Goods siezed by Gov't Quarantine
By MsTickle
@MsTickle (25180)
Australia
March 18, 2008 6:57pm CST
Here in Australia, it's the season for fleas. My animals are usually ok because I look after them but they have all been playing with a nice little dog who lives nearby. This little guy is riddled with fleas.
We bought some stuff from the vet that costs a bomb and I got a flea collar for the cat. The dogs were still scratching and biting themselves so i went online to find a product that would do the trick.
I found something that sounded great. Nothing from Australia, it has to come from the states via Amazon.com. That's ok, the postage is hefty but what I expected. All up, with conversion fee of 1.27 the total is $51.99. Whew! I am pretty strapped for cash but this is a very necessary purchase.
Around about the time I'm expecting the goods (3 weeks later) I get a letter from the Australian Government Quarantine Service saying my goods have been seized because they are on the hit list.
I contacted the company that sent the goods and they say they send stuff to Australia all the time. I contacted the Quarantine Officer and he says I need a permit.
So, I'm down the $52 dollars and I have no goods.
I have not heard back from th company that sent the goods and I have since emailed them asking for a refund.
How do you think I'll go?
6 people like this
16 responses
@Darkwing (21583)
•
19 Mar 08
I think after spending $52 on something, I'd want more explanation from the Australian Government Quarantine Service. I mean... what does "hit list" mean, and why is the product on it? Is it potentially dangerous, or what?
Meanwhile, I would seek professional advice, either from a Citizens' Advice Bureau or a Solicitor, as to what you can do to get your money back from this company. They are obviously trying to relinquish all responsibility and put the onus onto the AGQS.
Good luck with this my friend... I would be fuming! 
Brightest Blessings.
Brightest Blessings.@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
19 Mar 08
The Australain Quarantine laws are very strict. No pet food or supplements are to be brought into the country....unless you have a permit. The onus was on me to check with quarantine first before I placed my order. I think the people I bought it from should be aware of this and should have questioned wether I had a permit as soon as I placed the order. A permit is $62, I would not have obtained one if prompted to do so.
1 person likes this
@GnosticGoddess (5626)
• United States
20 Mar 08
That's sucks!!!
I'm not sure you'll get the refund though if the company can't get their product back.
Why is it on the hit list?? Did they say?
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
21 Mar 08
To quote the letter I received....:
"....in the Authorised Quarantine Officer's opinion, the items are likely to introduce exotic pests or diseases into Australia."
Which seems a load of rubbish when it's simply a cocktail of vinegar, garlic, some herbs and a couple of other things I forget. It's a food supplement.
The Quarantine Officer I spoke to on the phone also said..."this stuff's rubbish". So, I feel like a bit of an idiot all round. It turns out also that there is a guy in Australia who imports the product for sale here, in Australia. Why didn't these people tell me that and save me the postage and (as it turns out) all this hassle?
1 person likes this
@GnosticGoddess (5626)
• United States
26 Mar 08
Yeah no kidding!
But I'm glad it all turned out well in the end :)
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
19 Mar 08
hi MsTickle... i'm sorry to hear about your situation and i live in australia as well... so i know how strict the quarantine is here as the government want to keep the country clean... i am so pessimistic that you are going to get your refund as it is not the company's fault... we the buyer have to check first before we purchase the product... that's what i think... anyway, i will pray for you and hopefully you will get your refund back... it is quite a lot of money... take care and good luck...
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
20 Mar 08
I'll know better next time and I'll be checking with quarantine before I buy anything. I do think the company should have checked with me if I had the permit I needed to import the goods. There should me a cross reference of information I believe. That way, these issues would not occur.
@slickcut (8141)
• United States
20 Mar 08
I am so sorry to hear that,that seems so unfair,if you do not get it the company should return your money,but knowing how people are they probably won't...Can't you find a vet there that could give you something for flea's...Here in the US we use a spray called advantage,they also have it to apply behind the neck of our dog but i like the spray,it last longer..I am glad to hear that you are a good care giver for your pets though..I also believe in keeping my pets healthy..Good luck and i do hope you get your meds...or a return of your money...
