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Importing from the USA - Customs waiting time

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 1:00 pm
by Ovenpaa
What is the average UK customs waiting time for reloading components these days?

I ordered some parts from Dillon which were shipped promptly and have been hanging around in the UK for a couple of weeks now with no communication so I assume they are being checked to confirm they are not weapons of mass destruction (More like mass distraction!) In the good old days it used to be 10 days maximum however as I tend to make my own kit it has been ages since I had to order from the USofA.

Re: Importing from the USA - Customs waiting time

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 2:33 pm
by MistAgain
Have the parts come in with Parcelforce ?

Re: Importing from the USA - Customs waiting time

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 4:22 pm
by Alpha1
The last order I got from the States took about 12 days there was no tracking information once it arrived in the UK it just turned up out of the blue. That was about a month ago.

Re: Importing from the USA - Customs waiting time

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 5:08 pm
by Duey
I had a delivery from the states, through Brownalls, be it only a couple of trigger springs, and it took about 7-8 days in total, arrived in the U.K. On the evening of the 7 day I had the package 11am on day 8
However your part is considerably larger, heavier and more expensive and will probably attract more attention from customs
It will be worth it when it gets here

Re: Importing from the USA - Customs waiting time

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 5:16 pm
by breacher
I had a delivery of Ergo grips take 7 months - I kid you not. I had given up on them assuming they had been lost and even filled in the claims forms.

Arrived out of the blue without a word of explanation !!!

Re: Importing from the USA - Customs waiting time

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 5:22 pm
by Egg on Leggs1
I think, to be fair, the whole civil service is having problems with reduced staff expected to do more work without additional support or resources.

I have never met a nice civil servant and hate having to deal with them, absolutely no work ethic other than their careers.

Re: Importing from the USA - Customs waiting time

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 6:15 pm
by artiglio
Its a complete lottery, had a neck turning tool held at Coventry for an eternity. Even got threatened with prosecution for having "possibly" violated import law. Apparently no one was able to determine if it was prohibited and that they would not look at the manufacturers website to determine its use, because the site could have been fabricated to hide the tools true purpose.
Utterly ludicrous, eventually after posts on here and UKV i received a contact email within border force, sent an email explaining the situation and what the tool was for, either by chance or as a result of the mail, packet turned up less than a week later.

Re: Importing from the USA - Customs waiting time

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 8:31 pm
by majordisorder
My last few shipments:

DHL from Canada 48 hours
DHL from USA 5 weeks
USPS from USA 8 weeks
FedEx from USA 72 hours

It's a lottery...

Re: Importing from the USA - Customs waiting time

Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 5:59 am
by rox
I don't know about reloading components, but my Dillon parts invariably arrive in 48 hours (shipped via you-know-who).