Ron, Matt, Dave, etc.

I managed to get a few minutes of a solicitors time for free and he came up with pretty much the same advice as Matt has given. He did say that in the letter I should set out my requirements with a reasonable timetable. Whilst neither he nor I are particularly knowledgeable about shipping he did seem to think that the end of the month would be a suitable deadline, especially considering things like customs being outside of their control. I would rather see my bike sooner but I should have taken this step some time ago - as far as I'm concerned they've had their last chance but I haven't done it in writing.

The company I hold responsible is a UK one. This is the company that I made original enquiries with and all communications have gone through them - the deal to ship my bike from US to UK was between them and me. They have chosen to use US agents to assist in this but as far as I have ever been concerned it has been the UK company that I engaged to d this and they agreed to do so. I realise that by not naming the company it may seem that I'm being a bit mysterious about the whole business but I don;t want to mess things up - this is one of the things I'll discuss with the solicitor. Also it's the only card I've got!

I must admit I've probably been using the wrong terminology such as shippers, agents, freight forwarders, etc. because I don't have much experience in such matters. However since the agreement was between me and a UK company (who chose to then enlist / subcontract to other companies) the contract falls under UK legislation.

Since it's the weekend I've decided to write a draft letter but before posting it wait and see what the outcome of any further solicitors advice on Monday may be. If the end of the month is considered a suitable deadline then the day lost here is not significant. I realise solicitors will be expensive but I may need someone to act on my behalf since I am supposed to be going overseas at the end of the month or thereabouts.

The latest, more senior, person that I've spoken with at the UK company has said he will keep me informed on a daily basis. He seemed genuinely embarrassed by the whole affair but that doesn't do me much good.

I didn't ask him about proof of the bike being where he says it is but I shall email him shortly with that particular request. To allow for time differences, etc. I guess a deadline of Tuesday morning here in the UK would be appropriate. I'm thinking a couple of digital photos emailed to me would provide at least some sign that the bike is where it is supposed to be. I'm probably trying to avoid thinking about the idea of my bike and all the stuff that was with it having been stolen or lost. Also I'm not certain what I'd do if they failed to provide the evidence - I agree that I'd have to report it as stolen but I can't say I'm keen on trying to explain the somewhat confused situation to police around the world.

Other than drafting a letter I'll continue to organise the email communications I've had since I've been told that these can reinforce and expand upon the oral contract between me and the company. I've also started making a list of all the bits on the bike and stuff that was with it. Not much fun.

Thanks for everyone's advice so far - it's been quite re-assuring to know that I'm not just being a whinging pom.