my parcel is stuck at HWDC Langley since 7th Jan

[peaky]

Hi There can anyone help me , i ordered an item from aliexpress it has been presented to customs on the 07-01-2022 for assessment and has been like that ever since either its been stolen or lost because im now £40 out of pocket . Already contacted royal mail and there not interested nobody cares
had no contact from them if there is a problem with the package . the seller of the item is no help and speaks no english certainly wont be ordering anything from overseas again as its impossible to even contact langley directly .. who are they accountable too for goods going missing ?
its now the 14th of march does anyone know what i can do thankyou

Here is the tracking no if its any use LT950745443NL

[Snaggletooth]

...it has been presented to customs on the 07-01-2022 for assessment and has been like that ever since either its been stolen or lost because im now £40 out of pocket . Already contacted royal mail and there not interested nobody cares ... who are they accountable too for goods going missing ?

The last tracking point says that it is in customs. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs are part of HM Treasury. They are certainly not accountable to Royal Mail. If you want to make a complaint about them you should speak to your MP.

It isn't either "stolen or lost", the third and most likely option is that it has been impounded by customs, that is their job. What did you buy?

i ordered an item from aliexpress ... Here is the tracking no if its any use LT950745443NL

This parcel was posted in the Netherlands, see the NL on the end of the tracking number. Sellers on Aliexpress sometimes ship to Europe in containers then break up the container into individual parcels over here. These items seem to have a much higher rate of problems than items that enter the mail system in China, so it probably indicates a dodgy seller. If you can't get your money back from the seller or Aliexpress, ask your credit card provider for a chargeback. If you had bought this from a UK based seller you would be legally entitled to a refund, as it is you need to ask the card provider nicely for help.

[peaky]

thanks for the reply , moral of the story dont buy anything from aliexpress have no change of getting my money back from them either
So i gather customs wont even bother to contact you at all very confusing situation it was a lighter nothing i would have expected to be a problem

[Snaggletooth]

No customs don’t contact anyone, either the sender or the recipient.

Lighters are not allowed in the mail in the UK if they contain any lighter fluid. This seems to be interpreted very strictly, that is, even residual amounts could get the lighter impounded & destroyed. This rule applies to both the domestic mail and international mail, and I would expect most countries to have a similar rule. Even if your lighter is new and has never been filled with fluid, it has probably joined a very long queue of items that are waiting for further investigation. If it passes it might still arrive, but it’s probably a slim chance.

https://www.royalmail.com/sites/royalma ... y-2021.pdf

Given the rules, I wouldn’t buy lighters mail order from any seller, in the UK or abroad. Apart from the hassle of all the above, sometimes scammers intentionally sell things they know will be impounded: they send a cheaper or broken version of what was listed, knowing there is a good chance it won’t arrive.

[peaky]

I far as i know it does not contain any lighter fluid , iv`e had plenty of zippo`s delivered without a problem its a petrol lighter