Deliveries to Northern Ireland

[WilsonMilson]

Just a rant really.

Getting a bit fed up with companies who’ve decided to stop (temporarily or permanently - who knows) delivery to Northern Ireland, or who have limited the things they can deliver to NI.

Since the Brexit deal, so far this week I cannot order from M&S, Debenhams have stopped NI delivery and now Amazon won’t sell alcohol, perfumes or aftershaves for delivery in NI. And I cannot get a home office chair for love nor money to be delivered from any bloody where.

This is all I’ve seen so far. I’m sure there must be more as I’ve not really shopped much. It’s incredibly frustrating to be so disadvantaged comparing to the mainland.

Apparently it's not necessary for goods sent from within the UK to NI until April according to the BBC this morning Neoclara but what happens after that is unknown.

@Neolara

Am I right in thinking that any goods sent from England/ Wales / Scotland to NI (and the rest of the world) will now have to accompanied by a customs declaration? And this is due to Boris having negotiated a customs border down the middle of the Irish Sea as part of Brexit. Will the receivers of these goods also have to complete paperwork?

The problem is that he hasn't put in place a free trade agreement with the EU - in fact that's probably what he wanted out of if I have a proper grasp on things. In time, perhaps they will negotiate a trade agreement with the EU of some description. It's not just the rest of the world that the UK has to worry about. There used to be a lot of trade between the UK and the EU and now there is no trade agreement in place? Or is there? I haven't read the deal, so don't actually know to be honest!

If I were you I'd tweet some of the newspapers/Sky News etc. with exact details of the situation you find yourselves in. Then they might get a spokesperson for the government to throw some light on the issue?

It depends whether the cost of servicing that share exceeds it's value. If it does then you are straying into policy decisions by the board that need to be acceptable to shareholders. Basically are they prepared to subsidise that part of the business ? Which is a purely commercial decision,

This is perhaps what I would be worried about - that the market isn't big enough to incentivise them to continue to sell to NI. I think population of NI is 1.8 million. It might not be worth the hassle to them? I don't know how much solidarity you'd find in the rest of the 66 million UK population in terms of potentially boycotting firms who won't deliver to NI either?

I suppose you could consider yourselves EU members as that is how I believe you are now viewed for all intents and purposes?

All other EU states will be having similar problems I presume?

NI is now considered to be in the EU for trade.

And the new Brexit shipping rules are so new many companies are not clear what they have to do.
As we have been in a free trade zone for decades, not many UK companies are prepared for all the new time-consuming and complicated bureaucracy.
It will settle down in Jan. But some shops will continue to not bother shipping to NI.

Will Boots.co.uk still deliver to NI? I have £25 worth of points on my Boots card and told my niece that she could use them for Christmas to buy something for herself (she's in RoI) but they wouldn't deliver from the .co.uk website to her address. She uses a Boots.ie address which delivers to Ireland and I couldn't transfer the points to her. I sent her some cash instead - I was trying to get out of having to spend money lol!

@ObliviouslyIgnorant

If I were you I'd tweet some of the newspapers/Sky News etc. with exact details of the situation you find yourselves in. Then they might get a spokesperson for the government to throw some light on the issue?

The time to do that was before the deal was ratified by parliament. It's now UK law.

I know that it's now law, but if they could actually explain to companies what they need to do and how to do it now, it might help?

I'm sure EU countries are experiencing similar predicaments?

I’m absolutely furious about this.

It’s one thing with the likes of Dunelm- they’re “only” suspending deliveries until the middle of January while sort out their new processes. Not ideal, but fair enough.

But now there’s potentially big companies not delivering to NI at all, that’s a massive negative impact on people living day to day in NI. I’m trying to order some furniture and shouldn’t have to trail dozens of websites to finally find one that’ll deign to deliver to this part of their own country.

I’m a unionist, or was anyway, but honestly if this is the start of it, it’s the end of any meaningful “United” Kingdom.

The government really should be prioritising sending out an explanatory document on EU trade immediately. Rather than cheering about the 'deal', Boris should have been working on explaining what the blooming deal meant for trade.

TerribleCustomerCervix

If it's any consolation, I was on a thread yesterday about sending London patients to Yorkshire for treatment due to covid and I've never seen a more un-united spectacle in my life! I would say the Queen has taken to the bed in despair!!

@ObliviouslyIgnorant

I'm sure EU countries are experiencing similar predicaments?

No, because as far as they are concerned NI is in the EU.

This is a purely UK problem.

I actually missed the Queen's speech this year - must see if it's on Youtube to see what she has said to try to maintain unity.

No, because as far as they are concerned NI is in the EU. This is a purely UK problem.

But if NI is now considered part of the EU, then ALL EU states must have the same problems dealing with trade from the UK?

Sky News have a correspondent in Dover for the past week. I think NI voted to Remain in the majority? They have actually managed to Remain, but that means they've sort of lost being a full member of the UK in the process.

Well one thing we're managing to export without issue is our new strain of coronavirus!

Also, I’m reluctant to use the get-around of using the .ie websites for online ordering.

The Irish rrp for most stuff is usually more expensive, and not just because of the exchange rate. The difference is in the Republic they have higher wages to counteract their higher cost of living.

So it sticks in my throat as someone from NI, where we earn already comparatively v low wages, to have to pay an uplift to access the same goods and services as people in GB.

Effectively NI is now a separate country so it's going to be a right pain from now on. Ridiculously, as both the island of Ireland and GB are (multilocularis) tapeworm free, pets will need a tapeworm treatment certified by a vet each time they move between GB and NI! Hopefully some of these things will get simplified over time

But if NI is now considered part of the EU, then ALL EU states must have the same problems dealing with trade from the UK?

Yes but EU states will have no problems with trade to or from NI which presumably is what the poster meant

I'm sorry to hear that you (and other NI residents obviously) are being inconvenienced by this. It's a shitty outcome, especially as the majority there voted against Brexit. I hope it's just a temporary measure and the businesses in question don't decide that it's too much hassle to make the necessary changes for such a small population.

It will be the same for all EU trade with the UK though. NI voted to remain and they have effectively remained.

@ObliviouslyIgnorant

No, because as far as they are concerned NI is in the EU. This is a purely UK problem.

But if NI is now considered part of the EU, then ALL EU states must have the same problems dealing with trade from the UK?

There is no "U"K anymore.

NI is required to remain in the EU Customs Union as part of the UKs undertakings in the GFA. It's the only way to square the circle. Which means that NI is outside the rUK as a trade destination. So you need border checks between the rUK and NI in order to ensure that NIs land border with an EU country (Ireland) complies with (a) international law and (b) the GFA itself.

It was only ever going to be this way. Currently a world first in all of recorded time. Unless some scholars can refer to a similar arrangement somewhere else in time ?