Good news is I've had the "Complete your Bel Canto final payment" email. I just wanted to check that this is genuine. My reasons for checking is that there are mentions of covering the duties on my behalf and reference to GST. This seemed odd as I'm UK based. Also, payment only through a link in the email - this should always be a red flag in any email. Just wanted to check that it's legit!

You better ask CW? .

That said what's the link address? (Don't put it here but does it look bone fide?).

Guy



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It sounds very much like the same legit email I received a few weeks ago for my Bel Canto. The references to duty etc are odd, but it is a legit CW email. Or, at least, mine was.

Well that did not go well. Followed the link, on the desktop, could not go to checkout stage (button inoperative), on the mobile I could get to the payment stage, but the bank redirected me to a security page that did not allow progressing to payment. Also, CW email states :

"As a gesture of our appreciation for your patience, we will be covering the duties on your behalf to ease any disappointment caused by the delays."

But VAT is still being asked for at payment. A nice gesture given the delays, but disappointing if they don't mean it. Emailed customer services and we wait some more

@Chris GB Sorry to hear that the process didn't work for you. I was unsure whether it would work for me, but it actually went fine, with no hitches. I can only suggest that you check that you used the same email address that you used to place your original deposit.

Re VAT, that is a tax, not a duty. As a UK purchaser, you still have to pay that. The strange references in the email to "duties" are, I believe, meant for overseas purchasers. So, CW is not offering to pay your VAT for you.

welshlad wrote: ↑Thu Jul 11, 2024 12:31 am @Chris GB Sorry to hear that the process didn't work for you. I was unsure whether it would work for me, but it actually went fine, with no hitches. I can only suggest that you check that you used the same email address that you used to place your original deposit.

Re VAT, that is a tax, not a duty. As a UK purchaser, you still have to pay that. The strange references in the email to "duties" are, I believe, meant for overseas purchasers. So, CW is not offering to pay your VAT for you.

I definitely used the same email address, so that's not the problem. Regarding the statement about duty, placing this on an email to a UK customer is only ever going to lead to confusion or disappointment. VAT / duty are different, but by putting this on an email to a UK buyer, CW are inferring that there is a sweetener for customers to make up for the delay. If there is no customer error in understanding the difference between VAT and duty, there is then the inference that overseas customers are getting a sweetener, but not UK buyers. Either way, it's poor attention to detail to include it in communicating to UK customers. Unless of course there is an actual sweetener!