It seems that the British Embassy in Latvia has now changed their travel advice (see Part 1) and it is now up to date regarding no limits on alcohol/tobacco since 22/6/2010. That’s another site we’ve changed of the FCO
They wrote a nice letter back to us with thanks for informing them and apologised for the wrong information being on their website for 6 months.
Actually … we recieved sweet f##k all from them! B##TARDS!
Am currently with some customers on a tobacco/cigarettes shopping trip. They’ve never been to Bulgaria and have been very pleasantly surprised with this ex-communist Soviet Bloc country. They can smoke in bars, restaurants etc with no-one treating them like lepers because smoking is here is normal. lt’s part of lfe, you either smoke or you don’t. lt’s a personal choice and no-one condemns you, shuns you, turns their noses up, make offensive comments … nothing!
They particularly loved the park in the centre of Sofia. lt was a very hot day which had brought everybody out to the park … couples, families, people walking dogs, kids, seniors etc. There was live music in sections of the park and many folk could be seen drinking alcohol … and of course smoking.
What my customers noticed most however was how the kids were enjoying themselves. They were climbing trees, statues, messing about by the little rivers and lakes with not a care in the world. What was even more noticeable to my customers was the lack of warning signs and wardens prohibiting and stopping these activities.
One of my group commented “England was once like this”
When you are stopped by Customs Officers because of the amount of tobacco you have brought back to the UK, they ask you a series of questions. Everytime we’ve been stopped and questioned, it has always been the same format. That format has always been loaded questions, and indeed trap questions, in order to have an excuse to confiscate your goods
.
But here’s the thing, at the end of your interrogation interview (before the decision is made whether or not to confiscate your goods) the Customs Officer then writes down the questions they’ve asked and the answers you gave … from their memory only. You have no input to this, you just sit and wait whilst they write it up. You are then asked to read it through and then sign it. Although you can make changes, this whole process puts you at a complete disadvantage if it ever comes to court.
Let me give you an example :-
lf in the Customs Officers notes it says “Mr Shopper said ‘X’ ” and when you read it through you say “l didn’t say ‘X’, l said ‘Y’ ” … Customs Officer then writes an amendment at the end saying “Mr Shopper says he said ‘Y’ and not ‘X’ ” You may think that’s fine but when in court and the Customs Officer is reading from his notes it will be put across as you said ‘X’ and then later on changed it to’Y’. This gives the impression to the court that you changed your mind and already puts doubts on whether what you say is reliable. Actually, a good HMRC lawyer will make you sound like a liar … not good for you.
Whenever we’ve been stopped and questioned, we have made them write it out line by line. They write the question, then you answer and they then write down your answer and so on . lt takes a lot longer and l know you want to be out of there as soon as possible but if you want an accurate account … you have to do it this way! Do not rely on their memory of the events under any circumstances … period! Even when you do it this way … check they wrote it down correctly.
Of course this would all be unnecessary if they recorded the damn interrogation interview but they simply won’t do it! This is despite having requests from ourselves to record it and them already having the equipment to do it with. They put up all sorts of excuses … they haven’t got any recording equipment (they have to by law incase anyone is arrested for drugs etc), your interrogation interview is civil not criminal, the recording equipment is broken etc etc.
So you have to ask yourself why?. l mean, it would be an accurate account of the interrogation interview. There would be no relying on notebooks, memory etc that could lead to mis-representation. You’d not have to wait to get a transcript of their notebook if it went to court because you’d already have a copy of the actual recording of the interrogation interview and so would they. It would all be open and above board.
Oops, l’ve answered myself. How convienient, the only record of your ordeal is a notebook … the Customs Officer’s notebook. No transcript for you even if you get to keep your goods. You only get a transcript if you go to court and we’ve already seen how they reliable they are anyway. Customs definitelty don’t want thousands of copies of recordings of interrogations interviews in the public domain. Customs can’t have the public knowing how they treat EU shopper coming back to the UK, can they? Better to leave the complaints by the public as just unsubstantiated hearsay and keep:-
Written correspondence to HMRC regarding EU shopping
……………………………………
To intenquiries@hmrc.gov.co.uk 13th June 2010
Dear Sir or Madam,
please answer in full the following specific questions. Thank you.
1. What do HMRC consider to be the shelf life of (a) rolling tobacco and (b) cigarettes?
2. Do HMRC consider a bank loan, private loan or credit card acceptable to purchasing alcohol/tobacco in the EU to bring back to UK for personal use? This is in ref to one of your questions you may ask (as per HMRC advice) if l were to be stopped by HMRC upon my return to UK. …. how you paid for them
3. The alcohol/tobacco would be for my wife and myself although my wife would not be travelling with me to purchase the goods in the EU and bring them back to the UK. (a) is this acceptable? or (b) are they classed as gifts?
Thank you,
#####
……………………………………………..
