In their defence sometimes it's the monkey's in customs. Had a package with some scope mounts and P-14 complete rear sight held up by customs for investigation about a dozen years back. Placed the Order with Gunparts Corp in October but nothign received 3 weeks later. So contacted them. They said wait another three weeks and in not arrived contact them again so I did and they replaced the lost shipment. Then the following July Mum and Dad come home to find Plod and a custom chappie on doorstep holding said missing package. Plod had come from Lincoln and Customs from Peterbourough, so two cars and it was their second attempt as first time no one was home.
All this because there was ...................................."
drum roll" £0.77p in customs duty to pay
....................................................................... no wait for the Plod was there because Gunparts were beign ordered from a house with no firearms licence. I Lived in Surrey at the time but had the order was sent to Mothers as I was supposed to here for a couple of weeks when ti was supposed to have arrived.
Well Mother tells them straight what a waste of public money and plods time as there wa snothing in the package that required a firearms licence... Oh we know says pathetic PC PLod
so why are you here then she asks :-
A deafening silence is the stern reply ............................... ten splutter.. ah well splutter... there is duty to pay. Hmm thought that was customs job.
Over to custom man who is looking rather bemused.
He demands the duty and Mother refuses telling him that I had already received the order. To which he says but he can't have as I have it here. So she carefully explains that since both retards have taken so long in trying to collect this huge amount of duty that the shipment was classed as lost some
SIX months before and Gunparts sent a replacement order which seeing as was free no duty due.
Stunned silence from them both!
But splutter......... splutter what do we do with this package then?
I don't know but seeing as how he has received the parts ordered last December that's your problem. The customs chap placed the package down and walked away followed by PC Plod. She phones me that evening and I crease up and e-mail Gunparts and relate the tale and offer to send the order back ..................................... keep it with our compliments was the answer.
This huge order contained three sets of Alloy 1" scope rings to fit weaver bases and the afore mentioned P-14 rear sight. For years I kept that box in the garage just for the giggle it gave us but eventually the mice chewed it up so it got put on the bonfire.
So two cars covering some 300 miles plus monkey's time of god only how many hours investigating the suppose illegal buying of dangerous gunparts worth a total of 77 pence n customs duty......................... no wonder the country is in a state. It also shows the Lincs police have had this stupid attitude to gun licences for many years.
Oh yes Conventry seems to be the clearing house from stuff coming in. My banner Miller "Welcome Hunters" banner:-
Would not fit into my case so Stewart posted it too me and it came through Conventy as did the Swiss Schmidt Rubin I brought from a chap in Switzerland. The customs ape managed to drop that onto a bench edge puttign a very sharp deep cut into the top wood of the fore stock
of course they are not liable for such damage.