Dead Backbeat

[obbm]

I have a faulty Backbeat.  They sent me a new battery which I fitted however it is still faulty.  Battery is not charging so only works for about 30 seconds after a very long charge. 

They are telling me send it to the Netherlands to be fixed which raises all sorts of administrative questions regarding paperwork, Customs, etc.

Has anyone had to send something to Europe for servicing since Brexit?

[BigRedX]

Yes it's a complete nightmare, with a load of additional paperwork and extensive customs delays both in the UK and the receiving country.

If I was in you situation, I would first phone up HMRC for advice, and also get them to email it to you so if anything goes wrong you have all the information you were given in writing. Because it's being exported for repair only and will be sent back when fixed, you will need different forms then it it was an item you were exporting as a sale.

Then check with all the various courier companies to see which ones are getting their parcels through customs the quickest (Most have massive delays and some aren't even dealing with items for Europe at the moment). Currently from my experience The Netherlands Postal Service has a huge backlog of items coming from the UK which are taking approximately 3 weeks to process even if all the accompanying paperwork is present and correct.

Edit: My dealings this year with Europe have all been "sales", however I did look at sending something back to the US for servicing previously and in the end decided that all the additional paperwork was too many hoops to jump through considering the cost of the item. Since January 1st the amount of paperwork required for items both coming into the UK and leaving it (from anywhere - not just EU) has only increased. This combined with delays and restrictions due to Covid does not make it a good time to be trying to send anything out of the country.

Edited February 15, 2021 by BigRedX

[obbm]

Thanks for the info @bigRedX. I was going to send it to the Netherlands however this doesn't seem like a good plan at the moment.

I bought this Backbeat on the Forum a few years ago .  Apparently it was one of the early Crowdfunded Backbeats some of which have developed a known fault which means the whole board and possibly the battery need changing i.e. over 50% of the parts need replacing.  I've been in contact with Backbeat and they can send me a replacement board from the USA which I could fit but there is no guarantee that my battery has not been damaged, however they cannot send me a replacement battery unless it is inside a piece of equipment, so the only way is to send the whole thing back to the USA and have it updated.  So I am in a bit of  dilemma.

1.  Buy a new board and hope that the battery is OK - $130 plus duty plus admin plus VAT

2. Send it to the Netherlands and deal with all the extra paperwork - 145 Euro plus postage plus admin plus possibly VAT on its return.

3. Send it to the USA with hopefully simpler paperwork. $130 plus shipping to USA plus admin plus possiblt VAT on its return.

4.  Put it back in its box and wait for the world to settle and buy a new one.  £334.00

Regretably I'm thinking option 4 is probably the best and easiest option.

[BigRedX]

Unless it is classed as a warranty repair (i.e. free), you will almost definitely have to pay VAT and possibly import duty on the cost of the the repair and the return postage when it gets sent back to you. If you can get the relevant paper-work for an export for repair, then sending the item to The Netherlands should be free of VAT and duty. I haven't tried exporting anything too outside the EU, but AFAICS the new rules apply to all exports, not just to the EU, so there won't be any less paperwork for sending it to the US.

And from the sorts of delays I've currently been experiencing allow 4 weeks for export and possibly the same for it's return journey, plus however long it takes to fix the item.

I have a sneaking suspicion that you are right in thinking that option 4 is going to be the best.

[EBS_freak]

Whats the battery? I would wager its something readily available, so source your own... get the board, source your own battery, job done.

[obbm]

14 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Whats the battery? I would wager its something readily available, so source your own... get the board, source your own battery, job done.

It,s a custom job made in China. Has 3 wires but seeing as there are no schematics available and I, ver never been able to charge it properly I don't know exactly what voltage it is supposed to be. It has 3 terminals so dual voltage.  If I can get a working one I can find out.  One idea is to use it as the basis for a DIY project. 

[itu]

Remember, that a unit's warranty can be far longer than a year or two, if the unit has been faulty since the production line. In this case it seems so. And that should be fixed free of charge, no customs or VAT, please.

[EBS_freak]

33 minutes ago, obbm said:

It,s a custom job made in China. Has 3 wires but seeing as there are no schematics available and I, ver never been able to charge it properly I don't know exactly what voltage it is supposed to be. It has 3 terminals so dual voltage.  If I can get a working one I can find out.  One idea is to use it as the basis for a DIY project. 

I would wager it's an off the shelf battery - if the Backbeat guys have introduced a custom battery from China, that's a terrible business decision as your company and your design is all dependent upon the survival of the supplier company. I don't know why Backbeat couldn't give you the specs.

[EBS_freak]

20 minutes ago, itu said:

Remember, that a unit's warranty can be far longer than a year or two, if the unit has been faulty since the production line. In this case it seems so. And that should be fixed free of charge, no customs or VAT, please.

You find they probably will - but you still have to pay the postage.