Reply from HMRC
CUSTOMS, INTERNATIONAL TRADE & EXCISE ENQUIRIES
Crownhill Court
Tailyour Road
Plymouth
PL6 5BZ  
Tel 01752 755723
Fax 01752 765807
Email intenquiries@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
Date 15/06/2010
Our Ref #### – ##### www.hmrc.gov.uk
Your Ref
Dear Danny
Thank you for your email sent on 13 June 2010 regarding bringing alcohol and tobacco into the UK from other EU countries.
When arriving into the UK from an EU country you can bring in an unlimited amount of most goods.
For excise goods such as alcohol and tobacco, there are no restrictions. However you must meet the conditions below:
• You transport the goods yourself.
• The goods are for your own use or as a gift. If the person you give the goods to pays you in any way (including reimbursing you for any expenses or payment in kind), then it’s not a gift and the goods may be seized.
• The goods are duty and tax paid in the EU country where they were acquired.
If you don’t meet these conditions, the goods (and any vehicle that transported them) may be seized.
If a customs official from the UK Border Agency (UKBA) thinks you may be bringing in excise goods such as alcohol and tobacco from the EU for commercial use – perhaps to sell to other people or simply for reimbursement – they may ask you questions and make checks.
You may be asked about:
• the type and quantity of goods you’ve bought
• why you bought them
• how you paid for them
• how often you travel
• how much you normally smoke or drink
The customs official would make their decision when the goods were brought into the UK based on all the information provided in response to the questions asked.
I must emphasise that the advice given is based on the information you have supplied. If the nature of the transaction changes in technical detail, or the relevant details provided were incomplete or incorrect, we will not be bound by this ruling.
We are currently experiencing higher than usual call volumes on the National Advice Helpline following the issue of VAT Mandation letters. We have trained additional advisors who are handling these calls now and further advisors will join the National Advice Helpline next week. Our National Advice Helpline is open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday. The less busy periods are from 8am to 8.30am.
Our NAS Enquiries page on our website provides details of alternative methods of contact.
Yours sincerely
Pam Wormington
Officer of Revenue & Customs
————————-
Reply to Pam Wormington 16th June 2010
Dear Ms Wormington,
l asked specific questions and you have totally ignored them .l did not ask for something that is in your lealets and on your website although these do say that if you have any questions to contact HMRC. Your response is simply not good enough. lf you cannot answer my questions please pass them on to someone else who is capable of doing so.
Once again, here are my specific questions.
Dear Sir or Madam,
please answer in full the following specific questions. Thank you.
1. What do HMRC consider to be the shelf life of (a) rolling tobacco and (b) cigarettes?
2. Do HMRC consider a bank loan, private loan or credit card acceptable to purchasing alcohol/tobacco in the EU to bring back to the UK for personal use? This is in ref to one of your questions you may ask (as per HMRC advice) if l were to be stopped by HMRC upon my return to UK. …. how you paid for them
3. The alcohol/tobacco would be for my wife and myself although my wife would not be travelling with me to purchase the goods in the EU and bring them back to the UK. (a) is this acceptable? or (b) are they classed as gifts?
Thank you,
#####
………………………………………………
What response will our friend Danny get back from HMRC, l wonder? 🙂
How dare they airbrush out Winston’s cigar? Winston and his cigar are an iconic historical image of WW2 … and they airbrush it out! Who? … only the Winston Churchill’s Britain at War Exhibition in Tooley St, London! Here we have a supposedly historical exhibition altering history because of their anti-smoking crusade. This is so f’ing wrong. These smarmy little righteous bastards make me physically sick. They shouldn’t have a poster up of Winston … they should have Goebbels!
On reading Frank Davis and Dick Puddlecote’s blogs on how smokers are now vilified on a par with blacks being called niggers, it brought to mind my late father.
He was a deepsea fisherman from the age of 14. Deepsea fishing is recognised as the most dangerous occupation in the world. Don’t believe me? … take a look at Hull’s archives listing lost fishermen It dates from 1830’s … take your time it’s 203 pages!
The blogs conjured up for me the image of Old Friend tobacco by WH & WO Wills. I make no apologies for my association of the blogs use of the word ‘nigger’ and the tobacco. It’s from a time gone by where my father and his workmates used the word ‘nigger’ along with others and thought nothing of it. It was, however, quite surprising to me because although l don’t use the word my memory still brought up this image. When my father was at home he never swore at all but as soon as he stepped on his ship … it was every other word. In later years when l was on cruise ships l found it the same. I worked with many nationalities and we all slagged each other off but it was always done in humour. Something the PC Brigade will never understand so if any of them are reading this and are getting upset … tough!
Anyway, my father smoked Old Friend, l can still remember all the tins in his wardrobe. Some like the photo and some in rectangular tins. He brought them home from the ship’s bond (duty free). There were HMRC regulations regarding the ship’s bond as anything brought back to the UK would have to pay duty.
Of course my father never did and neither did anyone else l know of in the industry. When the ship came home from a trip, it temporarily berthed at the quayside whilst the lock gates were operated. Here the Customs Officers often boarded the ship and searched the crew’s kitbags for contraband.
