It is the luck of the drawer and the downside to buying stuff from abroad, sooner or later you will get one charged, it's the law of averages
TBH "getting done" for VAT isnt a thing, it's just the law. Think about it as being lucky when you dont get it.
i think you maybe missed the point, getting done by customs is something that happens, the thing that i was moaning about was the blackmail by RMG aka "clearance fee"