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
21 Mar 08
We have Frontline and Advantage here but they cost a fortune. They are really just a small dose of a chemical they use on large farm stock like cattle. So the price is a disgrace. I did use some on the dogs and I bought the cat a flea collar. I really wanted to go with a natural alternative, rather than the chemical.
They said they would send a refund but I'll believe it when i see it.
@cynicalandoutspoken (4725)
• United States
19 Mar 08
I hope you get your money back but I wouldn't hold my breath. I know selling on eBay I used to always get e-mails telling me that someone didn't receive their item and the reason for it was because it wasn't permitted in the country I was mailing it to.
I started stating it was the buyers responsibility to know which items would pass through their customs department and I would not be offering a refund if they still went a head and purchased something they knew they couldn't have where ever they were from.
Even that became too much of a mess, now I only sell to the US and Canada.
But good luck. I really do hope you get a refund.
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
20 Mar 08
At least you advised them prior to check with customs in their country. I didn't even think about it...it just didn't enter my head. I believe as they are in the export business that the onus was on them to advise me and this company did say that they sent this particular product to Australia all the time with no problem. They said that their product was within the guidelines of what could be sent to this country. But the fact is, that was incorrect, or why did quarantine sieze the goods?
What gets me is, why do they send individual orders when they have an agent for their product in Australia. They can save everyone the postage. Sounds a bit tricky to me.
I won't be holding my breath for the refund cheque either.
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
19 Mar 08
gee I am not in the usa, I don't know what you can do about that, you might be out the money
I have had a problem with fleas now for two years, they just won't go away, it is terrible.
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
20 Mar 08
I went on-line to look for natural products to get rid of fleas and keep them at bay. There are a few things fleas don't like so have a bit of a look. I make my dogs food and add garlic to it and normally, this is enough to keep them vermin free. It was just that they had several visits from this other dog who spent a fair bit of time with both my dogs and my cat. If you have a bad infestation, you have to get pest control in other wise it's too hard to break the cycle. Everywhere your dog sleeps or lays down has to be cleaned thouroughly both indoors and outdoors to get rid of the eggs. Good luck.
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
19 Mar 08
That is a real shame I hope you get your money back!! Here in Georgia we have a very bad time every year with sand fleas I have aways had good results with "Frontline Plus" and I put garlic powder in their food every day. I believe that fleas hate garlic and somehow the dogs exude it on their skin although we can't smell it.
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
19 Mar 08
I also use garlic in my dogs food. And it's frontline plus that we dosed them with but I just wanted to be sure because they were still scratching after using the frontline. The garlic gets in their bloodstream i believe and the fleas hate the taste of the garlic tainted blood. They still seem to be content to run around on their bodies making them itchy and miserable.
The refund is not looking good. I have a plan though so watch for a post on this subject please. 
@mummymo (23706)
•
19 Mar 08
What a crock MsTickle! Surely the company knows that there could be problems with the goods coming in to Australia - they should know the legalities of their product wherever they may send it - and should have warned you. To me this smacks of greed on the part of the company ans lack of information from the Quarantine Service, surely they could post this kind of info on a website so that if you looked it up you could find out you needed a permit. Can you not apply for the permit now and if approved get the goods they seized? I hope you find something that works for your pets sweety - I know some animals suffer terribly with Fleas! Hugs for my adorable aussie friend! xxx
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
20 Mar 08
I so agree with you. Apparently this company has an agent in Australia!! Why couldn't they tell me that and save me this bother??? Why isn't the info posted on their site as you say?
I'll tell you why, because they are greedy. A permit costs $62. It lasts about 3 years or something but it's not much good for a one off deal. Most people would cancel their order if they knew about the permit. But that was unnecessary. All they had to do was tell me I could get the stuff here. It would have saved me all that postage as well.
They have apologised and promised me a refund. I'll bet it's only for the cost of the product and not a full refund. I'm so upset by this. It is as you say...these people are greedy.
