has anyone tried contacting HM Customs by phone?

longjohnsilver

longjohnsilver

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Plan on going to Alderney tomorrow with young pooch, phoned HM at Alderney and he says no problem but inform Uk customs before leaving. Have spent the last hour trying to phone them, HMCG have an out of use number, their HO really didn't have much idea, eventually gave me a Plymouth number which seemed to be permanently engaged, finally not engagaed, rang for ages and then cut off before being answered!

So if anyone from Customs is reading this then I plan to leave Exmouth tomorrow 07-30 for Alderney and St Peter Port, returning next weekend, no landings in France.

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Is there a customs post box at your nearest marina? If so - you are meant to fill out the form and drop it in. It will of course still be there long after you have returned but you will have done your bit.

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Load of out-of-control pirates, speaking as someone who about their lawful business was boarded by a team dressed head to foot in black and armed to teeth and unpleasant with it.

Whatever happened to the good old Customs Officer with a brief case and some scrambled egg asking if he might come aboard. We all knew he could anyway but the world goes round better that way.

Actually I have no problem with the VAT man, doing his job, and pretty reasonable about it, (with me anyway). The others we could do without.

<hr width=100% size=1>John
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.allgadgets.co.uk>http://www.allgadgets.co.uk</A>
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by milltech on 18/08/2003 12:24 (server time).</FONT></P>
 
Hmm, nasty experience Milltech; seen from their point of view though the guys who they are after are not exactly the type with whom you either are or have time to be polite with nowadays. To misquote - 'to catch a pirate you have to be a pirate' . Not sure that justifies harassing innocent bystanders though (and I too have 'enjoyed' a similar visit from some guys in a high speed RIB - at the end of a pleasant afternoons jolly in Spithead). Sadly there are some mighty unpleasant characters about, disguised as you and me nowadays.

Its a bit like the situation of a youngster waving around what appears to be a gun. It might be - probably is - a plastic replica. But how reasonable and polite would you be if it was your job to find out?

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Point taken, but don't you think since they are manifestly failing at the job they are tasked with, that a new approach is needed if, in order to preserve whatever it is they are seeking to preserve, our civil liberties and those things we thought Britain stood for go straight down the tubes?

<hr width=100% size=1>John
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.allgadgets.co.uk>http://www.allgadgets.co.uk</A>
 
Following on from the boarding party thread, its amazing how often the attitude changes when one refuses access untill, Local Coastguard Station has been informed of attempted piracy by unidentified personel dressed up as goons on Chan.16.... twice they have gone forth to multiply elsewhere, unless they were not the actual individuals they claimed to be... IMHO LOG The Visit with HMCG

<hr width=100% size=1>Tony W.
 
I had the same problem with getting the runaround when I wanted to pay the VAT on a boat I bought from the channel isles. in the end I blew up at the guy in the main vat office and asked to speak to a supervisor. He promised to call me back with an answer and I took his name just in case.
The next day I got a call from a Scottish guy who gave me a number to ring and told me if I had any trouble I was to tell whoever answered the phone that mister (cant remember his name now) told me to ring him I rang and was told that I had the wrong number and should ring the main switchboard, I mentioned the guys name.....Guess what he sent me a form to fill in I returned it with a cheque and got my VAT receipt, even through I the boat was still in the channel Isles, ammazing what a name can do. I still have the information somewhere if anybody needs it.

<hr width=100% size=1>Dave
 
In my case the first thing I knew about it was when said goon arrived in my cabin and ordered me to get up. The watch keeper at 06.00 was not perhaps looking astern as much as he should have been and didn't see the 130 grey funnel cutter, or indeed the rib which whacked into the side of the boat and the MIB fell over the rail and corralled him.

Still its not so much the fact but the policy that leads to the fact which interests me more. Customs are the only organisation I know that talk about the drug successes in retail price terms, its just a farce to try and show they are doing something useful. Since every secondary school kid in the country knows where and how to buy drugs its self evidently not working. In support of their failed policies we suffer by the loss of civil liberties that have been earned over 100's of years.

I'm totally against drugs, and particularly against any policy that encourages criminal gangs by, for example, turning a blind eye. However I do think they should be sold in Boots to anyone who wants them to deliver (1) a clean safe product, (2) big boost to the exchequer to fund anti drug programmes, (3) a cut in our insurance costs and the criminal acts we suffer to support this illegal activity.

Sorry.....I could go on for hours!!

<hr width=100% size=1>John
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.allgadgets.co.uk>http://www.allgadgets.co.uk</A>
 
Action 1: Ask to see their warrant cards and write down the names.

Action 2: Ask them about address to which complaints should be sent.

Action 3: Send complaint about attitude (not about being boarded) to address given, with copies to Custom House, London and your MP.

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Did all that, wrote to Dame Nellie Molestrangler or whatever she's called who was in charge. Had a letter and a phone call from a minion. Given that we were on a direct course from Dartmoouth to a point off Portland, and had been so all night, I queried whether it was an exercise and got a put down, "You know Sir, it's not unheard of for people to drop drugs in the bay to be collected later".

Well they might have dropped them off an ketch rigged MFV max speed 7 knots, but it's doubtful if that's the kind of boat they'd run 'em ashore in.

I think anyone stopped by Customs and found to have nothing aboard should receive a personal letter of thanks for cooperation as a matter of course.

Anyway the point is really how we were treated, and the situation in this country that gives rise to that sort of treatment. Same thing with the way people are treated who use their rights to import booze, it all has the effect of changing the way we view authority, and consequently the way they in turn view us, and so it goes.


<hr width=100% size=1>John
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.allgadgets.co.uk>http://www.allgadgets.co.uk</A>
 
And

I think a majority of senior policemen would support your view-point.
Whether the anti-drugs lads in the Custons & Excise would is unlikely - not only would they be prevented from playing SAS but they'd likely be out of a job, together with about 500K workers in the industry.

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What are my rights?

viz-a-viz HMS C&E ? I'm a belgian registered yacht, with all the necessary paperwork. Am I therefore on Belgian territory? Do they need a warant? Do they need to request permission to board ?

I don't live aboard, but my boat is my holiday home, so I would find it dreadfull to think that they can lift you from your bed at some ungodly hour, just because they need the exercice.

<hr width=100% size=1>Group of people on the pontoon: skipper is the one with the toolbox.
http://sirocco31.tripod.com
 
Yes me in Aug 2001. Arrived in Weymouth at 19:30 after channel crossing from Geurnsey. Had customs form but was unsure if you still had to wait with the boat for 2 hrs with Q flying before going ashore. Wife and I were desperate for a drink so didn't want to wait.

I know I thought, I'll ring them from the yacht club. I got through to a woman that would not help me without a VAT number. After much persuading and explaining I got put through somewhere else. They also asked me for my vat number. I eventually got fustrated and asked this person the question. They said they new nothing about procedures of incoming craft, only VAT and their nearest officer was at the ferry port in poole.

That satisfied me. Q came down and we dived into the pub!

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I tried last year - after numerous attempts and "wrong numbers" I was finally asked why are you bothering to ring if you've got nothing to declare? I explained what it said in almanac, there form, there box etc which seemed a surprise to them. In the end I put form in box and went to pub.

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Did once

Bringing a race boat back from France. In the days when you needed a Q coming in from France. Told them we had 2 UK passport holders, one Finnish, one Irish, I Australian, 2 NZ and one Japanese aboard. They were down like a shot. The non Brits got quite pretty stamps in their p/ps.

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