Lincolnshire gent
Busy member
Can anyone offer advice on shipping / sending air rifles please?
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the Daily hi thread
Transporting air rifles ?
- Thread starter Lincolnshire gent
- Start date
Mad Andy
Super member
Flash-MARK
Member
I believe Royal mail and Parcel force are the only UK curlers allowed to deliver air guns.
I bought one an air gun sub 12 flb on line, the seller sent it with DPD when they realised it was a gun case they refused to deliver it and refused to release it till the police had inspected the contents.
There is dedicated Firearms couriers but they may not carry airguns , If they do they may only cover certain areas.
Royal Mail and Parcel Force are the only ones that will carry them for the general public and MUST be handed over at the Post Office. You can't have it picked up as some will tell you . If you have it picked up and its damaged or lost then you will have your claim voided.
If you send it via the other couriers and they discover it ,They can seize it and destroy it and try to claim their costs from you.
Royal Mail and Parcel Force are the only ones that will carry them for the general public and MUST be handed over at the Post Office. You can't have it picked up as some will tell you . If you have it picked up and its damaged or lost then you will have your claim voided.
If you send it via the other couriers and they discover it ,They can seize it and destroy it and try to claim their costs from you.
sagalout
Member Extraordinaire
I don't think it's anything to do with "allowed", I think it's "willing to carry".
Smudgerii
Super member
Unwilling but forced would be a better description. The others aren’t bound by the universal service obligation so the ‘bean counters’ make the decision not to carry.
Royal Mail has tried to stop carrying them at least twice before and have been ordered to keep doing it .
One day they might get their own way then we will be screwed as none of the others apart from the dedicated carriers will take them.
TNT was the last one apart from RM to carry them if I remember right.
One day they might get their own way then we will be screwed as none of the others apart from the dedicated carriers will take them.
TNT was the last one apart from RM to carry them if I remember right.
Lincolnshire gent
Busy member
The rifle is a Weihrauck HW100 sub 12.
Lincolnshire gent
Busy member
Yes sub 12 , From Boston Lincolnshire to unknown as I have not sold it yet .
Parcelforce 48 handed in at the post office but only has a max of £150 if i remember correctly so not worth upping the insurance cover makes no difference
If possible best to meet up at a local club or face to face at home
If possible best to meet up at a local club or face to face at home
AndytheCourier
Member Extraordinaire
I am not 100% sure on this as I can not remember where I saw it but I think Royal Mail and Parcel Force (totally different entities) both have an immunity from prosecution if what they are carrying turns out to be illegal, something other carriers do not get. Not a massive risk with a sub 12 air rifle turning out to be running at 13ft/lb but a different issue when that consignment of replica Mac 10s have been converted to fire live rounds.
I suspect most goods in transit insurers would also refuse cover them so and is it is not really viable for anyone else to carry them
I suspect most goods in transit insurers would also refuse cover them so and is it is not really viable for anyone else to carry them
Wing Commander
Member Extraordinaire
When sending packages, we have to remind ourselves that staff having a "Sense of Duty" belongs to a bygone era. . Basically, they don't care if your package takes weeks to get to you; nor do they care what condition it will be in if and when it arrives. . And we are paying them for this disgraceful level of "package abuse." 
Parcelforce and, indeed, every other courier, now has an established reputation for handling packages with no care whatsoever. It is a scenario which is made worse if the package is marked as "Fragile. Handle with care" . . They merely treat that as a challenge.
Add to this the miserable compensation of a maximum of £150 and you have to ask yourself if it's worth the risk.
The physical distance between buyers and sellers might sometimes be inconvenient but, for peace of mind, a face-to-face transaction is far safer and more reliable.
Parcelforce and, indeed, every other courier, now has an established reputation for handling packages with no care whatsoever. It is a scenario which is made worse if the package is marked as "Fragile. Handle with care" . . They merely treat that as a challenge.
Add to this the miserable compensation of a maximum of £150 and you have to ask yourself if it's worth the risk.
The physical distance between buyers and sellers might sometimes be inconvenient but, for peace of mind, a face-to-face transaction is far safer and more reliable.
Smudgerii
Super member
Only protected if ‘not knowingly’ carrying illegal items, same for other couriers, but far easier for RM to claim they don’t know than for a man in a van who has picked up the consignment. My team found 30,000 diazepam tablets, had to call RM internal ‘police’ and the real police, real police wanted to take them away and a I wouldn’t allow it
Queens Mail and all that…. We did a deal on dressing up a couple of cops as posties, RM postie delivered the boxes and the fake ones kicked the door in. Turns out we’d been shipping consignments every few weeks for months
phoxcub
Super member
No one has mentioned RFD to RFD transfer which is another option but adds costs as both the RFD who you take it to for dispatch will charge for handling and postage, other threads seem to suggest around £50 and the receiving RFD around £25 for handling / admin.
Pros and cons to every method but face to face wins every time if practical.