My INFI is being held to ransom!!

B

bigbrick

Joined
Mar 23, 2006
Messages
13
First of all, Big hello to everyone here(I've said hello before but threads here move damn fast and I guess it was missed). A nicer bunch of Knife Addicts I could not wish to meet :thumbup:

Anyway my dilemma, recieved a letter this morning from Parcel Force telling me they are holding an item for me (BATACLE) and that I am required to pay £63 ($126) to have it released.Import duty is £10.19 which I am ok with but customs also want me to pay £39.75 VAT,which means they are even charging me VAT on the shipping I paid :( and the good chaps at Parcel Force have slapped on £13.50 for a 'clearance fee'.
They tell me if this total sum isnt paid within 20 days the item will be returned to sender.They also say they are "unable to enter disputes" regarding these charges.
This is money I do not have,I am unable to work due to an injury and used my overdraft to pay.I have also quit drinking beer to pay for this knife :grumpy:

This is a real kick in the balls,I have gone without cash for a week already and even more worrying I have a red/blkG10 'Raspberry' Warden on order(thanks Old Physics,it was 1 of the 2 you dropped back in the trough)
and if they hit me with another set of charges for that I am really screwed.

So my options
1. Pay it and have it stand me at $580 and leave myself further in debt.
2. Let it get sent back,hope it gets back and hope that bcs does refunds in this situation(anyone know?) and then have some cash to pay for possible charges on the 'Raspberry' Warden
3. Use my last bit of cash to get drunk and chop things with my FFBM(INFI therapy).
4. Pry my way into the depot with FFBM and try emergency extraction :p
5. Not worry about how I will survive the next few weeks with no cash and tell myself the INFI addiction is worth it.

What would you guys do?

PS Sorry for starting my 1st thread with a sob story,I was planning some pics and my 1st 'trough/F5ing experience' for it before the Devil puked in my kettle.

Stay happy folks.
Andy
 
Welcome here bigbrick,

The extra import duties suck. I know all about it. My batacle has been held hostage too. According to track/trace they're going to deliver on monday. I don't know yet what the extra costs are going to be....:grumpy:

If I had to choose I'd go for the batacle over the gamewarden because of the more allround character of the batac but ymmv.
 
Final Plan: Move to OHIO

Sorry I missed your greeting before. Welcome and I hope you can get this resolved. That really sucks.



bigbrick said:
First of all, Big hello to everyone here(I've said hello before but threads here move damn fast and I guess it was missed). A nicer bunch of Knife Addicts I could not wish to meet :thumbup:

Anyway my dilemma, recieved a letter this morning from Parcel Force telling me they are holding an item for me (BATACLE) and that I am required to pay £63 ($126) to have it released.Import duty is £10.19 which I am ok with but customs also want me to pay £39.75 VAT,which means they are even charging me VAT on the shipping I paid :( and the good chaps at Parcel Force have slapped on £13.50 for a 'clearance fee'.
They tell me if this total sum isnt paid within 20 days the item will be returned to sender.They also say they are "unable to enter disputes" regarding these charges.
This is money I do not have,I am unable to work due to an injury and used my overdraft to pay.I have also quit drinking beer to pay for this knife :grumpy:

This is a real kick in the balls,I have gone without cash for a week already and even more worrying I have a red/blkG10 'Raspberry' Warden on order(thanks Old Physics,it was 1 of the 2 you dropped back in the trough)
and if they hit me with another set of charges for that I am really screwed.

So my options
1. Pay it and have it stand me at $580 and leave myself further in debt.
2. Let it get sent back,hope it gets back and hope that bcs does refunds in this situation(anyone know?) and then have some cash to pay for possible charges on the 'Raspberry' Warden
3. Use my last bit of cash to get drunk and chop things with my FFBM(INFI therapy).
4. Pry my way into the depot with FFBM and try emergency extraction :p
5. Not worry about how I will survive the next few weeks with no cash and tell myself the INFI addiction is worth it.

What would you guys do?

PS Sorry for starting my 1st thread with a sob story,I was planning some pics and my 1st 'trough/F5ing experience' for it before the Devil puked in my kettle.

Stay happy folks.
Andy
Click to expand...
 
Welcome to the Busse forum! And I hope it wel be ok soon.

A few days ago there was a package delivered at my parents house. I had to pay 35euro for the customs. They took it for 5 days hostage.

I still need to pick up that piece of INFI... oh wait it's no INFI....

to be continued!!!!:D:D
 
Join the club, man. I just had to pay 80 € of customs and VAT for my BATAC. But that is life in leftist Europe.
 
I'd go with 1,5, and 3 then use 4 to get your money back, that just sucks:thumbdn:

Welcome
Helle
 
Hi Andy,

I missed you first hello; I'm not far from Manchester myself (now in Rawtenstall). Welcome to the madness.

I've lost more money to customs that I care to think of over the years.

The most annoying thing at the moment is Parcel Farce getting hold of incoming shipments that attract a customs charge. Royal Mail used to get them; they don't charge as much. Some sneaky internal deal done there I think :mad: The PO still delivers everything that doesn't get charged, PF just get the chargeable stuff :mad: :mad: :mad:

Charging VAT (17.5%), on top of import duty (6.25% I think, depends on the type of item) on the total cost including shipping is how they do it. I wonder why I loathe our government so much???

Typically I add 30% to the cost of a knife to give me a rough idea of what it will actually cost me to get it here.

It really stinks!

It means that those in the US can get four knives for every three that we get.

I really think that any collector from Europe should automatically get some Hog status, just for enduring the extra cost ;)

I don't know, but I would imagine if it was returned to sender, they would have to pay for the return shipping before it was handed over. If it even gets there. So I would guess that you would be out at least two shipping charges if you went down that route.

