Shipping parts OverSeas-UPS -nightmare

[Ram]

Just Some info on shipping things overseas-learning the hard way-

I had a large pallet(1100+lbs) shipped from Ft. Laud. to La Rachelle, France , via UPS - air with all my equitment for outfitting my boat. This was supposed to take 5 days max to get here & that was on the 24 of last month. It now looks as if it will be here this coming monday the 22, almost a month later. I suppose I should have shipped it early but I beleaved it would get here when thay said it would, Now im hopeing it gets here this Monday , but who knows, it still has not cleared customs yet-be careful with UPS-Overseas.
Seems as there has been one excuse after the other as to why it has taken so long, from "we lost your pallet for a week -to we don't know why its taking so long"
Im now praying to the Customs God to passover my pallet, as in my last min. haste in getting thing together i forgot to declare a few things uggggggg! Maybe I should have painted the pallet red (blood)
I was hoping to save time using the air fright, but it would have been just as fast shipping by ship and cheaper along with having a few less grey hairs.
Ram

[Ram]

One more thing UPS only pays $15 a pound if they lose your stuff, I was really sweating it for about a week or so!
ram

[Alan Wheeler]

Yeah when I was in business, I imported real expensive topend commercial sound equipment. Like one speaker box could cost $10K. A shipment maybe $100K and I always worried about a container going overboard. Ya can't fly these speakers by the way, because of the strong magnetic field.

[GordMay]

See also the (so far abortive) thread
“Shipping Packages & Mail “
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ead.php?t=2237

[gosstyla]

I hope you used a reliable source for determining what can be shipped into the country and possible charges.

I unfortunately relied on my builder for that information when shipping my container to them in Chile from California. The container was delayed for over a month in Customs, over a $1,000 of provisions were confiscated, and I also got hit for $9,000 of the total $45,000 of custom duties, VAT, etc.

Live and learn.

[hellosailor]

Very disappointing to hear that about UPS. Do they contract to international "partners" or is it UPS all the way? If so, I would complain directly to the executive offices, in writing. The corporate policy is very intolerant of situations like that.

Sometimes problems with customs can be streamlined when spares are marked as "Ships' stores for vessel in transit" or similar, indicating that they are not bound for the destination country, but will be moving out on a vessel that is only docked there. You'd have to check with the exact country to be sure of the magic words they want, if they honor them.

Sometimes it is also easier to deal with the air carrier's own "air cargo" department. You must bring the goods to their depot (at an airport usually) and pick them up at their depot (another airport) but that makes the logistics much simpler, the goods are either here or there or on the plane in between. And for smaller parcels, they often can tell you exactly which flight they will be on, so someone can pick them up at the other end. (Almost as good as hand carrying.<G>)

[Ram]

With so much to do, in prepairing to leave , I handed this job to my Girlfriend, (shes a French citezen )except for the packing/building of the crete.
I have everything from 2 fold up bikes, anchors, chain,tools, eletrionics ect,ect. Our Create is to be deleavered to the factory- Fountaine Pajot, where customs will check it out today or tommorw, Im hoping that they do not look to hard because i forgot to list about a dozen things. uugggggggg!

Sitar , checked into it and was told by 2 different sources that if the boat was leaving the country -what ever we needed would be ok.
Now that is as long as it went through customs at the factory, here at La Rachelle

If it would have went through Paris we would have had to pay the Vat & would be reinbursed when we could show that we brought the things back to the US, customs.

Im hoping that the factory will help me slide on by, but I will let you know in a few days how it all shakes out.

UPS has Air France doing there shipping and has said they will compensate us for the late deleaverly.

As I came through the air port customs I had 2 large suitcases about $3k in stuff- full of equitment, and was stopped & serched, they asked what was all this & as I was telling them I pulled out the boat paper work & they took one look & passed me on by. So that was easy
Ram

[hellosailor]

Ram-
En anglaise, on dit "Air Chance".<G> Perhaps they no longer deserve that name, but that's what we always called them.

