Thanks Cobber. I'll drop the bloke a query through the ether and assess the response. Maybe you hit the nail on the head - organising shipping is all too difficult for them. That said, buying TF parts from other vendors in the UK has been an absolute breeze and I have found the usual culprits to be very helpful indeed.
We get a bunch of stuff from Blighty so can organise carriage from this end - maybe that will help. In any case, if they give the impression that they are doing me a favour taking my money then its swivel time - I'll simply go elsewhere.