Customs inspection of shipment
 

I have just been informed by my removal company that my container has been flagged by the US Customs and specifically the US Dept of Agriculture for inspection. This will apparently add a further 2 weeks to the delivery date and an estimated additional cost of $2,000!!!

Have any other Brits out there experienced this situation; are we expected to roll over and play dead and not challenge the necessity of these inspections? My removal company charged me a fortune for packing the goods in blighty to their high standards - excluding food and washing Bikes etc; so why the need for an inspection. Is there a lack of trust between UK removal companies and the US Customs?

Is it just me or do I smell a fish; how do we know there is not a scam going on here ??

Please let me know if you have had a similar experience

Paul

Re: Customs inspection of shipment
 

Try a search - I think some people's charges have magically reduced or gone away when people asked the removals company for an itemised receipt.

Re: Customs inspection of shipment
 

You're being ripped off.

Re: Customs inspection of shipment
 

I'd ask for customs details so you can enquire with the US Customs as to why it has been flagged. If the removal company is asking for $2,000 then state you will pay US customs directly and see what they say.

An itemised receipt though, a good idea :)

Re: Customs inspection of shipment
 

If you've shared a container, my experience is that odds of getting pulled for inspection are much higher & nothing to do with you or trust between the US gov't and your agent.
That's for the stuff we bring in from the East.

From reports posted here from people coming your direction, it's more likely (especially for that fee.. very high!) that your agency is trying to get one over on you.

Re: Customs inspection of shipment
 

said it before and i will say it again.

I was informed that my container had been inspected by customs. (Its in the small print, under additional costs, together with the we promise in 6 weeks but can take 6 months to deliver catch) So i told them that I would pay after I had in my possession the ORIGINAL INVOICE stamp and all from customs, not one of the make up ones on the PC!!!! funnily the charge was dropped! and i never did get to see the original bill!

its their coffee fund this inspection charge!

Re: Customs inspection of shipment
 

For the whole year!

Re: Customs inspection of shipment
 

Just about all containers are being inspected now. The US changed sometime back from just a few to working towards 100%.

Ours got inspected at LAX Jan07, can't remember the exact amount but it was a few hundred dollars. We had sole use of a 20ft container.

Re: Customs inspection of shipment
 

Re: Customs inspection of shipment
 

The container our little shipment of 50 boxes was in was searched. We weren't charged a penny by anyone.
US customs has no reason or requirement to trust UK removal companies. They are not licensed in any way by US authorities. And the people who packed your container are only one link in the chain of people that has had access to your container and the ship it travelled on. The ships travel to all manner of places on their routes.

Re: Customs inspection of shipment
 

wow..... US CUSTOMS HAS NO REASON OR REQUIREMNET TO TRUST UK REMOVAL COMPANIES!

Customs no matter what country they are in working for whatever country, has a job to do full stop, dont matter where anything comes from not just the UK!

The question was, should any charges brought up be questioned. Too right! any body wants any money from me I need the paper work to go with it! When I have the paperwork they can have the money.

Re: Customs inspection of shipment
 

Do you have a source for this info? I've got reason to believe that not very many actually get inspected! I know about their goals, but I wondered if you have updated info on actual inspections?

Re: Customs inspection of shipment
 

They're nowhere near inspecting every container... but I can't remember the ratio of inspected to not. (although they might run them all through the nuclear detection machine by now)

Re: Customs inspection of shipment
 

I was referring to the OP's comment of whether they had stopped trusting UK removal companies.

Re: Customs inspection of shipment
 

Allied in Portland. They mentioned the number when they were explaining why the container had taken 10 days to get from LAX to there. At that time they said the inspection rate was up to 98%.

I know that under the "old" rules the number inspected was 2%. But what do they call an inspection. I believe the 100% was x-ray inspection not a open the container and a physical one.