port handling charges/uk

[futronix]

hi there people.. can anyone give me a rough estimate of the handling charges at the uk docks for processing my bike coming from sydney to london.
trying to work out the final costs...
thanks folks...phil.
ps..simmo..nice web site..

[Spud]

Hi,
In October 2002 I shipped my bike back from port Klang in Malaysia (near KL). Cost 160 pounds to crate it, paperwork and ship it to Southampton.........AND.......... 180 to get it back on the road in the UK!!!

How terrible is that? Red tape doesn't come down when you get back to the UK.. we seemed to have invented it. Even if you have a UK registered bike, then be prepared for the UK Customs to have a good pick at it. For some reason, if you remove the vehicle from the EU, they consider it quite an alien still! I had many heated phone calls to the UK customs office there. I am considering riding to Thailand again and if I bring it back to the UK I shall ride it back or at least ride it back from an EU country that is not so fussed. My friend who shipped his German BMW back to Germany had it out of the crate for about 60 pounds. If you then rode it from Germany to the UK, then UK customs don't need to do anything as the efficient Germans have done everything for them

[Billy Bunter]

The only other thing to be aware of is that you need to collect your bike pretty much straight away, cos after a couple of days they will start charging you storage costs, at Tilbury for instance its about thirty quid a day.... well it was for me anyway!! So get your paperwork rolling at the earliest posible time.