RIF Import - Declaration Template

Insurance? What the hell for?

To prove they are a bone fide reenactor's association I presume. There seems to be a lack of joined-upness somewhere as they should know all about AFRA - someone needs to do a bit of staff training, it is hardly rocket science.

Its on the website to download.
Go to your details and its top right.

Thanks mate soon as I posted that it came to me and I sorted it out, popped into local work depot and sent them a fax.
Lets see what next

I felt sure there was a way to send a fax via a PC some how, this old tech next I will have to go into work and dig out a teleprinter or send it by Lorenz SZ-40

This post may be deleted by me in a few days as I would not normally discus such on this forum.

Forgive me for digressing here but I do have a point to put these things into perspective.

First I will say that in any large company these days each section is measured on some form
of stat. In BT a big one has been to reduce the number of ELF's in the company (outrageous I here you shout what next gnomes and leprechauns ), relax Early Life Failures.

It would not surprise me if in the UKBA they had a stat on reducing the number of airsoft guns coming into the UK, this may be flavour of the month/ year who knows.
So one way to do that is be a robot if it aint UKARA it goes in the naughty pile with all the other illegal machine guns seized.

Now I really digress.
My Grandmother was Belgium and met my Grandfarther during WW1, he was in the Royal Artillery and I don't know if they even had a rifle.
I believe my Grandmother bought him this 32 revolver centre in the picture below.
It has been in my family ever since in one country or an other now it is mine.
It is regarded as an obsolete calibre not mass produced any more.
I have always liked these small Bulldog revolvers the one on the left I bought in an arms fair for about £26 about 15 years ago and I re-blued it.

Here is the good bit, the revolver on the right I purchased at the same time as the airsoft guns, I had it posted in from the USA Florida.
It was all labelled up correctly antique fire arm etc.

One night I was stood at my kitchen window and just glanced out and noticed a box behind my wheelie bin.
So I went out and got it yes this is what was in the box my latest 32 revolver not opened by UKBA and no duty to pay nothing.
I was slightly shocked to see it had just been thrown over my 6ft fence but at least I had it and no extra cost incurred and it had not sat for 6 days in the rain.
-- attachment is not available --

So much for yesterdays fax, they just keep hitting the UKARA system just got this again.

A retailer (UKBA) has just performed a search against your membership number. However, the validation has failed for the reason(s) highlighted in red below.

EXPIRED MEMBERSHIP

Your membership has expired and has not yet been renewed by your skirmish site. Please contact your site to update your membership details on the UKARA database. Once the site has updated the details, you can then contact UKBA to advise them that it is OK to recheck your membership details

Make sure you keep a detailed diary of events/contacts. When all is sorted write a factual letter of complaint and copy it also to the relevant minister's department. Ask what action they intend to take to prevent the time wasting of public servants and those they seek to serve. And follow it up. Make some good come of this!

(When you get the package check it wasn't the retailer's fault after all, not adding the correct information to the package - it may well be not the UKBA's fault initially.)

Have just typed up a letter to fax to them tomorrow, I know it could be better anyone got some ideas comments to add. Legal sections of the VCRA maybe.

Dear Sir or Madam at the UKBA

From NXXX XXXX
XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
Liverpool
LXX XXX
0151 XXXXXXXX
Mob XXXXXXXX

I am writing to you to inform you that I am no longer using the UKARA system and have not since 2009.
I am and thousands of others in the UK are part of AFRA (All Fronts Re-enactment Association) as such we have PLI (Public Liability Insurance) with Hiscox insurance policy number 1XXXXXX/XXXXXXX/0

Limit of Liability

Public Liability £5,000,000
Product Liability £5,00,000
Employers Liability £10,000,000

Period of Insurance

1st June2013 – 31st May 2014

As a battle re-enactor I have an exemption from VCRA to be able to buy and build my own replica imitation firearm, of which I do both and have always done this.

Since 2009 I have imported several airsoft guns using AFRA as my VCRA defence, what has changed, why do your staff keep interrogating the UKARA database and sending me emails to say such.

