from Rocket Science to Business Solutions

The rights of consumers in the retail sector have become well known, however when it involves buying services for your business the laws and conventions are very different. This article tells you what to expect in the event that you buy freight forwarding services then one goes wrong.

One mistake that a lot of people make would be to assume that the carrier, shipping company or freight forwarder is simply obliged to refund them the entire value of whatever goods could be lost or damaged. After all, if your shoes fall apart the day once you buy them, you’ll expect to take them back again to the shop and get a replacement pair, or perhaps a full refund!

same day freight company Sydney to Canberra ‘like for like’ relationship does not work in the area of international transport and forwarding. If every forwarder had to pay out in compensation the full value of the goods they transported, many of them would go out of business in an exceedingly short time. That’s because you – as a customer – are usually paying just a small proportion of the value of the goods because of their forwarding services. Freight charges derive from the weight or volume of the goods transported; they are not usually related in any way to the actual value of the consignment.

As international trade has developed, so have many statutes and conventions which LIMIT the liability of the carrier to cover compensation to the products owner. You can find different conventions associated with different modes of transport such as air, sea and road, but they all have one thing in keeping; the compensation that your carrier (or their insurer) is obliged to spend, is based on the WEIGHT ONLY of the lost or damaged goods.

Some customers express outrage as of this – but the truth is that this limitation of liability applies in some way to all or any international transport provision; it is not imposed randomly by rogue freight forwarders who are just trying to be awkward!