Customs $*@&$)@ed me over

gutinater

CGN frequent flyer
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Edmontonia
I just received an antique Colt SAA completely restored from the USA. I handled this gun in vegas as my smith was there for the gunshow, gun worked flawlessly. So today I received the box from Canada post opened it up and unwrapped the gun and noticed it was half cocked. I thought WTF there no way my smith sent a gun half cocked, the guys at CBSA must have been playing cowboy. Not impressed. Thats when I tried to pull the hammer back all of the way to de-#### the gun and the hammer was jammed! Instead of forcing anything I took the gun completely apart and found that not only had they bent one of the arms on the bolt but they had managed to loosen the cam from the hammer. Thats some serious force, the trigger and hammer notches look OK, fingers crossed. Tried to bend the bolt back to normal but theres no way I can get this gun to time properly. So off to the gunsmith it goes to get fixed on my dime. What, If any recourse do I have with Canada Customs? Ive tried calling their 1-800 # on the customs form but its completely automated I cant get a living person on the other end. Does anyone know if there is a specific complaint line to call? The last gun I received they also charged me double the GST they should have with no explanation on the form. WTF is going on?
 
was the carton open? was the ctn damaged? did it have custom inspection tape? did you sign for it without damage? file a damage claim with the carrier that moved it and keep all shipping materials ,take pictures. you cant prove that customs did the damage unless you could get a officer to admit to damage (doubt it) you can file a claim for internal damage on a parcel even if the box is in good shape if you can show it was packaged inside/outside well. so long as it was insured....
 
If it was inspected by customs, it should be tagged.

As for incorrect tax collection, your post office should be able to provide you with the claims form.
 
Those guys piss me off too. I've had a knife at the border for a few months now. I appealed their seizure and I got another letter acknowledging that my appeal was recieved(perfectly legal knife, paperwork sent to prove it) but nothing ever since and no way to get ahold of the f'ers. I figure they're going to wait out the 90 days then destroy my property and claim whatever bs they come up with.
 
First,was the box opened by Customs?Your customs slip should show weather or not it was opened for inspection and repacked.Second,was the box damaged in anyway?On a Colt SAA a hard ding on the box could put it into half #### and a second ding could cause damage.If it was a nice collector I cannot believe that a good smith would not pack it so that that could not happen.Of course I wouldn't put it past the government a**hats from playing cowboy.
 
The appeal form for overcharged customs fees is right on your package. On the form attached to your package that details fees, the appeal form is on the back. I've gotten numerous refunds of part of the charges. You can never get the handling fee back though.
 
The box was opened by customs it has the customs tape on it. This wasnt damage done during shipment It was done while playing with a single action and not knowing WTF you are doing with it.
 
I had the a**holes open my parcel....not only did they charge me duty but also for "them" having to open the parcel for inspection. To add insult to injury, half my order disappeared. When questioned as to what happened to my order I was asked "Are you calling us thieves ?" and then the fine gentleman at Canadian Custom Mississauga promptly hung up on me. Two years later I'm still trying to get the other half of my parcel or some kind of answer. In the mean time....I'm on the hook for 700.00 plus change in missing goods...Yeah thx Canada Customs....rotten thieving bastards. And this is not the first time that this has happened.
 
Once upon a time I ordered a good amount of cheaper AK mags from a dealer who is currently in the big house. The box was opened by customs and half the mags were struck with some blunt object.. Looked like a ball peen hammer.. They were poly... I ended up with 3 useable mags and was told there is nothing they can do about damages ... I wish I had no accountability at my job
 
File a lawsuit in small claims court...

You would have to prove they opened the package ect ie they put a letter in.

they might try to say it was like that when it shipped or it was damaged in shipping the burden of proof is on you.

Expect a long and big pain in the rear fight to ever see a dime the question is it about the money or is it about the principal because your time will be worth more...


Now any government employee that hangs up on a person if you file a complaint to the right people it gets them in lots of trouble. you take a nurse someone writes a complaint they don't even speak to the nurse they just chew them out because they got a complaint that the needle was to big stupid crap like that.

Now to complain about someone first when you speak to them get the name right away hi so and so hows it going today. They go good then you explain why your calling. Ask did half the order just get miss placed somewhere or something like that because sometimes that happens.

If they hang up on you then write a letter to the head of the office or you go in there to speak to someone higher up. You can also write you your member of parlment they don't like ticked off people that have problems with government employees they get really pissed off.

I had a school tell me I couldn't go there because it was full of foreign exchange students they wanted me to walk 30km to another school everyday. My parents contacted the news and school trustee as well as their member of apartment because they have a legal obligation to teach all the students in their area because you pay taxes for your area not some were else. Once the news started calling and the school trustee went what the heck are you doing they magically found a spot. They weren't going to budge until they found out 1 you don't mess with the laws and 2 you don't screw with people that know how to complain to the right people. The law states that they're legally obligated to teach all the students in that district or they have to build a bigger school (class room size limits ect) The foreign exchange students pay in full and they get less money for every Canadian student so they give priority to foreign exchange which is illegal to do but they wanted the money from it.
 
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Shipping insurance cross border is a waste of money. Each nation's postal service blames the other's for the damage.

I bought two items once from the US, The package arrived marked damaged and one of the items was missing. Filed a claim because it basically looked like someone like USPS stole one of the items. I have been waiting two years to get my money back from that claim. Completely useless, just like always, insurance will always try to avoid paying out.
 
Forget it, it's a lost cause. When I moved back from oversea, I had a sea-can that came back with me. They informed me it was held for inspection and will let me know when it clear, about a week later it was good to be collected, so I had it deliver to my resident. When I open it up and start unloading my stuff I realized some of my belonging was gone, I couldn't find them after emptying the whole container. Got on the phone with them and their explaination was there are cameras everywhere, it's a 100% secured facility and it's not them. The whole thing was simply swiped under the carpet, it's my words against theirs and we all know who wins in these cases.

Now here is the funny part, weeks later after my incident, I ran into a guy that worked at these kind of place. He told me it's not all custom officers in there, they got lots of civilian workers and get this! Some guy found a collection of swords in one of these container pulled for inspection and he actually "GIMPED" out of there with a sword stuffed in his pants leg, right pass the guard window at the end of the shift. I didn't know to laugh or to cry......
 
You will get the overcharged taxes back, just appeal it and show proof of value. The other part, oh well. You may have a chance if you follow through with a complaint, have the gun examined and get a report (by a gunsmith). Show an invoice of the work done in the US. I guess it's not worth the hassle and you probably didn't pay full taxes on it anyways.
 
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