It is not up to me to prove anything. This is a real case, and it really happened, and the person who thought they could claim through BRCA insurance is now paying the claim themselves. There will be an official write up on the BRCA site of this soon, but we were asked to help get the information out there. The point remains that it isn't the product we are talking about here, it is the status of the person deemed liable as the importer. If you want to ignore it as "disinformation" then go right ahead, no skin off my nose - you seem to know best.
Update - I did some digging. Under REACH regulations (use of chemicals) the person or legal entity doing the importing is liable for the legal ramifications - we are hardly that but it is a precedent. Under HMRC Rules, the person or entity paying for the products in another country is responsible for ensuring that the goods are legal to import, and that person or entity is responsible for paying all taxes and duties - if you buy your LRP bit from Hong Kong, you don't ask LRP to pay the taxes and duties, do you?!!. In HMRC's eyes, if you buy from outside the EU, you are the importer, and you are liable for the charges and complying with the Law on what can or cannot be imported. I can easily see that if this is how the Revenue see it, then it is how others can see it. Again, I am not as certain this is right as Liam is that it is wrong, but if you are looking for precedent...
Just for clarity, I understand that the reason for the failure was not product related, it was related to the way it was packed and how it was removed from the packet. I don't know this for sure, so we will have to wait for the BRCA note to know that for sure. Again, I say, the issue being brought to our attention is not the safety of the product, it is the status of the person deemed the importer.
If you buy LRP from Hong Kong, and the insurer asks LRP to pay, they will show from records that they did not supply the item through their official EU distributor network. What happens next is not covered by this example. However, since most EU distributors will not honour warranty on RC gear (KO, Sanwa, etc.) or most anything else if you buy from Hong Kong, that situation doesn't start well!
I will ask the BRCA if they can clarify that situation in their note.
|