thumb on the scale at airport check-in

"Martin" a écrit dans le message de
news
On Fri, 7 Aug 2009 16:42:22 +0100, (David Horne, _the_
chancellor (*)) wrote:

Martin wrote:

[]
Last time we flew from Schiphol we had to be there 2 hours before our
flight
left at 6 am. The queue for security started on the pavement outside the
building. Return flight from Turkey was similar. We weren't at all
impressed.
Luckily the flight and the holiday were better than we expected.

Yup- I generally find the security the biggest hassle of flying
nowadays. I always aim to get to the airport 2 hours before just in case
there should be a public transport problem. Fortunately, there hasn't
been one yet...

I've given up flying. There is almost no security at the ferry ports we
use. A
bit scary if you take the risks seriously.
--

Martin

On Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:53:00 -0600, Robert Neville
wrote:

Jack Campin - bogus address wrote:

: Does anyone know when or how often the scales at airport check in
: are calibrated and whether or not i can legally challenge their
: weigh in?

Comments, anyone?

In the US, commercial scales used for commerce almost always need to be
certified by a local weights & measurements agency.

Hi

OT, but some years ago I owned a hobby store here in the UK selling,
among other things, mineral specimens by weight.

The shop premises I bought already had an old set of commercial scales
left by the previous owner, which I used quite happily for a few weeks
to weigh rocks. The scales had a government inspection sticker on
them and worked fine except that a small rubber pad was missing from
the scales, meaning that they were weighing very slightly light and
customers were getting a fraction of an ounce free. The difference
was so negligible that I certainly wasn't worried about loss of
income.

I then decided to sell gold jewellery mounts for customers making
their own jewellery and, as I knew I had a legal obligation to display
a card explaining hallmarking, I contacted the local weights and
measurements agency to ask where I obtained one - a big, big, mistake.

"We'll bring one round sir - and, as you haven't been open long, we'll
have a look at your store at the same time."

"No, there is no need to put yourself out, all I want is a hallmarking
notice"

"It's no bother sir - see you shortly".

They soon arrived complete with a vanload of checking equipment.

"Do you know that your scales haven't been officially checked for
years, they are now out of tolerance and therefore illegal, so we can
prosecute you if we wanted to?"

"Ehh!! They are weighing slightly light, so customers are actually
getting more than they pay for and as I only weigh lumps of
semi-precious stone on the scales, I always round the weight to the
nearest ounce anyway."

"Doesn't matter sir, they are out of tolerance and anyway, it is
illegal to sell customers more than they ask for, even if you are not
charging them for the extra."

"Ehhh!!! Can't I just stick a piece of chewing gum to replace the
small bit of rubber that has fallen off?"

"No sir, that would be even more illegal - and by the way what is that
string I see over there."

"Kite flying twine - I sell kites."

"Ahh, string is sold by length, so do you have an official government
marked measuring stick?"

"Ehhh!! Why do I need to measure it. I don't actually sell it by
length. It is prepacked and sealed by the suppliers. I can't measure
it unless I tear open the packing."

"I can see that the label clearly says the item is 100feet of kite
twine, so it is sold by length, hence you need an official government
marked measuring stick."

"But I cannot get at the string to measure it. It is a sealed package,
done by the manufacturers; people bring the sealed pack to the counter
and buy it - surely it is the people who packed the string who need
the measuring stick?"

"Ahh, no sir. It is you who are selling it, so legally it is your
responsibility to ensure it is the correct length, hence you need an
official government marked measuring stick - and whilst we are here,
do you by chance sell any electrical equipment and if so does it have
a health and safety label on the plug warning customers not to attempt
to refit the plug themselves" Unfortunately I did and it didn't!!!!!

After checking virtually everything in my store, they eventually left
having decided not to prosecute me providing I immediately bought a
new set of scales and an official government marked measuring stick -
"we'll be back to check their accuracy sir", - and taking with them
the address of the lapidary stone polishing machine makers, so they
could chase them up to fit warning labels on the plugs.

I know customers need protecting from unscrupulous tradespeople but
this was bureaucracy gone mad!!!

Regards

KGB

"Dave Smith" wrote in message
...

I don't know if it was matter of them being unaware of the policies or
simply unaware that the airline would be so picky. They were only a couple
pounds over the limit and may have figured that since they only had one
bag for the two of them that, even if they were a little over, they might
cut them some slack.

