Uk Border customs stripped my car with no VALID reason

[Riley Blue]

It hasn't happened to me but they can do it with impunity. I imagine it's under this act:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/power-t...

There are contact details at the bottom, might be a good place to start asking questions.

[KTF]

Before they started taking it apart, would the OP not have been given some paperwork detailing their rights afterwards?

Edit: This suggests they will pay for the damage: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/complaint...

[Vixpy1]

The french customs at the Eurotunnel are known for being brutal with cars, they took my m5 apart twice in 2 years, looking for diamonds

[gavsdavs]

Urge said:

No Honestly, nothing

I bought the car from an elderly gent who owned it from new.

I am a white male of 50 years, My Hobbies are classic car restoration.

I work for a living as a floor layer,

I have NEVER been arrested in my life, I have NO CCG,s , NO criminal record, never been involved in ANYTHING drug/knife/alcohol related crime

Just a normal honest guy

You have my sympathies - but I suspect the agencies are pretty vigilant of vehicles going/coming from Belgium recently and that vehicle may just have pinged a 'do a thorough check' as it may have places to conceal naughty things like explosives.

I doubt it was you that triggered it, more likely the car. Best of luck getting some compo.

[Gtom]

Maybe they just really hate the Fiat Multipla?

[robinessex]

This is who searched your car

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Force

I see no reason they can't be held accountable for damage to your vehicle.

Overviewed by Independent Police Complaints Commission/Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary
Minister responsible Caroline Nokes, Minister of State for Immigration

[littleredrooster]

Urge said:

on my way back to the Uk, on the french side, I was stopped by customs.

So - just to be clear - this was done by the English Border Force ('customs'), not the French?

(Yes, I know that they operate on each other's territory, but I had my car comprehensively 'emptied' on the French side once by French customs...)

[Urge]

The customs who did this where UK customs working on the french side just before you board the train.

I did demand to speak to a manager who said they do pay for any damage caused ,

My concerns are these

Id really need to take apart everything they took off, to ensure there is no other damage done that I can not instantly see

my other concerns, could I claim to be compensated for traveling to my fiat garage (which is not close) to first get a quote for repair, and also for then the loss of use of my car when its being fixed.

Its bad enough they did the damage, but now I have to run around after the event putting things right, surly my time should not be free

[mat205125]

A900ss said:

I ‘think’ they have the right to search/take apart any car and they don’t even have to rebuild it. They can take it apart into a thousand pieces and then just leave you the pieces to rebuild.

I’m NOT saying you were but a lesson to all is never be a smart arse with the Inland Revenue or Customs. They have loads of power and it’s just not worth it.

Best of luck though.

I think you're right with regard to the extreme and unquestioned power that these people have.

God only knows what its going to be like post brexit, when the chips on the French shoulders balloon to many times their already huge current size.

Flying and hiring wherever possible seems like a better idea these days.

[robinessex]

Submit an itemised list of the damage, cost to repair, plus out of pocket expenses incurred. Give them 2 weeks to reply, or you will submit a small claims action.

[mat205125]

Vixpy1 said:

The french customs at the Eurotunnel are known for being brutal with cars, they took my m5 apart twice in 2 years, looking for diamonds

Must have been well hidden

[Atomic12C]

XMT said:

Surely its illegal to damage it in the process of conducting their duty?
OP I suspect there was a marker on the car prior to your purchase which has led them to do what they done.

I know it sure doesn't sound right but in effect yes they are fully entitled to take apart anything that they have a suspicion about - as they have this authority, it is not classed as illegal.
Any damage should be minimized as a working practice on their behalf and I would hazard a guess they'll have working practices and guidelines on how to go about minimizing damage. But in order to be able to effectively check a vehicle sometimes they do need to "go to town on it".

I know a few long distance HGV drivers whereby I've heard a number of stories regarding some trucks having their seats, beds, fuel tanks, spare wheels etc. cut open/emptied to check for illegal items.
One guy had his motorhome more or less stripped bare!

