Proud Father

lt's been getting a bit serious round here a bit lately so l thought a change of mood would be appropriate.Every parent wants their offspring to do better than they did, live life to the full and if they can, enjoy every minute.

Both my daughters have been doing that, they've now seen as much as the world as l have but probably more. What is certain is they will definitely see more countries than l did for sure. Both are still in their 20's and they haven't settled down yet.

Today l received a set of photos from my youngest from Honolulu, Hawaii. She's a model and photographer and these photos are her in front of the camera. l can definitely now say she's ahead of me!

l'm a proud dad ... go girl !!!!!

1st training jump on route to solo

UKBA Dover targets Xmas Shoppers

l've had a number of requests for help over the weekend and all have involved Dover. Out of 3 of the cases 2 vehicles have been seized along with tobacco amounts that are not in anyway excessive. They all answered the questions correctly, did not contradict each other, had never been stopped before and in effect could not in any way be construed as commercial. The 3rd case involved losing the tobacco but kept the vehicle.

ln one of the cases, the seizure was announced before the A-J's were conducted! l can't say much more about them at the moment other than that they were all in my honest opinion nothing more than the policy of disruption. lntegrity and honesty were not in attendance.

Unfortunately none of the victims recorded the interview and all signed the notebook ... even one who could not read or write! We shall do our best though.

A fourth case happened a month or so go and here we have a Review Officer that is of the same calibre of our very own Ian Sked. ln fact he could well take the crown off our Sked ! We shall bring you the results of all these when we get them.

On a positive note we've had one incident at an airport where the UKBA were told they were being recorded and once again they behaved correctly and no goods were seized. l'm trying to convince the person involved to let us have the video. Fingers crossed. lf we don't get it we still have ours to come very shortly.

So people, let's be careful out there. Record everything and do not sign the notebook ... ever!

Stay Safe now!

Oh l forgot ... our Xmas Baccy Cruise is just a week away! There are still some places left!

##Updated## We is in The Times, dear boy ... The Times, no less! :)

We were asked to contribute to an article in the Times, Money section. The article is about how to keep your tobacco, cigarettes and alcohol when bought in the EU and then have to run the gauntlet of the UKBA. All in all, it's quite a good article and if you're a subscriber to the online version of the Times you'll be able to read it. Unfortunately, we are  not and only have the dead tree version but once our scanner stops sulking we'll put it up (if it carries on sulking we'll visit friends who have one).

h/t David http://www.day-tripper.net/

Right click and open in new window. You can then zoom in. Or use this direct link http://www.day-tripper.net/assets/docs/111126Times.pdf   h/t David again.

This was our full comment before Laura cut it.

" The issue is not the “guidelines” but whether your goods are for a “commercial purpose”. Regardless of guidelines, you can legally purchase as much as you like for your own personal use (including gifts). There is no such thing as “limits” or “allowances” when shopping within the EU.

If you are stopped, do not be evasive about the quantity you have purchased. Anything which UKBA choose to view as deceit, no matter how trivial, will be taken as an attempt at smuggling. Your goods will then be confiscated. Tell the truth about how many times you’ve traveled abroad in the last 12 months, who you are traveling with and so on. UKBA ask you these questions because they invariably already know the answers and are inviting you to “lie”.

Because UKBA use Civil Law and not Criminal, we advise very strongly that you record the entire interview on your phone/camera etc, as is your right (UKBA operational manual). Finally, do not sign the UKBA officer’s notebook under any circumstances." 

Coming Shortly  ... Exclusive!


We are in the process of editing a complete video and audio of an actual stop, search and interview interrogation by the UKBA involving 20,000+ cigarettes. This video is not like the stage managed garbage on programmes such as UK Border Force. This video shows everything as it really is (and what the UKBA don't want you to know) and how the 20,000+ cigarettes went home with their rightful owners ... and NOT confiscated by the UKBA! 

Reminder! Xmas Baccy Mini-Cruise 6th Dec from £18.75pp

UKBA Officer Scrooge

Well, it's fast approaching festivity time and what better way to start than a baccy mini-cruise to stock up on Xmas smokes and alcohol? :)  Not forgetting Xmas gifts of same for our friends and family.

The last mini-cruise was a great success and we hope this will be the same ... except this time with tinsel and flashing lights!

So come along ... there's still places available. Only £22.50 each for a 2 Berth and just £18.75 each for a 4 Berth. Cheap as chips!