Both our cases were overweight by several pounds coming back to LGW from AGP
on easyJet and no one said a word.

Ian

KGB (KGB) wrote:

I then decided to sell gold jewellery mounts for customers making
their own jewellery and, as I knew I had a legal obligation to display
a card explaining hallmarking, I contacted the local weights and
measurements agency to ask where I obtained one - a big, big, mistake.

"We'll bring one round sir - and, as you haven't been open long, we'll
have a look at your store at the same time."

Oh no they didn't.

You have to buy the hallmark display card.

They're about £10 and your local trading standards are only interested
if you don't display one of the correct size when selling precious
metals that are hallmarked...

Actually getting hold of one if you're starting up in the jewellery
business can be something of a trial (I got mine from the London assay
office, the Birmingham one doesn't have them) and the idea that a local
trading standards office keeps a stock is absurd

--
William Black

The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing.
If you can fake that, you've got it made.

"KGB (KGB)" wrote in message
...
....
"Do you know that your scales haven't been officially checked for
years, they are now out of tolerance and therefore illegal, so we can
prosecute you if we wanted to?"

"Ehh!! They are weighing slightly light, so customers are actually
getting more than they pay for and as I only weigh lumps of
semi-precious stone on the scales, I always round the weight to the
nearest ounce anyway."

"Doesn't matter sir, they are out of tolerance and anyway, it is
illegal to sell customers more than they ask for, even if you are not
charging them for the extra."

Your mistake was selling a specific weight, rather than a minimum weight. If
you sell a specific weight of product, then you have to have certified
scales. If you sold the stones by the bag ' minimum weight x', then it is up
to you to decide how you ensure that no bag contains less than x. You can be
prosecuted if any do contain less than x, but not if, within certain limits,
they contain more.

....
"Kite flying twine - I sell kites."

"Ahh, string is sold by length, so do you have an official government
marked measuring stick?"

"Ehhh!! Why do I need to measure it. I don't actually sell it by
length. It is prepacked and sealed by the suppliers. I can't measure
it unless I tear open the packing."

"I can see that the label clearly says the item is 100feet of kite
twine, so it is sold by length, hence you need an official government
marked measuring stick."

"But I cannot get at the string to measure it. It is a sealed package,
done by the manufacturers; people bring the sealed pack to the counter
and buy it - surely it is the people who packed the string who need
the measuring stick?"

"Ahh, no sir. It is you who are selling it, so legally it is your
responsibility to ensure it is the correct length, hence you need an
official government marked measuring stick ...

You could have appealed that. Under Section V of the Weights and Measures
Act 1985, it is the reponsibility of the manufacturer or importer to ensure
that sealed packages are correctly marked.

Colin Bignell

On Aug 8, 11:24*am, "Ian F." wrote:
"Dave Smith" wrote in message

...

I don't know if it was matter of them being unaware of the policies or
simply unaware that the airline would be so picky. They were only a couple
pounds over the limit and may have figured that since they only had one
bag for the two of them that, even if they were a little over, they might
cut them some slack.

Both our cases were overweight by several pounds coming back to LGW from AGP
on easyJet and no one said a word.

Ian

Same here in Dublin earlier this week. We were very, very early and so
once we finally got our boarding passes from the machines a mere 3
hours before boarding time, (initially still too early) I enquired at
the Air Lingus desk if we would still be too early to check-in, and,
having seen how much our combined weight was overweight I took the
opportunity to ask about what is the score about excess weight; the
reply was that we are allowed 20kgs each and it would be 12 Euro per
kg after that and we could pay either at the check-in or at the
enquiries desk. I said I'd wait and see what check-in weighs in at.

When at check-in I mentioned that the cases had fragile content; We
were thinking maybe he'd stick a "FRAGILE" sticker or something on the
cases. Instead, he suggested I take it to "Oversized Baggage"
because they might handle things a little more carefully there. He
then put a HEAVY label on it along with the usual thing. At that
point he hadn't realised I had meant both cases had delicate items.
But too late, by the time I got the first case back out, the other was
already through the shoot.

Still, no excess charge was mentioned.

