Worst ever experience getting deck through customs?

nisaba

This.

nisaba said:
I haven't really had any bed experiences. I *have* had one very funny experience.

Back in the middle nineties, a friend in America sent me a beautifully packed box, including a spherical silver censor, a carved orange-calcite lion (a large one, weighed a couple of kilos!), a book, some carved wooden objects, some seeds from her magical garden which she thoughtfully labelled "craft items", a dolphin statuette and a copy of the Herbal Tarot.

Customs has the right to randomly open the occasional parcel, and my parcel turned up resealed with Customs tape and with a Customs label. Checking with the sender, all the items had been placed back into the box, I was missing nothing. BUT ...

(and here is the funny bit)

To make sure drugs or something else small and contraband hadn't been shrink-wrapped into the deck, they opened it, and undid the shrink-wrapping, then obviously thumbed through it. 77 of the cards had been replaced into the deck's box and re-closed carefully. But one, the Ten Cups subtitled Marijuana, had deliberately been left, placed carefully and flat-to-the-bottom of the box so that it wouldn't be damaged. I fell over laughing when I saw it. They were sending me a clear and unambivalent message: This card is about illegal drugs. We've separated it from the rest of the deck so that you know we know that. <giggle>. And yes, for the rest of the time I lived at this address, every single time I got a parcel from that particular sender, I had a "random" search done on it. Poor them, they never caught her sending drugs to me.

This is still the only thing Customs have ever done to me, and it happened 22 or 23 years ago.

Gwynydd

I live in Australia, and have never had this problem, touch wood! Mind you, our postage prices are outrageous, maybe that's something to do with it?

gregory

Hardly in the class of others, but my worst ever in MY mind was having to pay the post office's 8 pounds fee for them to collect 89 pence for whatever it was customs were charging...

But I have twice got refunds for charges that shouldn't have been made. There is an on line form to complain with. Can't find it on this machine and campsite internet; if it isn't sorted when i get back to the UK later in the week, i will post a link.

Le Fanu

There's also the problem with the Dusserre Dodal which I had. Declared as being worth 10 euros it took months to get out of customs. And on the phone they just knew! They weren't having it and told me that no it wasn't worth 10 euros and just refused to liberate it without excessive surcharges. My saving grace was that I knew it was incomplete and I told her to count the cards and read the box (all this over the phone during various exasperated, unending phone calls). After I explained that 77 cards made it essentially worthless it was liberated and arrived with no charge after being stuck for over two months. Then miraculously, the previous owner found the missing card and sent it on. Imagine! So my patience was rewarded. If it hadn't been incomplete in the first place I doubt I'd have got it in my hands!

Frost Mirriam

This thread made me think that living in Russia isn't such bad thing as I used to

As according to our law one should pay taxes only if all the parcels arrived within one month have the summary value more than $1000. But it seems no one traces this. Even if they actually do, considering that lots of sellers usually declare the lowered value of items, everyone actually purchasing abroad as much as they wish.
The problem with customs may occur only if they will find lots of identical items inside the parcel as for them it will look like you're going to resell it further. But this happens also not very often as they physically have no opportunity to look inside every single shipment.

Mim

Frost Mirriam said:
This thread made me think that living in Russia isn't such bad thing as I used to As according to our law one should pay taxes only if all the parcels arrived within one month have the summary value more than $1000. But it seems no one traces this. Even if they actually do, considering that lots of sellers usually declare the lowered value of items, everyone actually purchasing abroad as much as they wish.
The problem with customs may occur only if they will find lots of identical items inside the parcel as for them it will look like you're going to resell it further. But this happens also not very often as they physically have no opportunity to look inside every single shipment.

Wish I could live here too ! Plus, the primo Tarot decks of Russian and Polish artists are just breathtaking.
The last customs I payed for some decks ordered in Spain reached "only" about 10€ ... I found it tremendous, but now that I know how much it can be in the UK, I won't dare to complain.

Frost Mirriam

Mim said:
Wish I could live here too ! Plus, the primo Tarot decks of Russian and Polish artists are just breathtaking.
The last customs I payed for some decks ordered in Spain reached "only" about 10€ ... I found it tremendous, but now that I know how much it can be in the UK, I won't dare to complain.

Well, actually Russian Post has its disadvantages lol. They lose the shipments sometimes, and formerly also had veeeery slow delivery. Now it became better (after all the complaints throughout the country

), but anyway... Sometimes dealing with our post is a great field for tarot practice

avalonian

avalonian said:
The strange thing is that on the Parcelforce website it says it cleared customs, then customs charges were raised, then it was released from customs, then a minute later revised customs charges were raised.

The really annoying thing is that to raise the issue with customs I'll have to pay the charge because I need the label as proof.

From what I can gather, Parcelforce pay customs, then we repay Parcelforce. Looks like I'll have to pay it and then sort it out.

Thanks for the reassurance that something has gone wrong. I foresee an interesting conversation with Customs.

MandMaud said:
Interesting indeed! Don't give up. Best of luck!

And the good news is - they are going to send me a refund of the overcharge.

danieljuk

great news avalonian! :thumbsup:

also amazing because my maths is pretty bad but it looked like you were really over charged!

hope you hardly had to pay anything at all!

Michellehihi

Last year I traded some decks in the trade-train here on AT. So obviously I had not paid for those decks as I had traded them. However, on the package, the other AT member had written a high amount of value; she told me she did that in order to protect me if the package got lost.
When the package arrived I had to pay $50 of tax. I told them it had been a gift, that I had not paid for it. They said nevertheless I had to pay tax.

Worst ever experience getting deck through customs?

nisaba

Gwynydd

gregory

Le Fanu

Frost Mirriam

Mim

Frost Mirriam

avalonian

danieljuk

Michellehihi