Should be great fun ... even if Scrooge (UKBA) turns up. Zaphod definitely wants Scrooge there ... he's on a mission! :) Ho ho ho!

Booking details etc HERE

FFS! What Computers and O/S do UKBA use?

High Spec UKBA Computer 2011

UKBA tell me through an FOI that they cannot tell me how many vehicles they seized in the period 2010/11 because they have 120,000 seizure records of excise goods robbed off these 120,000 poor souls and it would take 500hrs @ £25 ph  to go through each one to extrapolate if a vehicle was also seized or not !!!!

The mind boggles!

Tobacco Seized from N2D by UKBA/HMRC

We've been looking at UKBA/HMRC stats so l thought it's about time we did our own N2D stats for EU Cross Border Shopping. These stats are for both me and Zaphod but also include friends and family etc we've helped and advised. The period is from 2001 - 2011. All seizures and attempted seizures were amounts over the guidelines.We haven't included any of the Appeals we've helped with from contacts to this site.

These stats are our own personal stats:-

UKBA/HMRC Seizures against N2D and Co


Seizures  9      Appeals  9         Won  9       Lost  0
(Note:- in only 1 of these Appeals we won did we not get back the Excise Goods (Sked Factor). This is still subject to ongoing legal action against HMRC as the compensation offered was derisory in our view)
.......................................................

UKBA/HMRC Attempted Seizures against N2D and Co
(Note, we class an attempted seizure as a stop and search that goes past the Initial Interview and onto the full interview interrogation that includes commerciality statement and the A-J's. UKBA/HMRC policy, as stated in the High Court, is that any stop and search that reaches this stage ... a seizure is expected)


Attempted Seizures     35


.........................................................


Complaints to UKBA/HMRC


Complaints   10   Satisfactory  1   Unsatisfactory  7  No Response 2
(One of these is now with Ombudsman and ongoing)


......................................................

FACTOIDS! (looking for support)
(Note:- 'Requests' are just not one letter/e-mail. ln many cases it involves numerous correspondence)


Tobacco Companies


Requests  14  Satisfactory  1   Unsatisfactory 1 No Response 12

.............
Tobacco Shops Belgium


Requests  13   No Response 13

.........................
Ferry Companies


Requests  15  Satisfactory  3  Unsatisfactory  2  No Response 10

.........................
MPs, MEPs


Request  6     Satisfactory  0    Unsatisfactory  4     Ongoing  2

......................
Large Freedom/Libertarian Blogs/Websites


Requests 18 Satisfactory  3    No Response 15

...................
Foreign Office, British Embassy BG Bulgarian Customs


Requests  14  Satisfactory   4  Unsatisfactory  8  No Response  2

.....................
Independent  UKBA Inspector


Requests  3 Unsatisfactory  1   No Response  2

............................
MSM


You're having a larf!






     

Well FU Manchester Airport!

I mentioned my experience at Manchester Airport Terminal 3. l was particularly incensed by the human processing plant aka airport security circus and the mindless drones that man it. They even had signs up saying that if you refused to have a bodyscan you would not be allowed to fly.

Well, Manchester Airport Security can take that sign and shove it where the sun don't shine! lf people don't want to use the 'pervert machine' ... they don't have to. For once the EU have done something positive. We have new rules regarding use of 'pervert machines' and the x-ray is banned. l do so hope your 'pervert machines' are this type Manchester Airport Security :)

Yes, l know l'll have to go through other screening if l refuse but believe me .... l'll make you pay!

h/t Schneier   

Braveheart ... not brave, no heart

FIRE chiefs “should have saved” a mother of two who fell into a disused mineshaft, her family said, after a fatal accident inquiry found her death could have been avoided.

Lawyer Alison Hume suffered “survivable” injuries after plunging 14 metres down the collapsed shaft in Galston, Ayrshire, in July 2008.

Her rescue was delayed by senior fire officers who showed “rigid compliance” with official health and safety procedures, the inquiry concluded.

The 44-year-old spent up to eight hours in the pit, developed hypothermia, had a heart attack and died in hospital

Firefighters had wanted to go down to rescue her, and 18 of them had been trained to do so. But their senior officers refused to give them permission, believing the situation was not safe.