"Jack Campin - bogus address" wrote in message
...
A post from a well-known Scottish musician on the Footstompin forum:

: I'm off for a fairly long trip in October and i have to take a fair
: amount of luggage with me, i just bought some decent digital scales
: so i could try and remain low on weight. Out of interest i thought
: i'd start by weighing one of my guitars in its case. Usually when
: weighed at the airport it comes out at 8 or 8.1 Kg but on my own
: scales it comes out at 6.9 Kg, thats fifteen quid or thereabouts.

: Does anyone know when or how often the scales at airport check in
: are calibrated and whether or not i can legally challenge their
: weigh in?

Comments, anyone?

Commercial scales are individually certified over a range of values.
Domestic scales are not normally certified and the accuracy is usually
measured only at the maximum reading. which means that there can,
legitimately, be quite high errors at the bottom end of the range. I would
only trust the 'decent digital scales' if they were medical grade certified
scales.

Colin Bignell

nightjar cpb@ wrote:
"Jack Campin - bogus address" wrote in message
...
A post from a well-known Scottish musician on the Footstompin forum:

: I'm off for a fairly long trip in October and i have to take a fair
: amount of luggage with me, i just bought some decent digital scales
: so i could try and remain low on weight. Out of interest i thought
: i'd start by weighing one of my guitars in its case. Usually when
: weighed at the airport it comes out at 8 or 8.1 Kg but on my own
: scales it comes out at 6.9 Kg, thats fifteen quid or thereabouts.

: Does anyone know when or how often the scales at airport check in
: are calibrated and whether or not i can legally challenge their
: weigh in?

Comments, anyone?

Commercial scales are individually certified over a range of values.
Domestic scales are not normally certified and the accuracy is usually
measured only at the maximum reading. which means that there can,
legitimately, be quite high errors at the bottom end of the range. I would
only trust the 'decent digital scales' if they were medical grade certified
scales.

The scales used by jewellers tend to be reasonably accurate...

Airport scales in the UK are best described as 'variable'.

I have had a couple of nasty experiences that were only solved by
insisting on using the scales on the next check-in desk.

I have never seen a trading standards stamp/tag on an airport scale in
the UK...


--
William Black

The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing.
If you can fake that, you've got it made.

"nightjar .me.uk" cpb@insert my surname here wrote in message
...

"Jack Campin - bogus address" wrote in message
...
A post from a well-known Scottish musician on the Footstompin forum:

: I'm off for a fairly long trip in October and i have to take a fair
: amount of luggage with me, i just bought some decent digital scales
: so i could try and remain low on weight. Out of interest i thought
: i'd start by weighing one of my guitars in its case. Usually when
: weighed at the airport it comes out at 8 or 8.1 Kg but on my own
: scales it comes out at 6.9 Kg, thats fifteen quid or thereabouts.

: Does anyone know when or how often the scales at airport check in
: are calibrated and whether or not i can legally challenge their
: weigh in?

Comments, anyone?

Commercial scales are individually certified over a range of values.
Domestic scales are not normally certified and the accuracy is usually
measured only at the maximum reading. which means that there can,
legitimately, be quite high errors at the bottom end of the range. I would
only trust the 'decent digital scales' if they were medical grade
certified scales.

For years my weight had always been round about 55kg. When I was at the
doctor's using their analog scale with large round dial, it was 50kg! And
that was fully dressed..

More recently they used digital scales with only 0.5Kg resolution. I'd
rather trust my own digital 0.1Kg scales (cross-checked from time to time
with one or two others), to anything 'medical' where every scale (especially
analog) says something different.

BTW that must be quite a hefty guitar (even with a case) at some 8Kg, What's
that, about the same as 4x 2L bottles of coke to carry about? I've just
weighed an analog guitar (no case) at 1.6Kg.

--
bartc

Martin wrote:
On Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:31:27 -0400, Dave Smith
wrote:

tim..... wrote:
bag for the two of them that, even if they were a little over, they might
cut them some slack.
Though in this situation anyone with any sense would open their bag, take 2
kilo of stuff out, go over to the luggage shop, buy a bag and then check in
a bag each.

They may not even need to buy a second bag. I've often seen boxes and other
loose stuff coming out on the luggage belts
I am surprised that they didn't just crack open the wine and drink it.

Isn't that a perk reserved for the baggage handlers?

I may have seen evidence of that once while waiting in the boarding
lounge. I saw a tractor pulling a string of luggage carts at high speed
in a big loop headed for the plane I was waiting to board. Dozens of
suitcases fell off and went sliding across the tarmac.