I remember once going down to meet my father at the quayside and getting on his ship. Relatives of the crew often did this but it was usually the kids. Health and Safety would have a hissyfit nowadays. On this particular occasion l had my new girlfriend with me. She was of the tender age of 16 and as sweet and innocent as could be, l was 18 at the time.
I think my father had met my girlfriend once before. It had to have been a short meeting … he was only home for 60hrs every 3 weeks. We went up to the bridge where my father was in control of the ship. He always brought the ship into dock as ‘3rd hands’ usually did. On seeing us he beamed and then said to my girlfriend ‘I’m glad you’re here’ and went across to a box or bag. He took out some tobacco and said to her ‘Put these up your jumper or down your knickers, l think we’ve got Customs coming aboard. They’ll never search you.’ Bless her, she did just that.
She went on to become my wife and brought into this world two wonderful daughters … neither of which were ever corrupted into smuggling by their grandfather a.k.a my father!
Goodbye Old Friend.
Some of you may know that we changed the British Embassy websites because it was giving false information on bringing back cigarettes from Bulgaria. lt stated that there was a restriction of 200 cigarettes … except the restriction was lifted on 1st Jan 2010. Bulgarian Customs were using this information (printing the web page) to confiscate cigarettes etc off UK citizens. l mean, it’s very hard to argue with a Bulgarian Customs officer who holds something in his hand from your own Embassy that states you are over the limit. Most UK citizens would think that they themselves were wrong and simply give up their goods as almost all have done (l didn’t). Also you can’t afford to argue indefintely … your plane is due to fly!(l let it fly). Some of you will recognise this tactic … UK Customs use it on coach trips in Calais. You either argue with Customs and your coach leaves without you or you leave your goods and get the coach.
Anyway, l digress. So with a lot of complaints and visits we eventually got the UK Embassy website changed and Sofia Airport changed (signs saying only 200 cigarettes for UK taken down) and Bulgarian Customs told by their Vice Director to abide by EU regulations. A result!
Well almost, because it turns out that the UK Embassy websites decided not to update travel advice about Latvia. FFS, how easy can it be to do it right? There’s only 5 countries that had these restrictions and all 5 had them removed 1/1/2010. So another letter …. this time to UK Embassy in Riga, Latvia
Consularsection.Riga@fco.gov.uk
Dear Sir or Madam,
l am at a loss for words at the incompetence of whoever is in charge of the travel advice. l recently had problems at Sofia Airport in Bulgaria because of this. FCO travel advice stated there was a restriction of 200 cigarettes if brought back from Bulgaria. Through no small part of my own l got the travel advice updated to what it should be … no restrictions from 1st Jan 2010.
Unfortunately, Latvia is still listed on your website as having restrictions on tobacco and alcohol purchases for bringing back to UK despite all restrictions being lifted 1/1/2010.
How can this be? Doesn’t anyone at your Embassy check the website for accuracy? These restrictions being lifted are important to UK travellers. They depend on you, in fact trust you to have the correct information …. not some information that is almost 6 months out of date! Bulgarian Customs were using this same false information to confiscate goods off UK citizens … are Latvian Customs doing the same?
Maybe l’m wrong and it is not incompetence at all. l’ve seen so much false information (regarding personal EU imports of alcohol and tobacco) recently from British Embassy websites incl phone in travel advice, to UK Customs putting out false information with out of date leaflets and signs … that l begin to wonder if it is not, in fact, intentional. The goal being to reduce legal imports of cheaper tobacco and alcohol bought in the EU by UK citizens into the UK? … or are you going to fall back on incompetence as an excuse?
Either way … you’ve totally let down UK citizens trust in you and in some cases, like Bulgaria, have been complicit (knowingly or not) in having UK citizens robbed of their legally bought goods.
Yours, blah blah
The reply stated that they wished to maintain good relations with their passengers and HMRC. They also wished to provide the passengers with correct and up to date information.
My letter was being forwarded to the director who maintains relations between the Onboard Services and HMRC.
No mention that the leaflets and signs were out of date and gave the wrong information. l’ll give them the benefit of the doubt for the moment and wait for the reply from this other director. Maybe they want definite answers off HMRC first?
However ….
Maintaining good relations with HMRC??? This is the HMRC that is preying on their passengers and effecting their own business? ls this the HMRC that supplies leaflets that are false and totally out of date to them? What is the point?
l think P&O should look how Hoverspeed fared with HMRC
l also wrote to the Vice Director of HMRC at same time as the CEO of P&O … not got a reply yet. 🙂
Recently my friend got stopped by Customs.
Customs Officer “l need you to answer some questions”
My friend “Your needs are not my concern” 🙂
Listen carefully when being talked to by a Customs Officer or indeed Policeman or any official.
They seldom give you an order, it is more often than not simply a request but people hear it as an order because it comes from a person in a uniform
e.g. Official “Would you mind coming this way, please sir?”
Reply ” Yes l would mind, thank you”
Listen to the words!
Nothing 2 Declare 