The sheriff criticised Group Commander Paul Stewart, the senior fire officer at the scene, for saying the rescue had been “a success”.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said Mrs Hume’s death was “a source of enormous regret” but stopped short of issuing an apology to the family

Full story here   and   here

How to Record UKBA/HMRC Interviews/Stop and Search

Firstly, when you are stopped by UKBA/HMRC you MUST immediately tell them that you are recording them. They CANNOT stop you as it is in their own procedures that they HAVE to follow. Make sure that you take a copy of SBC's FOI with you in case they try to refuse being recorded by bluffing or lying to you. The relevant paragraph is on page 8 under Excise and Civil Interviews where it categorically states:-

"Note: Officers cannot stop someone if they choose to make a video or audio recording of the interview themselves using their own equipment such as a mobile phone, video camera etc."


The reason we tell you to inform the UKBA/HMRC immediately that you are recording the incident when you are stopped by them is NOT you that are required to do so by law (you can do it covertly too), it is to make them behave!


Once they know they are being recorded, they will not use their usual tactics of bullying, intimidation, lying etc etc etc. The act of recording them has the same result on  them as Kryptonite does to Superman ... they lose their 'powers' and have to do everything by the book!


As for equipment to use, SBC rightly says that we recommend the above Sony Recorder BUT this is not the only device we use at the time. The Sony is for back-up because it can record for hours and hours with no problem. The other devices we use such as spy cameras, i-phone etc all have a major disadvantage ... if the interview goes on for a long time (Zaphod 4+ hours), the spy cameras, i-phones etc will run out of battery ... the Sony will NOT.We did a test and it ran for over 12 hours and it still had battery life left.


lt's no use recording something so important only to find you missed half of the interview interrogation because the battery ran out!


We still use the spy cameras, i-phone etc but the Sony is the 'belt and braces'. Also remember that your mobile phone has recording capabilities too even if it is not an i-phone. Get to know your mobile phone's capabilities, many of them can do more than the i-phone l use.For spy cameras go to ebay and as SBC said just do a search for spy cameras.


SPREAD the word people and let's all MAKE the UKBA/HMRC  BEHAVE!


Us Cross-Border Shoppers are no longer defenceless against the illegal and unjust tactics used by UKBA/HMRC. We can take away these tactics that UKBA/HMRC have used for years to rob people of their goods and vehicles. This recording of them is a game breaker ... USE IT & TELL OTHERS about it. 


Let's show them that they are ACCOUNTABLE to us, the public! Let's FORCE them to abide by the LAW ... as they should have been doing for years!


SPREAD THE WORD!


Stay Safe 

##UPDATED## ln just 1 year ...68,765 people had their tobacco/cigs seized by UKBA/HMRC

On top of the 68,765 people who had their tobacco/cigs seized, 5618 of these poor souls had their vehicles seized,

The figure of the number who had goods seized is even higher in reality as when people who are intimidated into leaving their goods without an interview by UKBA/HMRC there is no documented record of this unless the UKBA/HMRC chooses to do such. UKBA/HMRC are not obligated to record such an incident immediately ... they can do it at their convenience. Heh heh, so these seized goods that there is no record of will ALL be documented at a later date by said UKBA/HMRC officer? Answers on a postcard please.

So, to the facts we've got through an FOI for seizures in the period 2008/9.

Firstly we'lll look at Maritime Seizures. These include all the ports AND get this ... the Channel Tunnel at Coquelles in France. Creative accounting? :) This total is 4,712 seizures. Oh l forgot! there's an extra 2836 seizures (the only ONE they put in their annual performance report). These 2836 seizures are cross-channel seizures ... perhaps they don't know cross-channel is Maritime.

Next we have Air seizures which total 41,765 seizures

Then we have Inland seizures which total 1,477 seizures.

Overseas Seizures are 132... yes 132.

All the above are for cigarettes only. The tobacco are as follows.

17,703 seizures. They don't break this down into Maritime, Inland, Air, Cross-Channel or Overseas.

Also they don't say where the 5618 vehicles were seized but they don't know what happened to them anyway!. They seem to think that giving me this information is not in the public interest! :)

How long is this wholesale state robbery going to continue?

Written in a quaint no-smoking restaurant in Bulgaria where they supply ashtrays to smokers. No going out in the cold for a smoke for me :)


UPDATE


l chose 2008/9 stats because l could get some of them from HMRC before part of it got swallowed up in the merger to form UKBA.

Since then stats are very hard to get because UKBA say HMRC have them and vice-versa. Even bloody Damien Green didn't know who kept the stats and he's the Minister in charge of them! 