[oreana123]

I have to ask if you tracked this shipment? UPS scans each thing it ships at every stop. If you track the shipment, then you can tell what and where the holdup really is. It is easy to blame UPS for a problem with Customs or other problems or delays. The French generally have a stick up their butt about shipments from America, anyway. Are you blaming UPS for someone elses's delay?
OK, I am an aircraft mechanic for UPS. I see boxes that people ship on our aircraft that are poorly packed and are falling apart. Some feel it is smart to put a 100 pound item in a cardboard box. That box will tear apart in shipment, I guarantee it. Now you say you put undeclared cargo on your pallet. You probably think air cargo is a game. You may be liable for criminal charges for falsefying your manifest. You now blame UPS. Good Luck. Next time, please ship on Fedex or Airborne.

[Ram]

Oreana123
I just receved the create yesterday, 2 days short of a month, I could have gotten it faster & at less then half the price shipping it by sea!
In reply to your question, Yes I did track this shipment or we tried to. We were in contact with UPS almost every day after the 5th day of shipment, because they told us it would take no longer than 5 days,we started checking in.
The hold up started in New York were it was in a shipment of 11 other large creates, some how our creates never made it on the plane although it was tracked to Paris(How does that happen). So we called Paris and they said it was there & should be to us in a few days after customs looks at it. So we felt good about that until it never came, we called again & they said its lost & had no idea where it was, they could not find it, meanwile it was still sitting in NY for weeks- no one was looking there, because it was tracked to Paris.
We found that most of the people we talked to at UPS were trying to help us but just did not have a clue on what to do or where to look, some like your self were jumping to conclusions and blameing custom’s or ?? for there mistake .

All it took was the right person to become involved and it was cleared up in a matter of days, that person was a French UPS person by the way!

The create was made of ½ plywood “box” with a pallet for a bottom and wheigh over a thousand pounds, not a little thing to lose!
As far as “falsefying your manifest” to me would imply I did in on purpose, it was an honest mistake of not remembering some items I packed, in the rush.

Customs in France by the way never even opened the box (too much work with a hundred screws in the lid) and passed it right thru with out even looking at it.

I will take your advice next time and use a better Air Fright shipper like Fedex, DHL or Airborne
Next time !

[Talbot]

I am a;so sitting here totally peeved with UPS. They were supposed to pickup something last week, missed the first attempt cause we were not told which day they were coming (not UPS fault), phoned up and agreed that the second attempt would be yesterday. Stayed in all day and phoned up at 1600 hrs to find out when they were coming. we were phoned back at 1730 to be told cant get to you today, will have to be tomorrow.
I emphasised that I would need to leave the house after 1000 hrs and for them to ring me in the morning to tell me when they expected to be here.

This morning - no phone call, waited an hour past the time I said I had to be out (1100). got back at 1230 to discover of course that they had been while I was out (naturally)

Phoned up to complain, and was told that the local depot would call me within the hour. now more than 90 minutes ago. I have to go out now, and expect that these incompetents will call me as soon as I leave.

[hellosailor]

Know your courier, and who they contract with along your intended route.

Airborne no longer exists, they were bought out by DHL this year. DHL in turn withdrew from the US domestic market some years ago and is only now trying to get back in "big time fast" by remaking the Airborne team.

Fedex, trying to compete with UPS and USPS because Fedex had no "cheap and slow" division, bought out a company called "RPS" a couple of years ago. Roadway Package Service had a reputation for being cheap--and inept. They used to come around saying "UPS!" when they rang doorbells, because no one knew who they were. (They were sued, and forced to stop.) Well, even the Fedex Air teams here have words for the RPS crews being integrated into Fedex. Apparently Fedex brought in "ground" as a separate operation, and the horrid quality is only slowly going away.

All of these folks are more complicated than the local picture. And the tracking systems? Sometimes just aren't used. Better to ask each one what their insurance rates and procedures are, some will let you file a claim much faster than others.

[oreana123]

Ram,

I hope you have the best of luck with the other carriers. I certainly know from talking to my friends at FEDEX that they never make mistakes ( ). I have to ask, did the UPS agent in France travel over to America, or did your local agent get someone OVER HERE to get your pallet going?

Reread your original post. Accidently forgetting to fill out your manifest is really, really a poor excuse. We (UPS Airlines) just had an airplane dive down to an emergency landing with subsequent airplane fire that destroyed the aircraft due to an item not on the manifest. Please put your future shipments on another carrier if you can...

Please forgive me for commenting. I hope you can solve all of your shipping problems successfully in the future. John S