culchie

Are there any fellow sleep apnoea sufferers in Spain? I am having trouble sourcing a new mask, hose, filters etc.
I ordered all of these from the USA but Spanish customs said I had to have a licence to import them so no joy there.
Anyone having similar problems or better still does anyone have a solution?

jjh

Can you have them delivered to an address in the Uk and collect them from there? I have no idea what they weigh, so it's just a suggestion. Gool luck

culchie

Didn´t do that. Just ordered directly from USA and they´re now in Madrid. The customs are refusing to release them unless I have a special licence from the Dept. of Health - so I´m currently getting to know a lot of Spanish civil servants who are very helpful but haven´t a clue what I´m on about. I´ve persuaded them to open the parcel and see that mask etc. is European Health and Safey approved and that being so I should be able to get them released. What a palaver!!

jdr

Cant your doctor or the local clinic help you get them released ?

culchie

Actually I think I´ve cracked it - took a lot of phone calls and patient persistence but I´ve found the right person in the right government department who appears to be willing to instruct Customs to release it as long as it has the CE mark (Europe approved). I´m taking it as a bit of a personal challenge now. Nothing doing for the next coupla days cos´of the hols so as long as there isn´t a coup détat over the w/end everything just might be rosy on Monday. I´ll let you know. There´s some comfort in knowing that civil servants are the same the world over........just like those enormous oil tankers - they take for ever to shift!

jjh

Good luck Culchie. As long as you're alright in the meantime, that's the main thing. JJ

culchie

Today I have become trapped in the old Catch 22!!

The delivery service have opened our parcel and confirmed that the equipment has got the CE Mark necessary. I then informed the relevant civil servant of this who told me that, in that case no authorisation was necessary in order for the parcel to be released. The delivery service tells me that they need a fax telling them that no authorisation is necesary from the relevant civil servant who doesn´t need to authorise the release and so on....God, luckily I am made of stern stuff and will not be thwarted ......

Nige

As a matter of interest, is the equipment you are expecting available 'on presrcription' or did you buy it online? Coincidentally I was asked about CPAP yesterday and I didn't know anything about it - now I do (a bit) .

culchie

The CPAP machine etc. is on prescription. The mask etc. that we´re awaiting is freely available to buy. Now I´ve convinced the civil servant and the UPS lady to talk to each other directly so fingers crossed, they´ll sort it out.

lynnxa

I read this with interest, as my dh has a CPAP & will soon need a new mask etc...........

good luck though with UPS & customs........customs held up a cheque book for our US bank account for weeks on end...........we reckon it went around the world about 3 times!!!...........customs kept wanting more & more info etc.............then UPS claimed not to be able to find our address (on an established urbanisation in the middle of town!), and sent it back to the US again, even though they had our phone number!!!

we eventually persuaded the bank to send another one snail mail.it arrived really quickly!

culchie

Just to let u know that there is a happy ending to this saga. We finally got our hands on the mask although we had to drive to Sevilla to get it from UPS.

Here´s some advice for any sleep apnoea sufferers out there. Do NOT purchase a mask from the USA for shipment to Spain. It was a complete nightmare dealing with all the agencies involved; UPS were pretending to be helpful but actually never lifted a finger. The civil servants were equally reluctant to do anything and the Customs simply didn´t care and indeed, why should they!!

It took 2 weeks of phone calls, e mails etc and I speak Spanish, without that advantage I´d have given up .... so you have been warned!

Fusili

Just found this site. I can't believe the hassle you are having regarding purchasing a mask. May I suggest that you look up the following companies in the uk who I'm sure would be happy to post out a mask purchased on a credit card. I deal with them all the time. They are reputable companies. Respironics UK based in Bognor Regis, West Sussex and ResMed UK Ltd who's uk offices are in Oxford. Failing that, have the mask delivered to a relative in the UK and get them to post it out to you. They only weigh a few ounces so it won't break the bank to post. Good Luck Fusili

culchie

Thanks for that. We've learned our lesson and will do exactly that when we need a new mask.