From Budapest, Hungary to Fort Lauderdale, Fl, United States - September, 2011

THE PERILS OF SHIPPING BY SEA

When I shipped my 1500 Goldwing to Budapest in 2008 the base cost was $600.00 and some change for paper work. The base cost to ship it back to the U.S. in 2011 was $950.00. There was another $150.00 for paper work. In October I was told that the container was held up in Germany for scanning. In November I received an e-mail stating that the shipment would be arriving and I needed to pay $175.00 for the broker. With in the week I received an apologetic e-mail from Fort Lauderdale asking for another $840.00 to cover the cost of German scanning. I stopped payment on the $175.00 check and began to try and find out what was going on.

The cost of scanning is passed on to the clients. (fine print - Port charges, customs clearance fees, duties, taxes and unloading at destination not included). The shipping company took the $2250.00 and divided it equally among the 3 clients. The container included my goldwing and another 1500 goldwing, a 2007 Chrysler Sebring, and 147 items of used furniture. So how can that be fair - right?

Even with the help of the offices of a current and former U.S. Senator, we could not find any agency that oversees these practices. The logistics managers for several of our client companies also came up empty. Several shipping company terminal managers (including the one that contracts with our carrier) said they would always divide the charges based on cubic feet and not equally between clients.

In January I paid the ransom to Mr Steven C Szaraz of www.amships.com. I met the General Manager of American Freight Line, Steven Nolte when I picked up the wing. He explained that the scanning thing is a big problem for the shipping industry and one should get the companies policies spelled out to you before signing on.

PS: I plan on riding the 1500 to South America later this year. Please let me know if you are aware of anyone planning the same. tom () markentpersonnel-com

Tom Udulutch