I can't really help; wish I could. Other than wishing you the best and hoping it works out for you whatever you do.

If it was me, if I could possibly get by having paid the charges, I would. Infi is worth some hardship. I shop at Aldi to save money for infi!

Best wishes and good luck,
Rick.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.After some 'very fast' deliberation I went with Option 3 and it sure cheered me up :)
The following day a friend asked to buy my old PS2 and also paid me in advanced to build a PC. Yay! cash problem fixed :) Weird how I've been trying to sell that PS2 for months and just when I really need the money a buyer appears :thumbup:

New INFI arrives tommorrow woohoo!! (but the next 24 hours will be the slowest ever).

Hey Rick, I've seen your posts on BB, never noticed you hung around here too. I used to work just up the road from you in a small pc sales/repair shop in Waterfoot.The river that runs through the town centre and on through Rawtenstall has some lovely Brown Trout in it and I dare say they are rather easy to catch.

Crafft, has your hostage been released yet?

Andy
 
Hey Andy,

Yes, Batacle arrived yesterday:) I got #706
Very pleased with it. It came extremely sharp and the weight distribution is excellent. The handle fits my hands beautifully (better than my Razors).
"It's a lot of horsepower in a compact package"

Customs duty and VAT were 89euro (approx. 63£):grumpy:

Cheers,

Erik.
 
I wish you a safe passing of the hours and a customer so pleased with the PC you build that she/he/they buys more to fund your INFI habit.
 
Welcome to the Busse forum and I'm glad that you got the $ problem worked out.

I hope you enjoy your INFI and you stick around and join in our discussions

:D:D
 
Welcome to the INFI clan bigbrick. You are off to a good start with the BATACLE so enjoy! I visited Britain and Wales in April and tried to drain your supply of cask conditioned ales. I lost but sure enjoyed the attempt.
 
bigbrick said:
So my options
1. Pay it and have it stand me at $580 and leave myself further in debt.
2. Let it get sent back,hope it gets back and hope that bcs does refunds in this situation(anyone know?) and then have some cash to pay for possible charges on the 'Raspberry' Warden
3. Use my last bit of cash to get drunk and chop things with my FFBM(INFI therapy).
4. Pry my way into the depot with FFBM and try emergency extraction :p
5. Not worry about how I will survive the next few weeks with no cash and tell myself the INFI addiction is worth it.

What would you guys do?

PS Sorry for starting my 1st thread with a sob story,I was planning some pics and my 1st 'trough/F5ing experience' for it before the Devil puked in my kettle.

Stay happy folks.
Andy
Click to expand...

Glad it worked out ok. There is a #6 on your list: Leave the place and settle in the colonies. I checked with immigration and they said there was room for several more Busse collectors.

GB
 
Bro, you are not alone. I also get slammed with ridiculous multiple taxes if the customs [censored]ers catch my stuff....

Fortunately through the help of many good people on the forums I have been able to largely avoid this unpleasantness.

I have very rarely met a group of people with such extraordinary generosity and kindness as the individuals I deal with on the knife forums, in particular my American friends, who are almost always willing to help a guy who lives on the other side of the planet out./

Mark
 
Welcome bigbrick!!!
Sorry I missed you the first time. Your right...threads get moved down pretty fast at times.

I had no idea you guy's had to pay those kind of fee's:eek: Knew there were some but never realized how much.

I'm sending one to The Netherlands today that I traded. I feel for him and all of you on this issue. This just doesn't seem fair:grumpy:

But at least you have an awesome knife about to arrive:thumbup:
 
I know where you are coming from on this one. I ordered something from Canada to Spokane Washington. (it was a ping pong paddle). Customs was having a disagreement with the labeling on something else the company was importing (paddle glue). because there was a disagreement on that issue, and the company chose to challenge US customs on the issue, US customs seized everything the company sent into the us (including my paddle). UPS delivered it to my house. I signed for it, then like 2 weeks later in the mail, I got a bill for 3 times what the paddle and shipping were total. UPS had used a customs liason to get the package through. I told them tough, try to get the money from me now, when I already had the package, and they did not have any signature or agreement to pay them triple the price, on top of actually paying the company for the price and shipping.
Luckily, the company told me to pay the fee, and they would immediately refund me the amount. So I paid it, and the company credited my account for it........
I am in law school, on a very very limited budget, so I know how it feels to have unexpected extra charges on something. it sucks. I also would take a Bagger over a game warden if it was all I had, but you have a Mistress, so you have the big knife covered (that is a tough choice). I was told that even if I sent the item back to the company and got a refund, I had to pay the fee for getting it through in the first place. you might want to check into that. I would say pay the fees on the BA and cancel the order for the GW (although you might have already paid for that one). you might have to sell it locally in England to recoop some money.
Hope it works out.
 
Crafft. £63 Virtually what they charged me!! they are conspiring:p Without wanting to sound bad,its a little easier to suffer these charges knowing I'm not the only guy that has to,Its just a sad fact:thumbdn:

ThomBrogan, its thanks to you I found this forum and consequently got addicted :) if only I hadnt found this link

http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l67/broosdal/?action=view&current=cutSHebottle.flv

I remember thinking :eek: what on earth is that knife I must have one.Then I watched the tin can cut with the cgfbm and I was sold.) Met a great guy through 'that auction site' who had a ffbm to sell me and the rest is history.

Am I allowed to post crappy pics?

The wait is easier with a Mistress to play with :)


Anyone for Golf?


The first thing my ffbm hit(yeah I was drunk :p)


Andy
 
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