Hi all,
Has anyone had bad experience with customs?

regards

dan

I did.

Yes.

Best Regards,
=Adrian=

how long did you oth wait?

What is the issue?

If you're querying a charge then be prepared to wait weeks/months[&o]

I brought a kit in and the customs declaration was correct and they just ignored it and charged me more than double than they should have with administration charges etc. I had no optoin but to pay or lose my goods. Have been very wary of buying abroad since. Like most government departments these days, too much power and not enough accountability.

just still waiting for it to clear custome as i was told a deliver of the 10th but no phone call, nothing. bits are still sitting in customs.

I waited a couple of months after USPS tracking showed my package as being in UK customs (I had been advised that it could take that long).

When I finally decided to find out what was happening with my package - it turned out that they had lost it. They confirmed the USPS tracking info was correct - The parcel had arrived - and was (according to the UK tracking) still in a customs depot. When they checked with the depot it turned out that they could not find the package.

I was advised that it would now be very unlikely that I would receive the package and to contact the sender to make an insurance claim.

Incidently, they would not actually admit that the package was "lost" - just that they didn't know where it was!! After suggesting that was the definition of "lost" I ended the communication.

6 months later - Still no package...

Best Regards,
=Adrian=

If it is a small package/parcel (i.e. not a big box like a kit), my experience is that it will sit in customs for 4-7 days and then it will probably go to your local Parcelforce depot. They will then send you a bill for the VAT/PO charges. When that is paid your package will be delivered (you can pay the bill at the Parcelforce depot if you want to save a bit of time).

If the estimate of the 10th came from the person who sent the package then ignore it. That tends to assume that the package goes straight through customs and they never do.

Not giving me the best hope now haha. do you now how to figure out vat charge on your product? the valve of the kit i paid for is around £200.

jetster81 how much did you have to pay for your kit? How do they inform you of your charge?

VAT is 20% so for a £200 kit you are looking at £40 + the PO fee (which from memory is about £8).

i had couples plans sent to me and seemed to fly through customs spose this time ive hit the bad luck this time.

You are always better off paying the extra for a decent carrier such as FedEx. My experience is that they generally deliver ahead of time or at worst on time if it's around a public holiday.

Just my 2p.

Rob.

how hard could it be to scan the box and see its wood lol. Surely its not a challenging job. Just annoying i spose, was looking forward to the build

20% is pretty good here I pay 78%...

This one went USPS Express, I'm interested to see if this makes any difference to customs?
Here's where it is now

Express Mail International®
Customs Clearance
February 08, 2012, 10:24 pm
GREAT BRITAIN

Bob

FYI, My records for the UK show 6 days from ship to delivery for USPS Priority
Bob

I had to have new elevators and a rudder made since they never made it through china customs.
Just put toy parts on the form and u should be fine, anything toy.

hi bob,
dont think there anyway its coming today, still no update on customs, dunno how hard it can be to scan a box then send it on its way, its a pain in the arse to be honest.

Feb 8 ?
Customes clearance here has been between 1 minute and 2 weeks...
a few days in customs clearance is not abnormal.

Who normally takes over for shipping your parcel in the UK?

If it was shipped USPS then I would put money on it being delivered by Parcelforce.

Generally all custome declared items go through Parcelforce who then charge up to the equivilant of VAT for handling, there does not seem to be a set charge.

Always get your retailer to declare the item as "Toy Aeroplane" you will then not incurr VAT, but still a customs charge according to the value on the import form attached to the box.

Mike

Ye it was shipped by usps, my tracking.number doesn't work on there websyt, it starts with cp.......
Would anyone suggest to just give them a ring?