![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Fun with German bureaucrazy
2012-03-16 03:11 pmIf I had known ordering books and mangas from YesAsia would be so much trouble, I wouldn't have done it.
I had ordered stuff from overseas before, with a credit card, and so far it hasn't been any trouble. Thus the letter that I received on Wednesday came as a surprise; apparently YesAsia doesn't put the receipt on the outside of the package, which makes it impossible for customs to figure out the contents to tell you the fee. I had to go to the "local" customs office in Bremen, with a copy of the receipt and credit card statement, the letter and possibly proof of identity. So I copied the stuff and looked up the route to the office. Center of Bremen. And because of the price of train and tram tickets, I would have to drive. This is probably where I should mention that I have driven a car in a city exactly once before, during the mandatory driving lesson on the topic.
Yeah, turns out driving wasn't really the problem. The problem was my navigation system, AKA mum. It's her car, she was even more afraid of driving into the city than me and she's the type who would get so distracted by a navigation system she'd crash the car within a day. My mother insisted I should drive left all the time until I figured out where exactly I was, which was nowhere near where I was supposed to be, on the opposite side of the city centre. Then, she couldn't decide whether I should turn right or not until it was too late and we ended up at the harbour, amidst a lot of cargo. When we finally arrived where we were supposed to be, I was dreading what would come next.
I had to open the package, that was all. Seriously, that was why I had to come, open the package, because apparently they're not allowed to do that on their own or something. The guy looked inside, figured he had no way of knowing whether those were the right books or not (the receipt inside being in romaji and the titles in kanji) and handed me the package. I didn't have to show any of the copied paged. I didn't even have to pay customs because the books weren't expensive enough. I bet it would be easier and cheaper for everyone if they just delivered the package.
Luckily enough the way back was mostly uneventful. Except for that pheasant that ran in front of the car and almost got run over.
I had ordered stuff from overseas before, with a credit card, and so far it hasn't been any trouble. Thus the letter that I received on Wednesday came as a surprise; apparently YesAsia doesn't put the receipt on the outside of the package, which makes it impossible for customs to figure out the contents to tell you the fee. I had to go to the "local" customs office in Bremen, with a copy of the receipt and credit card statement, the letter and possibly proof of identity. So I copied the stuff and looked up the route to the office. Center of Bremen. And because of the price of train and tram tickets, I would have to drive. This is probably where I should mention that I have driven a car in a city exactly once before, during the mandatory driving lesson on the topic.
Yeah, turns out driving wasn't really the problem. The problem was my navigation system, AKA mum. It's her car, she was even more afraid of driving into the city than me and she's the type who would get so distracted by a navigation system she'd crash the car within a day. My mother insisted I should drive left all the time until I figured out where exactly I was, which was nowhere near where I was supposed to be, on the opposite side of the city centre. Then, she couldn't decide whether I should turn right or not until it was too late and we ended up at the harbour, amidst a lot of cargo. When we finally arrived where we were supposed to be, I was dreading what would come next.
I had to open the package, that was all. Seriously, that was why I had to come, open the package, because apparently they're not allowed to do that on their own or something. The guy looked inside, figured he had no way of knowing whether those were the right books or not (the receipt inside being in romaji and the titles in kanji) and handed me the package. I didn't have to show any of the copied paged. I didn't even have to pay customs because the books weren't expensive enough. I bet it would be easier and cheaper for everyone if they just delivered the package.
Luckily enough the way back was mostly uneventful. Except for that pheasant that ran in front of the car and almost got run over.
