There is another way of dealing with the VAT payment for Digikey deliveries .
Once the tracking information is available from Digikey it is possible to p hone UPS and give them card details by phone to pay the VAT. Then leave a signed note on the door asking the driver to leave the goods on the doorste p and to take the note as proof of delivery. This really does work! I got burned in the same way as you previously.
What is annoying though is that in my case there is no need for VAT to be c harged at all because Digikey have a record of my company's VAT number. Di gikey should pass this on so that UPS do not need to collect the VAT in the first place.
Even more annoying is that UPS charge a handling fee for collecting the VAT that they don't actually need to collect. And of course they charge VAT o n top of it. Untangling this lot is fun when preparing my VAT return.
Mouser, on the other hand pass on the VAT information correctly and no paym ent is needed on delivery, so I use them in preference to Digikey if they h ave what I want at a comparable price. The trouble is that often they don' t.
John