Experience on ordering internationally
I placed an order for 4 items on Dec 6, 2025. I got the email that my order had been shipped on the 10th. The package arrived in my country, Finland, on the 22nd so pretty quickly! I got a notification from my post office the next day saying that I need to clear it through customs. I tried to do it but it asked me to fill an IOSS number. Google told me this 12-digit number is usually found on the company’s order confirmation email. There was none. I tried googling it but found nothing. I then emailed Velvet Caviar to provide the number to me.
Back and forth we emailed and I waited. I had 20 days to clear the parcel through customs from the day it had arrived (they knew this). VC’s response to me was that they need to forward the issue to their specialist team. I emailed them again Fri 9, 2026 to remind them the deadline for clearing the parcel through customs was next Monday, Jan 12. I waited till that day for their email. Nothing. I decided to fill out the form again without the IOSS number since it wasn’t mandatory. But guess what — more obsticles! The customs (Finnish Tulli) website was under maintenance and I couldn’t fill the form. It said I had to wait till the next day. Next day came and they continued the maintenance even further, till Jan 14! At this point I started to lose all hope that I’d ever receive my package. Normally, when you miss the deadline they return the parcel to the sender.
Through Mon-Tue I called both Posti’s (Finnish post office) and Tulli’s customer service 2-3 times. The happy end result on Jan 13 was that we filled out a separate form (made for businesses) together with a lady from Tulli… on the phone… while I was at work. Btw, she told me that companies usually don’t share the IOSS number so it’s best to clear the parcel through customs without it and thus, pay the VAT again, and then afterwards ask for a reimbursement from the sender. So that’s what I did. Luckily, VC apologized for the inconvenience on their part and reimbursed the VAT that I payed twice (first when ordering and second when doing the customs).
I just wish VC had told me straight from the beginning they don’t have an IOSS number or they don’t want to tell me it. They never told me the reason why I never got it from them.
4 stars for beautiful, sturdy products, but one star off because of inconsistent customer service.
Reply from Velvet Caviar