If quarantine are going to check the goods being mailed into the country they should be checking for a permit number. If the seller doesn't have that on the parcel then they should be the ones at fault for not advising the buyer about the permit. The way it is set up is just ridiculous. Here I am, out of pocket $52 because of a lack of informnation being communicated. Hugs back to you darlin'
@raydene (9871)
• United States
19 Mar 08
Hi Doll
I'm not sure how this will play out.
Something you can do is add brewers yeast
and garlic to everybodies food.
It takes some time because the cycle
has to go through but if you keep them on it
you'll not have another problem.
Good luck Darling
xoxoxoxoxo
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
20 Mar 08
I do add garlic to their food thanks dear but I didn't know about the brewers yeast. It's been a really severe flea season and my little pals played with this other dog who had lots of fleas. He's not He and about 3 other dogs (at least) are tied up all the time. This lil fella would slip his collar and be off for days but no one cared.
@worldwise1 (14885)
• United States
19 Mar 08
Don't you just hate red tape, Ms Tickle? If I were you I would hound them until I got a satisfactory response. It seems to me that businesses are becoming more and more unreliable with each passing day. Sorry to hear about the flea infestation, and I hope you will soon resolve the problem.
If I were you I would hound them until I got a satisfactory response. It seems to me that businesses are becoming more and more unreliable with each passing day. Sorry to hear about the flea infestation, and I hope you will soon resolve the problem.@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
20 Mar 08
Yes I do worldwise, especially when all could have been avoided with the sharing of some basic information.
I received an apology yesterday and the promise that a refund cheque is on it's way...(we'll wait and see).
I also made up a new batch of dog food a few days ago and increased the garlic content a tad and both dogs and cat seem easier, more relaed, not scratching so much ...so all is well.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
19 Mar 08
Oh for crying out loud MsTickle what a bungled mess. I can't understand why your govt would seize something like that..it's not like you're importing explosives into your country. How much is the friggin permit anyway? What was the product? Is there anyway you can contact some elected official to cut through this red tape...remember how helpful that woman in my local congressman's office was getting my disability benefits reinstated quick when I was cut off of my benefits? I'd give it a go there somehow.
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
19 Mar 08
The permit is $62. I wouldn't have got one even if I'd been aware of it...not for a one off purchase anyway.
The reason the quarantine laws are so strict is because of possible contamination or infestation problems. Anything that could pose a threat to our crops or wildlife, farm stock or animals. There are many species that have been introduced by accident that have now become a threat and a problem...cane toads are probably the worst most current ones and rabbits is another.
I agree with you in that this particular product is probably no threat at all but if it comes under an umbrella of goods I am happy to abide by the laws.
I just think that the company selling the stuff should make the customer aware that a permit is needed to import the stuff into this country. They reckon they send stuff here all the time so they should be aware of it. They assured me that they didn't have any problems sending their goods to people in this country.
They asked for the paper work to be sent to them so they could figure out the problem and so I copied the letter out as I don't have a scanner. I haven't heard back from them.
@CatsandDogs (13963)
• United States
19 Mar 08
I would think it would depend on the quarintine officer, is he going to send the box back to the company? If that's the case then you should get your money back but if he doesn't send it back then you may not get your money back. I pray he sends it back so you can get your money back.
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
19 Mar 08
No, I've said to destroy it. It was going to cost me $42 to send it back.
I've heard nothing back from the company since I sent them the details of the letter from the quarantine service, so I'm guessing they won't do anything. I've got a plan I will need everyone's help with so stay tuned please.
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
21 Mar 08
It really all seems a bit Strange and I do hope that you will get your Refund
They are claiming that they are always sending Goods to Australia then they should know about the Permit and let People know about it
I really hope that you get your Money back
@newzealtralian (3930)
• Australia
21 Mar 08
You got scammed. I would be seeking legal advice on how to get my goods out of the sin bin. I don't think the permit would cost that much, and they might issue one for you now, even though should have been obtained before purchasing goods. Quarantine will hold the goods for a few months, so keep dealing with them and asking how you can sort it out. They are pretty good if you keep calm and are polite about it all.