The 2008/9 stats were difficult enough as they only published Cross-Channel seizures of 2836. This was a blatant attempt to deceive the public and it is still going on.

SMOKING BAN

It's been a while since l've been back in Yambol, Bulgaria, The restaurants, bars etc had a choice of going smoking or non-smoking. The smoking bars, restaurants are doing well, some of the non-smoking establishments have closed down and the other non-smoking places now have smoking even though the signs say 'No Smoking Allowed'.

Lesson to be learned eh? Ah but our esteemed representatives are not listening are they? Fingers in the ears and eyes shut tight.  

Break time! Now back in Bulgaria

l expect posts to be light as l am back in Bulgaria and going into the mountains today. Internet connections will probably be at a premium :) Answering e-mails etc will be slow if anyone sends me such.

Have not flown out of Manchester for a long time and what a depressing experience it was. They have an area for controlling livestock aka Airport Security! Hundreds of passengers shuffling along lines waiting to be processed by drones with little sign of humanity. This is nothing to do with security, it's all about indoctrinating people to obey authority.

lf we are to believe that there is a terrorist threat one has to wonder why the Airport Security area has not been targeted. lt is so unsecure it is beyond belief and there are hundreds of passengers crammed into this area. All you need to get into it is a boarding card printed off your computer and it does not matter whether they are valid or not. The threat to freedom and democracy is not terrorism, it is Airport Security and the like.

Airport security protects you from terrorism as much as it protects you from Pixies and Elephants!

lt is just mindless drones programming mindless sheep!  

25 x UKBA Guidelines and 12.5 x UKBA Guidelines brought home!

Just a quick small update as l have to prepare for my flight to Bulgaria.

Zaphod was indeed arrested and unarrested once again. lt happened on our return from Gdansk to Doncaster Airport (where he got arrested last time). We got through passport control with no problem and then waited at the carousel for our luggage. We waited and waited as all the other passengers were getting their's. l was wandering around listening to my i-pod whilst Zaphod stood patiently waiting. lt became obvious that ours were to be last so it was obvious the luggage had been x-rayed on arrival. Game on!

l immediately went over and joined Zaphod as we knew UKBA's first line of attack would be we were trying to appear as though we were not travelling with each other. So, myself and Zaphod sat down together and chatted whilst everybody else got their luggage. The carousel then stopped with no luggage to be seen and just 3 people left waiting for said luggage... me, Zaphod and a Polish lad. Finally the carousel started up and the luggage appeared. The Polish lad got his first and he was away to the exit (think he'd be unaware of what was waiting for him).

Zaphod and l waited till we both had our luggage and then set off together and joked about what was awaiting us. We must have bemused the people watching us on camera. They'd either think we did not know the UKBA were waiting for us or were wondering why we were laughing.

Sure enough the posse of UKBA highwaymen were there at the exit and off to the room to the right was the Polish lad getting his suitcase emptied of all his cigs. The fun then started, we refused to consent to go into the room.  We hit them on 2 fronts, Zaphod with the illegality of the stop and me with refusing any involvement with any UKBA officers as l had an ongoing serious allegation against them being investigated by the Ombudsman. l won't go into details now but suffice to say it quickly developed into a standoff whereupon we said we were going outside for a cigarette and once they had decided what action they were going to take they could come and tell us.

So thats what we did, we left with our luggage and went outside and had a cig (well a few). No-one stopped us, they looked bemused at what to do so did nothing to stop us going outside. l kid you not, we were outside with our luggage ... and not a UKBA officer to be seen! No, we didn't run off ... we were in 'the game' and it was getting interesting. :)

Finally they came out after 10 mins or so and this is where Zaphod got arrested as he refused to go back into the airport. l was left with 2 UKBA officers with whom l conversed whilst having more cigarettes. Finally, l took them inside the airport as it was getting cold.

What happened next is a long story and don't have time for it now but this l will say ... the UKBA officers were nice and polite and did not try any dirty tricks, use any threats, didn't try to trip us up with trick questions and were in fact ... jolly nice fellows. We took cigarettes breaks when we wanted and they even went and got us coffees when we asked for them ... and even offered us coffees when we didn't ask for them. We were truly astounded at how nice they were. How can we have been so lucky to find such nice and fair officers?  l mean, we've never encountered such before and l'm sure nothing has changed.

