A FAMILY run Bangor business that supplies motability equipment to the most vulnerable people in society has said the Northern Ireland Protocol ‘is killing us’.
Arthur and Mel McKee, who together run AMS Services, have witnessed a massive 86.2% fall in their European sales since 2019 and are pointing the finger of blame at the post Brexit red tape and the Protocol.
The Protocol was designed to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland, but the husband and wife team, whose business is based in Dunlop Industrial Units, are now facing lengthy customs delays in getting their vital equipment to those in most need.
The couple’s equipment, such as disability scooters and wheelchairs, that previously moved seamlessly from their suppliers in Great Britain is now languishing for long periods at Northern Ireland’s ports as customs checks are carried out.
Their European business has been decimated by nearly 90% as customers are unwilling to pay additional import duties that have been introduced as a result of the United Kingdom leaving the EU. Mr and Mrs McKee, who say they take pride in providing a personal service to every customer, have decided to speak out in a bid to highlight how small businesses are struggling to survive as a result of the NI Protocol. “We have been in business for nine years, supplying equipment such as wheelchairs, motability scooters, walking aids, bedroom and daily living aids to people living across Northern Ireland and would sell parts all over the world,” said Mr McKee. “We had been operating very successfully until Brexit and we got the shock of our lives.
We had been told we would get the best of both worlds, with access to both markets in the United Kingdom and Europe. But our sales to the Republic of Ireland have stopped dead in their tracks. Instead of doing more trade we have done less.” She explained they had also experienced problems with their online shop, with customers in the Republic of Ireland and Europe being charged import tax, and they are facing long delays getting equipment from Great Britain suppliers they had used for years without a problem.
She said: “We previously would have ordered a pallet and expected it in a couple of days but when we contacted our distributors about the delays they said they couldn’t give us a date, they just said it was stuck in customs. It took 11 days for a pallet to arrive here because of customs.” “As a second option we found another dealer that used a different haulage company.
Again there was never any difficulty bringing goods to Northern Ireland so we placed an order but nothing turned up.” Mrs McKee said they hoped that registering for an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number, a unique ID code used to track and register customs information in the EU, would help ease any delays but again their goods were stuck in customs.
Adding to their bureaucratic nightmare, the couple said they face being fined if they failed to complete declaration forms for their goods. “We are a two man team and if we don’t do the declarations there is the potential for fines,” said Mrs McKee. “It is awful,” she said. “The general public don’t know the issues we are facing. One gentleman in County Fermanagh, his wheelchair had completely broken down. It was a very specialised wheelchair and he was desperate, it was just dreadful. “We can’t keep waiting 10 days for a mobility scooter but we can’t order 10 scooters at a time, we don’t have that kind of outlay.
Big organisations can find new channels but we can’t buy our goods in Northern Ireland, we have to buy them from the United Kingdom. There are limited places we can buy our stock” Calling for the customs delays to be explained Mrs McKee said: “We would like someone to explain why are goods taking so long to get to us? Is this teething problems or is this going to be how it is? “We are losing business. Our sales around Europe have gone down. We were told the Protocol would allow us to trade with Europe but it is killing us.” Said Mrs McKee: “If someone needs a wheelchair it is not a luxury item. If they need it, they don’t need it in 10 days time, the longest we used to have to wait was two days.”