The parcels you have of mine have tracking numbers EC0XXXXXXXXGB & ECXXXXXXXXXXGB and have been imported from Hong Kong.

If you contact AFRA on 07545270538 they will confirm I am member XXX.

I also run my own events in the North West and the Midlands, I hire suitable sites that also have insurance.

Thanks
XXX XXXX

Looks fine, my tweaks FWIW (keeping it relevant and non-accusative). No need to quote the law at them, they are just following a (flawed) procedure.

...
I am writing to you to inform you that I am no longer using the UKARA system and have not since 2009.

I am, along with hundreds of other re-enactors in the UK, part of AFRA (All Fronts Re-enactment Association) and have PLI (Public Liability Insurance) and comply fully with the VCRA re-enactor's defence.

As a battle re-enactor I have an exemption from VCRA to be able to buy and build my own replica imitation firearm, of which I do both and have always done this. Since 2009 I have imported several airsoft guns using AFRA as my VCRA defence. For some reason your staff keep interrogating the UKARA database in error - I am claiming a re-enactor's defence, not an airsofter's.

The parcels you have of mine have tracking numbers EC0XXXXXXXXGB & ECXXXXXXXXXXGB and have been imported from Hong Kong.

If you contact AFRA on 07545270538 they will confirm I am member XXX.

Thanks
XXX XXXX

Attachment: AFRA Public Liability Insurance certificate

wriggley that's a long time have you been in contact with them? I don't know what is up with them right now other than as I have suggested they are just trying to refuse airsoft's into the UK.

The fact that they keep looking me up on UKARA should give you hope as long as the exporter did put the details on the parcel.
If like me they have not writen to you try a fax to them as they no longer seem to answer the phone number that customs give out.

FAX to 02476212912 or post only no email option.

CW thanks for cleaning that up, I had just had the email and got a bit hot headed in my reply

Guys, this has happened to me. 2 years ago i imported an m60. And waited. I went through a 3 month battle with ukba as I used my afar membership. I ended up having to send them a copy of my afra card, then get a copy of the insurance, oh not the one you can down load. They wanted the original insurance from afra. I finally got a copy of that. Then they wanted proff I was a reenactor. I ended up sending them a photo of me , two copies of airsofte international which had articles about dog company, and circling my big ugly mush so that the drone would see it was me. I also sent a copy of a DVD which was done at bushes for a bbc pilot. Just to prove I was entitled to import. The upshot is this. Only one of the 2 uk hub are aware of afra. If your gun is at the ukara only one, you are in for a very long battle. I finally got my gun sent, because they got sick of me phoning and emailing. And this is no lie, while I was on the phone to lady drone, I clearly heard one of her colleagues say" for fuck sake, just fucking release it to him". Bear in mind all correspondance was from a police email as I have no printer and needed all emails to be printed as I was sure I would end up in court over this. So I was hardly going to knock over a bank.
They only accept ukara but up until recently did not have access to the data base. In fact they think ukara is a regulatory body so when they tried to wrongly quote to me the violent crime reduction act, believing that ukara was responsible for the regulation and prosecution of breaches, I tore them a new one.
If ukba don't even know what law they are trying to enforce, then we are sorely screwed.
Afra may not help you, you must continue to push them and request to speak to a supervisor. They will mark you gun for destruction. You need to ring them every day. If you leave it, they will not get back to you. In fact only I rang them I would not have known the gun was seized. Paul Dalby rang them on a regular basis and it was like banging his head off a brick wall. I firmly believe that the only reason I got my gun was due to my job and knowing the legislation better than them.
Good luck to both of you. I hope it works out.

Isn't it easiest to just do the UKARA rather than go through all this aggravation?

Isn't it easiest to just do the UKARA rather than go through all this aggravation?

NO. They should KNOW the FECKING LAW

imp1864 thanks for that the problem now is they don't give you an email address to mail or a phone number to ring.