Ahhhh wait, there is one thing though ... we told them they were being RECORDED and everything they said would be used as evidence if it came to a court case!  :)

At the end, Zaphod left with his cigarettes (25 times over the UKBA guidelines, 20,000 cigarettes) and l left with my cigarettes (12.5 times over the guidelines, 10,000 cigarettes). We refused to sign their notebooks and refused their Notice 1 leaflets. We were not issued with any warning letters either.

We'll both do our own more detailed account of the incident later.

So folks remember ... make sure you RECORD everything and let UKBA know you are RECORDING them! Rest of the advice is on the site. Stay safe!

Special Mention


SBC ... we used your FOI to full effect. Without it we could not have pushed them as far as we did. Because of you, we KNEW we could record them and they could NOT refuse.They then knew that every action they took was recorded and were accountable for.  Our victory is in no small part down to you.

ln your debt,
                      Zaphod and Smoking Hot

ps The Polish lad lost all his cigarettes. Alas, by the time we ourselves got into the Sked Shed his fate had already been decided and summarily judged upon.

Stopped by UKBA, Zaphod arrested AGAIN! 30,000 cigs.

Yep! We got stopped and Zaphod got arrested AGAIN. Had 30,000 cigs between us.

We are both home now .... with the 30,000 cigs!  More later cos l'm knackered and need some zzzzzzzz's.

Flying out again tomorrow morning :)

Travelling Again

Got some serious partying to do with family in Bulgaria and then visiting friends around EU. Going to be great to smoke in pubs and be with people that are very possessive over their freedom ... unlike the sheep here.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... my complaint against being illegally detained by UKBA is now with Onbudsman. Been to actually speak face to face with UKBA and they are on with my other complaint about being setup in Luton Airport and false information held about me. These were frontline officers NOT the Complaints Dept .... they speak to no-one!

One thing l did find whilst talking to the UKBA was they haven't a clue about who's who in the UKBA. Some think HMRC still exist inside UKBA, others think they are all now UKBA. Nobody has a clue who collects all the data or stats ... HMRC? UKBA? BOTH?.  Minister Damien Green doesn't know either! They all said that they have no direct contact details for the Complaints Dept except e-mails. The whole thing is a complete and utter shambles.

Don't forget about the baccy cruise ... come along, it's great fun whether you are buying baccy or not!

Stay Safe Now!

SH

Baccy 2 Xmas Cruise 6th - 8th Dec

This cruise is 6th Dec and sails at 18.30 (latest check-in 17.00), arrive back in Hull 8th Dec 08.15.
(These are reports on the 1st cruise ... ours, Bucko, Patsy and last but not least Nomindeus )

We've booked and it has cost us £22.50 each (2 berth cabin), currently if there is 4 of you in a 4 berth it will cost you £17.50 each. Go here to book. Don't select mini-cruise, just fill in details at top of page. Don't select additional options such as transfers later in the booking. The meals are up to you.

Your booking details should look like this (shows returning 7th because you ARE, the ship arrives the 8th in Hull.

NOTE:-  If you are coming alone, BOOK FOR 2! Put any name down as second passenger and we can change it later and that passenger will then pay you HALF the booking.

Both Zaphod and myself are going on this  mini-cruises and we want YOU to come aswell. There is onboard shopping and also very good tobacconists in Brugge. The mini-cruise consists of 2 nights on the ferry (yes, you get cabins included) and a day in Brugge or Ostende. There is of course onboard entertainment, bars, restaurants, casino and so on.

l believe the Hordes are on this trip too but they will be going to Ostende once in Belgium. They'll no doubt show you the way should you wish to go to with them to Ostende instead of Brugge.

Some advice for travelling on the ship here.

What's not to like?

We aren't a travel agency and don't want your credit card details, personal info etc etc. You book it yourself with P&O and we meet onboard (or not if don't like the look of us). Personally, l'd be quite happy meeting you under your blogger names and id's. lt's up to you.

You can get transport from Zeebrugge to Brugge ... takes about 15 mins but we will have transport of our own too.

So c;mon people ... e-mail me at nothing_2_declare@ymail.com  or go to Facebook if you're interested. Sorry about you Southern folk but us Northerners have had to travel to Dover often enough ... now it's your turn and anyway this is a mini-cruise.

Note:- Zeebrugge is NOT like Calais. There is NO juxtaposed UKBA Control Area in Zeebrugge.

Spread the Word peeps!

UPDATE ... now on Facebook

.................................................................................................................................

Together we stand, divided we fall ...c'mon now people let's get on the ball

LET'S WORK TOGETHER!