[OT] Canadian Customs agents / idiots

[Hammy]

I know this is off topic but most people have to order semi's and
cores and have likely had similar experiences. Hopefully Google
indexes it and they clean out the useless tit's at Canada customs
whose incompetence is probably costing this Country a fortune!!

The calibre of your typical federal employee is pathetic. I'll give an
example I purchased some Ferrite cores from Coilcraft. The cores where
shipped to my house stating to either pay the duty myself or pay FEDEX
a fee to do it for me. I elected to pay myself, how hard can it be. So
begins my two hour saga at my local customs office (I live in a border
town) trying to pay my $8.22 duty.

During my time at Canada customs I had to disturb one of the
overworked civil servants reading a novel with his feet up on the
desk. Paying my duty was just to challenging for him so he called a
more senior customs officer who also didn't know what to do. She
called the head idiot then went on coffee break at about 9:30 am she
still wasn't back from her break when I left about 12:00pm.

After two hours of phone calls the head pea brain finally figured out
how to collect my duty. During this time the bimbo was still on her
break (probably she will get back just in time for lunch) and the
original moron was reading his novel.

The head idiot advised me to have any future packages shipped to a
shipping warehouse across the border. Apparently doing his job to
collect the taxes that pay his salary and cash for life pension is
just too much for him! Instead I should pay bridge tolls subject
myself to a bunch of border guard Nazi's and pay a fee for the
shipping warehouse to hold my package.

 

[Hammy]

Duty? You mean sales tax?

Right it's tax.

What kills me is they act like they're doing you a favor for doing
there job,which they don't even know how to do anyway's.

Now they have guns lovely just a matter of time before one of then
shoots there toe off!

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

I know this is off topic but most people have to order semi's and
cores and have likely had similar experiences. Hopefully Google
indexes it and they clean out the useless tit's at Canada customs
whose incompetence is probably costing this Country a fortune!!

The calibre of your typical federal employee is pathetic. I'll give an
example I purchased some Ferrite cores from Coilcraft. The cores where
shipped to my house stating to either pay the duty myself or pay FEDEX
a fee to do it for me. I elected to pay myself, how hard can it be. So
begins my two hour saga at my local customs office (I live in a border
town) trying to pay my $8.22 duty.

Duty? You mean sales tax?

 

[Rich Grise]

Duty? You mean sales tax?

I thought "duty" was more like an import tax. Customs was the only
recognized source of revenue for the Federal government.

Ah, don't we miss the good ol' days!

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

I thought "duty" was more like an import tax. Customs was the only
recognized source of revenue for the Federal government.

Before the US civil war the only source of revenue for the Feds was
land sales and customs tariffs (duty) (albeit typically at higher
levels than today).

Ah, don't we miss the good ol' days!

Empires don't come cheap.

 

[Charlie E.]

It sounds like it costs them 20x as much to collect the tax as it's
worth.

In California, in theory we're supposed to pay sales tax on anything
we buy from out of state, but it's not enforced for small stuff bought
by individuals. Just for cars, business purchases, stuff like that.

John

Actually, for our business, we are VERY careful to pay use tax on
everything, esp. our Digikey purchases for prototypes. I figure it
won't be long before they start data mining that info out of the
databases...

Charlie

 

[Hammy]

It sounds like it costs them 20x as much to collect the tax as it's
worth.

I actually said something similiar and he said it's always that way.
Gee I wonder why we have a massive deficit and high taxes.

 

[Hammy]

The term is "toadies" ;-)

I made a mistake one time coming into Toronto, tired, said "working"
(design review) instead of "tourist"... got assigned to fat broad.

After I taught her some new cuss words they let me go ;-)

...Jim Thompson

Believe me there was a lot I wanted to say but I have lots of family
and friends in the States.It's getting bad enough since 911 going back
and forth without having some customs dipshit out to get me.

Can you say body cavity search.

 

[Les Cargill]

I know this is off topic but most people have to order semi's and
cores and have likely had similar experiences.

I once was directed to a place in Canadian Customs where I could not get
back in to settle up duty on some boards. There were warrants sworn,
and my employer had to use legal counsel to resolve it.

Maddening. The most officious, arrogant and useless public
servants I have ever encountered.

<snip>

 

[Archimedes' Lever]

Great way to kill California jobs, taxing product development and
productive equipment. And San Francisco taxes all equipment at 1% of
the original purchase price, every year, *forever* as long as you
still have it on site. We don't need no stinkin' jobs here.

John

And you idiots let them!

You should be trashing some politicians. I do not know of ANY
accounting audits on assets in the world that does not properly
depreciate the values of their assets.

From what you say, a $5000 IBM XT PC over in the closet would get taxed
at $500 a year.

That is lame. SF is lame if they operate that way, and ALL of their
citizens are lame if they let them operate that way.

That is the epitome of unrepresented tax.

 

[JosephKK]

Believe me there was a lot I wanted to say but I have lots of family
and friends in the States.It's getting bad enough since 911 going back
and forth without having some customs dipshit out to get me.

Can you say body cavity search.

Just to visit family. WOW that is ugly.

 

[John Devereux]

If I was expecting a body cavity search, I would take the whole day's
medication for my Diabetes about 45 minutes ahead of time for the
search. They wouldn't want to get near me after the first missiles were
launched! ;-)

Wouldn't that be illegal stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction?

 

[Hammy]

If I was expecting a body cavity search, I would take the whole day's
medication for my Diabetes about 45 minutes ahead of time for the
search. They wouldn't want to get near me after the first missiles were
launched! ;-)

Not likely to be an effective deterrent they all have shit for
brains.

Your strategy might backfire ,they would probably line up for the
privilege!