I spoke to one normal customs officer and he said they are closing down the phone option and may of already done so. I have tried ringing the number 02476 212857 for several hours starting before 8am and continuing for much of a morning, I was also told they only answer the phone they don't answer up to 2pm.

They told me a letter is on it's way to me, maybe that is also delayed in the UKBA.
United Kingdom Balls Up

Address is
Uk Border Agency
Coventry International Hub
Siskin Parkway
West Coventry
CV3 4HX

I will be writing to them this week also.

I got a friend to do a check of the phone number via official unofficial channels. Your suspicions are right, its a dead end or has been rerouted *sigh*. They do seem to be technological dinosaurs!

Thanks for the fax number I didn't have that until now.

Hmm I wonder how fast I can make them run out of paper!

Ah so you still think they have paper in that thing
I suspect they don't know how to put paper in nor do they want to know

Going to sort out a letter next, still haven't got the one they say they have sent me.

You can try this as well but I have not had an answer.
UKBAcustomercomplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

Please note: This contact information is only for complaints following receipt of your items. Due to the volume of postal items we are unable to respond to other types of query at this address or email address. For other matters please refer to sections on this part of the UKBA website, the HMRC website (notice 143) and the Royal Mail website.

So if you never receive them I presume you can't complain

Is anyone having customs problems using the AFRA system?

I have go 2 items seemingly in delay and keep getting UKARA emails saying my membership has expired.

Have told the exporters to state my AFRA details but seem to be having a problem.

I`m still waiting on my M1 carbine. Told the lads in HK to write my UKARA number on the parcel, not sure if they did. Parcelforce reckon UK customs have it. UK customs reckon that if they had it then I would`ve received a letter from them by now, so told me to re contact Parcelforce, still waiting for a reply from them

Same as me slick 2 x M1 springers was to have them for the game next month, but I still don't have a letter from them.

I also contacted the seller and they confirmed they put AFRA details on the box as stated.

Maybe we should all report them to the police for suspected postal theft

I have a feeling that I`m never going to see the gun, probably lost in the customs warehouse somewhere. It comes to something when Parcelforce can`t find one of their parcels once it enters the realms of the border agency, and the border agency tell me that they have no way of finding the parcel once it`s in their hands. What the hell are they using for an admin system ? One more thing in the UK that doesn`t work.
And I thought there was some UK customs notice sometime in the last two years that anything under £80 wouldn`t get charges added ? Mrs ordered some beads from the US totalling $40 inc.shipping. She`s just got a notification from Royal Mail to collect the parcel and pay £23 in charges. When I told her that maybe £15 of that was a RM admin charge she went apeshit

Edit: Just had a chat with Parcelforce customer services on the phone. Apparently UK customs are now checking just about every parcel from China/Asia because of an increase in smuggled illegal substances. The lady is going to contact their International hub to try and find out what the delay is, and hopefully get back to me.
Oh and just checked the HMRC website and customs limit is no longer £80, it`s now £15....they kept that quiet.

No wonder there are delays the amount of goods from China these days is phenomenal, but they should respect the AFRA details and at least just ring AFRA rather than waste TAX payers money and their staffs time going back over the same parcel several times with the UKARA system.

For anyone wanting to fax from a PC try this http://www.myfax.com/free/

I used it today but you may open yourself up for some spam.

Now a week since UKBA said they had sent me a letter, still not here

I have emailed the complaints twice phoned customs 3 times and also sent UKBA a letter and 2 faxes.

Just rang Customs eventually after 3 attempts I got a person to ring UKBA and they have informed me that the letter they sent me either last Monday or prior to that has still not left their building and in due course it will but unknown when that will be.

Just rang Customs eventually after 3 attempts I got a person to ring UKBA and they have informed me that the letter they sent me either last Monday or prior to that has still not left their building and in due course it will but unknown when that will be.

Keep at it. They cannot distroy the RIF if the case is still live. Keep pushing them, asking for what will satisfy the as to a defence. Keep copies of all correspondence.