Well we certainly weren't searched. My kindle decided to pack up on holiday so I made sure it was in the case.

I thought laptops were put in a tray at security, I have found in the past with a kindle one airport will want it out and another doesn't

ursula8844 wrote:

Mobor One wrote:

I was planning to put my laptop in my suitcase. Any ideas if that would be OK?

I do it this same. It was good idea

No Ursula it's a bad idea. Endless reports on the internet of laptops disappearing from cases, that is if you mean your hold luggage.

Shrimper I have had the same experience with my kindle.

Fiona did you have to switch your kindle on at security before your outgoing flight?

I had a second kindle not in hold luggage. We put our kindles, phones and laptops etc in trays but nobody looked at them.

I'll risk putting the notebook in the suitcase. I don't really want to carry it, as don't plan to use it will in transit.

I have done it before, but this was before all the extra security rules.

Going to the States and will be buying tablets and kindles. If I can I'd like to put these in the hold luggage (purely from a weight point of view). The link above is not clear if I have to make sure that there is a charge in all these goods, even though they will be in the hold. Can someone clarify please?

I would be very cautious about putting high value goods in hold luggage for two reasons:

1) Hold luggage is usually X-rayed these days and so the luggage handlers are going to know you have them in there - not everybody is going to be able to resisit the temptation that presents, Also bear in mind that as you are transiting through Brussels your cases are going to be passing through the hands of three lots of luggage handlers.

2) If it is not clear what they are then the US security staff are going to open your case anyway to make sure that they are not a security threat.

3) You are only allowed to bring into the UK from the US goods to a maximum value of £390 per person and there is growing evidence that HMRC are doing spot X-ray checks of incoming baggage of passengers originating from outside the EU and calling passengers over for manual inspection of cases suspected of carrying goods in excess of this limit. They are entitled to confiscate goods over the allowance without even giving you the option of paying the VAT and you could beliable to both confiscation and a fine.

4) As your first contact point with the EU will be in Brussels then you might have to go through Customs there before boarding your flight to the UK as well and so your cases and hand luggage could be subject to two lots of customs checks.

Far be it for me to suggest ways in which you could get away with bringing in more than you are allowed but having them in your handbaggage means that it will only be inspected for security purposes and on the whole the staff looking at such goods are going to be concerned with the security aspect and not whether you Re trying to evade paying UK duty. After all, for all they know you could be planning on going through the Red Channel and declaring them to HMRC. Speaking personally I wouldn't take the risk - I couldn't afford to have them confiscated but others think differently and have successfully taken the chance. Only you can decide how much you would be prepared to lose if caught.

On the otherhand, if the tablets and kindles plus anything else you are planning on buying and bringing back with you actually total less than £390 per adult then do make sure that you have the receipts handy to prove this because otherwise if you are the subject of a spot check then HMRC will assess their value for themselves and they could potentially decide that you are over the limit even if you actually paid less.

SM

Babs135 wrote:

Going to the States and will be buying tablets and kindles. If I can I'd like to put these in the hold luggage (purely from a weight point of view). The link above is not clear if I have to make sure that there is a charge in all these goods, even though they will be in the hold. Can someone clarify please?

Packing anything of value in hold luggage is not a good idea. If they go walkabout your insurance won't cover for their loss.

Baggage is x-rayed so people know what's in there. Lot's of expensive goods go missing out of checked luggage every year. Never check anything you can't afford to lose.

Don't forget you're only allowed £390 worth of goods each when entering the UK.

Bollocks, I'd forgotten there was a limit. There are 3 of us so can we spread the cost amongst us? Having said that we are not all buying tablets and kindles and a quick bit of maths suggests we will be okay

If only prices here were comparable to the States then we wouldn't have this problem

Babs135 wrote:

"Swear", I'd forgotten there was a limit. There are 3 of us so can we spread the cost amongst us? Having said that we are not all buying tablets and kindles and a quick bit of maths suggests we will be okay

If only prices here were comparable to the States then we wouldn't have this problem :duh

It's per person, non combineable.

By spreading the cost between you the answer is 'no' if you mean can we aggregate our allowances and bring in a single item worth than £390. These are literally personal allowances and so each of you can only bring in items worth up to a maximum of £390 per person. And I would suggest that you need to physically carry your own separate purchases with you in that if only one of you is stopped but the other two have already gone through unchallenged then it will cut no ice to say 'But only this tablet is mine and that one is my travelling companion's'.

The importance of doing this was highlighted for me one time when landing in Manchester from Tenerife. My Dad is a pipe smoker and his favourite Balkan Sobranie blend is really cheap at TFS compared to here and so he always buys tobacco but we always make sure himself, my mother and I each buy them separately with separate receipts and have them in separate bags. We all got wave through the Green Channel without incident whilst the man who clearly had 2x200 packs in the same airport shop bag was pulled over. Luckily his travelling companion was walking through beside him and they were able to prove that she wasn't carrying any tobacco at all and it was simply for convenience that he was carrying both packs in the same bag but I wonder what would have happened if for some reason they had become separated in the melee?

SM

Do check the guarantee for items bought in the USA will cover you in Europe, alot will not