this information. Lets face it- that's probably illegal for a start. The request is made by the US customs authority via DHL couriers & is nothing to do with us.
...

Its a huge market for us but we have no leverage over the US customs authorities, sorry. I'm by no means certain what we could do to make this run smoother

I am not comfortable giving out the gateway to all my financials to DHL. I understand perfectly that any business shipping things above a certain value may well be required to operate this way. But if it comes down to it, I"m not giving out the information over an internet form if I can possibly avoid it. Buying a saxophone from overseas is not something required for my life, it would always be a luxury. I think I'd rather arrange it through a local shop that does this regularly and pay them a commission on the process.

 

[iiVb9I]

Hi- you've got this situation wrong. Sax.co.uk never ask for this information. Lets face it- that's probably illegal for a start. The request is made by the US customs authority via DHL couriers & is nothing to do with us.

By the way- the $2000 amount was a very rough guess on my part, I'm by no means certain that is the exact figure. Can I rephrase that as higher value horns


Its a huge market for us but we have no leverage over the US customs authorities, sorry. I'm by no means certain what we could do to make this run smoother

I'm not blaming anyone for anything really except that this probably should come up 'before' the purchase is made with an understanding of how vulnerable our financial, health records etc are to anyone with that number. I just recently was told by a friend that upon contacting IRS about not receiving her return two years ago that someone else using her SSN already filed one. The ensuing complications are deep and still ongoing. The SSN is the key to the safe.

But just to be clear (and I'm not implying anything here) the advertising on the sax.co.uk website does seem to imply that purchasing from Sax.co.uk for a US order is easy-peezy.

"Fast Fully Insured To US/ Pay the Final Delivered Cost at Checkout.
All Orders Will Have Taxes and Duties Paid. The price you pay at checkout will be the your final price. Your item will arrive with no hidden charges or costs and you will face no delays at the border."

I don't question that this a customs issue and that all imports over a certain dollar amount require some sort of verification, and that indeed this is beyond sax shop's control, but notifying the buyer before hand about the additional requirement for sensitive personal information is within their control.

Anyway, I scheduled a day off to receive the item on jan 15, but I just got some new ski boots so I'll have time to test them out. 😀

 

[Pete Thomas]

I just recently was told by a friend that upon contacting IRS about not receiving her return two years ago that someone else using her SSN already filed one. The ensuing complications are deep and still ongoing. The SSN is the key to the safe.

The big issue is the ID theft is fairly easy given the vast number of people who get to see your number. My son had to take his card along to show when he took a driving test. Actually show them the card not just the number. So some random employee at the test centre gets to see it.

Another weird thing is they won’t even send you a card or replacement card securely, it’s done via regular post and dropped through your letterbox (could be shared house) or worse in a mailbox on the street.

 

[iiVb9I]

The big issue is the ID theft is fairly easy given the vast number of people who get to see your number. My son had to take his card along to show when he took a driving test. Actually show them the card not just the number. So some random employee at the test centre gets to see it.

Another weird thing is they won’t even send you a card or replacement card securely, it’s done via regular post and dropped through your letterbox (could be shared house) or worse in a mailbox on the street.

Yeah, I've been a victim. A credit card number someone was using in Southeast Asia to buy porn. Company called me about what they considered abnormal usage and mitigated the charges, cancelled the number and sent me a new card.