4 ms·
UK Customs drilled holes into my hand-carved table imports... what should I do?
I recently exported 4 beautiful, hand painted end tables from Pakistan to the UK, sent by courier. The packages were perfectly fine when I shipped them form Pakistan but when I received them in London, the tables had numerous holes drilled into them; holes the size of a ballpoint head.
The tables are completed ruined, and there's no way I can use them now. GBP 400, down the drain. No one from Customs called me to notify me, nor did they leave a slip with contact information.
This is really pissing me off. I assume they were doing a drug check, but surely there has got to be a better way to do this. Do I have any recourse to get UK Customs to compensate me? How can they just get away with this?
The tables are items that I was importing to sell on my e-commerce/ home decor website, www.relovedapp.co.uk.
- msie 13y agoGet a lawyer.
- jpau 13y agoThey may not necessarily have been checking for drugs - Customs may have been checking for bio risks. For example, here in Australia, only treated wood may be imported to prevent the introduction of pests and diseases. Unfortunately, treatment quality isn't easy to check and if the treatment is suspect, then Customs will drill to see if there are bugs etc. A quick Google search ("Importing wood to the UK") confirms that UK Customs do the same.
- Jugurtha 13y agoReally ? A hole the size of a ballpoint head ruined the table ? It's a £100 table after all, not some old, 300 years plus table. So I think your clients won't expect them to be that good in the first place considering the price and quality.
- jf22 13y agoI wouldn't buy a $50 table from Ikea with a hole in it. You spill anything in that hole and the wood will start to warp. OP could use a cheap filler and hope nobody notices.