"a customs tragedy"

For those of you just joining me, I am writing about the process of creating a made to order neckpiece for an Australian bride.  The wedding was Feb. 12th, 2011.  I promised the bride I would not post pictures until after the wedding, so I didn't start this blog till then.  The dates at the top of each post refer to the dates covered in that post.

Jan. 25 + 26, 2011

Good news and bad news.  First the good. I received an email from Priscylla and the neckpiece arrived in Australia and hadn't been lost.

Bad news- the subject line on her email read "customs tragedy".  I guess that gives you a hint.

Yes, the neckpiece was being held at customs.  They want her to pay $400 in duty and were going to hold it for 10 days!  I don't know which was worse!!! The $400 is one thing, but I can't see for the life of me why they needed to hold it for 10 days.  I felt so bad for Priscylla-  but I can't see how it was avoidable.  Evidentially it had to do with the value of it, if it were valued for under $1000 it would not have been a problem. Or if I had said it was a wedding dress.(I don't get that one!!)  But  I really needed to insure it for the full amount, and label it correctly for insurance.  So we still wait.

On the 26th I received this email from the bride:

"It's horrible. They want me to get a customs lawyer and they are treating me like an importer. I am going to call them tomorrow and plead my case, expressing that this is for personal use - a wedding dress! Hopefully I get someone with heart and compassion. They are making me fill out forms that are full of legal jargon and difficult to decipher. It is such an enormous process, Australian customs are hard core. At least I have all of our correspondence as proof it is a personal item. They still want their cut though. . . ."

So it looks like it will be another 10 day wait.  This is pure agony.