Dave's 72 Dart

[Dave81]

Went the other way for a change.
Shell Garage at Wooferton is a great drive.
That plus somebody local to Ludlow drives a Starsky and Hutch Torino, so trying to catch up with them.

[Dave81]

Its arrived...........
It looks like its been used by the Green Bay Packers on a wet Wednesday in practice......

Not a happy chappy as you would expect.
Email already sent to Hughes, so we shall see the response.
I'm aware that this was a transportation issue (UPS), so no ill feeling towards them. We shall see how they remedy the situation without me paying any additional import duty/tax.

The majority of the parts have survived as they were sealed or in plastic bags, which is good.
Main one being the pistons and rings so the block can be machined.

The lifters however are beyond using.
I will let the pictures tell the rest.

[Dave81]

Pistons

[Pete]

So sorry to hears this, I really hope you get it sorted, it must be so frustrating.

[Captain Chaos]

The disappointment of seeing that packaging then the contents…..aaaggh. Hope you get it sorted.

[Dave81]

Thanks Chaps.
The box was just over 20kg, so I guessed it may arrive with a bit of transport damage. Unfortunately the black wrapping hid the damp aspect.
Yes, frustrated and dissapointed that after 10 weeks of backorder delays and months of discussions that it came in like it did.

Hughes however have been brilliant. They have already shipped replacement lifters (lucky they are on the shelf upgrades that i went for).
They used UPS which has helped as its single courier both ends so no pointing of fingers. Think the photos I sent were a little hard to defend.

Next step will be getting the parts to the engine builder and off to the machine shop. Let's hope that it's plain Saling from here.

[Dave81]

Todays email....

Dave,
Well, wanted to give you an update on where we stand with this claim and your replacement. So, UPS is taking their sweet time on all this, but we will get it sorted out. I’ve been waiting on an answer from them as to how to avoid you having to pay an additional duty fee again for parts that were damaged due to their mishandling. At this point since the claim has not concluded, they accept no responsibility for anything and their advice in sending you replacement lifters is for us to cover the duty fee, which doesn’t seem fair or logical in my opinion. So we will gladly ship you new lifters, and we will pay the shipping to you, but wanted to know if you would be willing to split the cost of the duty with us. This means you would initially pay the duty fee and send us that receipt and we will refund you half of that fee. I know it isn’t perfect by any means, but we are trying to get you taken care of. Please let me know what you want to do

Well.............I've declined the nice offer of paying twice. UPS failed to fulfil their contract and deliver the parts as collected.

Not sure if they have proof read the email to be honest.
It's not fair that UPS expect Hughes to cover the additional duty and tax, but its okay to ask the customer to pay it and then invoice for a 50% return.

[Blue]

If Hughes were to send you the lifters marked as warranty replacements then surely they wouldn't liable for tax again? That certainly used to be the case. I can see Hughes point of view, the situation is neither their fault or yours so it doesn't seem unreasonable to split the duty to get things moving.

[Dave999]

think they are just trying to come up with a way to get them to you quicker

2 options
1)wait while we argue with shipper
2)or pay and have them next week... and here is an acceptibleto us, way to do it.

are hughes part of the VAT and import collecting scheme like summit and rock auto i.e price in $ is what you pay and no duty invoice when it lands here?
That the only reason i could think of for them paying DUTY to UPS
UPS must force vendors sending to the UK to take part in the UKs daft, get the merchant to do our tax collecting, scheme

(which was set up for europe post brexit, anyway not the US)


if so they don't have to send that way, free to send it old skool by a shipper not part of that scheme

i.e can't they just send them export post pack tracked/insured. with USPS, basically normal post office
they mark export label or stick on an invoice with the following clearly visible to all
sample or replacment due to damaged orginal package
cost $0.00
insured value (what they are worth) $200
postage $20

you would then only pay VAT on the postage no import duty on samples or replcements

and if you do you can try to claim it back

the main problem is making the idiot in the customs house at this end understand the situation

Dave

[Dave81]

If Hughes were to send you the lifters marked as warranty replacements then surely they wouldn't liable for tax again? That certainly used to be the case. I can see Hughes point of view, the situation is neither their fault or yours so it doesn't seem unreasonable to split the duty to get things moving.

Not sure on the warranty. I will see what the next bit of correspondence says and see if that works.
I'm fully aware it's not Hughes fault but I've paid a significant amount for this order. I expect that if I pay full and claim back on the lifters or even pay half, the drive to resolve will all but dissappear.

Then it's potential arguments until one of us gives up, probably Hughes with UPS followed by me with Hughes. So I'm out of pocket on the issue.

Ultimately they have a duty and contract with UPS to get the goods to me in good condition. Its failed, so with the correspondence and photos I've provided it should be easy to sort liability.

[Dave81]

think they are just trying to come up with a way to get them to you quicker

2 options
1)wait while we argue with shipper
2)or pay and have them next week... and here is an acceptibleto us, way to do it.

are hughes part of the VAT and import collecting scheme like summit and rock auto i.e price in $ is what you pay and no duty invoice when it lands here?
That the only reason i could think of for them paying DUTY to UPS
UPS must force vendors sending to the UK to take part in the UKs daft, get the merchant to do our tax collecting, scheme

(which was set up for europe post brexit, anyway not the US)


if so they don't have to send that way, free to send it old skool by a shipper not part of that scheme

i.e can't they just send them export post pack tracked/insured. with USPS, basically normal post office
they mark export label or stick on an invoice with the following clearly visible to all
sample or replacment due to damaged orginal package
cost $0.00
insured value (what they are worth) $200
postage $20

you would then only pay VAT on the postage no import duty on samples or replcements

and if you do you can try to claim it back

the main problem is making the idiot in the customs house at this end understand the situation

Dave

Nope I paid money at the door to UPS for duty and VAT. They wouldn't hand over until I had a code.

Lifters are around $220.
The reality is its all UPS shipped both sides of the pond, so not sure how it's difficult to sort.
I can't believe Hughes don't have insurance for shipments especially those that are reach into the thousands.

If it was USPS and Parcelfarce then I'd understand

[Dave81]

Clean up of the block has started.
The casting had lots of little wings and tabs from the factory. Being mass produced these are just left and bolted together. The ovals over the camshaft being the most obvious location.

The dremel has been out prior to machining to smooth them out and make it look better.

Before:

[Dave81]

After some work:

[MilesnMiles]

Jeez Dave, what a struggle you’ve had. Well I hope things improve from here. Did you need to use Hughes special lifters? I know they’re good at marketing, but others would be available.

[Dave81]

Hey Miles,
Went for the uprated lifters due to parts supply, they couldn't advise when the normal would be in.

I've gone for the Hughes Cam and rocker assembly, so decided to stick with the same supplier for the lifters. Hope that it may give me additional cover should anything become an issue.

Replacements turned up this week, thankfully dry. Just sorting out the little bit with UPS. The main thing is I have the parts from Hughes for the build.

Managed to finally get a oil pump today. Real Steel of all places as I think the have 0 melling units in the US.