They check for anything from drugs, jewelry, people, animals, undeclared high value items, cigarettes, alcohol....you name it.
And as smugglers use every more inventive means to avoid detection, the customs checks usually have to dig deeper.

[jamei303]

Had to wait 8 hours while they took all the seats out of our coach back from Amsterdam once.

Pretty sure they could disassemble your engine and hand it back to you in pieces if they felt like it.

[Kenny Powers]

I’m sure they had a reason. Whether or not it was a valid one is perhaps a matter of opinion.

Not to detract from your situation, as it sounds like a nightmare and I’d also be upset

By the way, eighty year old people also commit crimes.

[Deesee]

My wife did some Jury service for an elderly man who under "duress" had driven a car back to the UK with a sizeable amount of cocaine.

On another note, we got taken down to Dover docks to meet the customs guys on a school trip many moons ago, they showed us lots of partial car doors with "contraband" hidden, and we got to watch them in action doing searches behind a mirror, and got to watch a demo with one of the dogs!

Where we live there is a huge people/drug smuggling problem, the illegal transportation of cash, drugs and other tradable goods is unfortunately rife and these guys are only doing there job.

They would have almost certainly had info with someone matching your description / or your cars description for that level of inspection, lets hope they got them.

[budgie smuggler]

Deesee said:

My wife did some Jury service for an elderly man who under "duress" had driven a car back to the UK with a sizeable amount of cocaine.

On another note, we got taken down to Dover docks to meet the customs guys on a school trip many moons ago, they showed us lots of partial car doors with "contraband" hidden, and we got to watch them in action doing searches behind a mirror, and got to watch a demo with one of the dogs!

Where we live there is a huge people/drug smuggling problem, the illegal transportation of cash, drugs and other tradable goods is unfortunately rife and these guys are only doing there job.

They would have almost certainly had info with someone matching your description / or your cars description for that level of inspection, lets hope they got them.

That's all fine, but if it's just an innocent person who happens to match the description, they should either put the car back together in the same condition as the found it or let you pay a garage to do it when you're home and reclaim the cost.

[BFleming]

On a trip to the Nurburgring 10 years ago we got pulled in a Focus ST in Dover, driven into the shed and asked to leave the vehicle. The customs guy - who assume everyone to be guilty until proven innocent - opened the boot & found 3 overnight bags & 3 crash helmets. He asked the driver where we were going & his reply was 'robbing banks in France'. We burst out laughing. The customs guy just stood there looking at us, and the driver said 'Nurburgring mate'. The guy just stared, cracked a slight smile, and said 'on your way lads'. Not big, not clever.

I have heard stories about them not having to even attempt to put trim back on the car; they use powers known as reasonable suspicion for searches. So basically if they feel like it, they can make your life hell. Story a couple of years ago about an elderly couple that did a booze cruise & had their car confiscated at Dover on the return journey, never to be seen again. Happens pretty often.

[BrettMRC]

You haven't got a mate in the Job who asked them to "greet" you for a laugh by any chance?

[Dr Interceptor]

Had it happen to me once in the Transit - I was coming back from Portugal, and got stopped at the border between Spain & France.

They couldn't believe I was coming back 'empty' (I had taken stuff out to our place in Portugal, but had nothing to bring back), so in the back of the Transit was my holdall full of clothes, and nothing else.

They removed every single bit of ply lining and trim on a six month old Transit, looking for the drugs that weren't there.

[Deesee]

budgie smuggler said:

That's all fine, but if it's just an innocent person who happens to match the description, they should either put the car back together in the same condition as the found it or let you pay a garage to do it when you're home and reclaim the cost.

100% they should put it back as they found it, and did I not suggest otherwise. Border Control have a tough job to do, and this was clearly not a search for too much fags/booze.

I got pulled and searched on a motorway toll outside of Strasbourg a 2 yrs ago, the tolls would not open until my car, and a similar colour car were escorted to the side of the road, and our luggage was searched at the side of the road, clearly they were looking for someone travelling our way in that particular size and colour of car.

Op, hope you've got some photos, and hope your car gets rectified.