SHIPMENT shock !

What was an unforgettable motorcycle trip and adventure in South America has now developed in an unexpected cost nightmare. We were five people that went on a 6-week bike trip during April and May 2010 to South America with our BMW motorcycles. The planning started in June 2009. The original quote received from the shipping company was to transport our motorcycles in a container by boat from Cape Town to Buenos Aires and back, and included all customs clearances. The problem we are still facing is the exorbitant final account from the shipping company, Kuehne & Nagel (K&N), Cape Town.

 After continual negotiations with K&N during our planning, we received an official quotation on 14 April for a total shipping price of R58 452. We accepted the quote 2 days later in writing. We paid an initial amount of R29 130 to K&N on the 29 March. During the return shipment of our motorcycles in June 2010 we were informed by K&N that the total shipping price had been amended to R105 759. We were also informed that we had to pay the balance of R76 630 before being allowed to collect our motorcycles from Customs. Although it was stated in the quotation that certain costs (like exchange rate and charges) could be revised, an increase of 81% over a period of 2 ½ months is surely neither reasonable, nor justified.

We had no choice but to pay the balance of R76 630 in order to have our motorcycles released (also to avoid the daily storage fees). This payment was done with the understanding that we did not agree to the increased price, and that a credit would be due to us. This was confirmed and agreed by K&N. After much communication, K&N finally admitted there were some costing problems and promised a credit. Eventually, after much prompting, a month later, we received a credit of R7 503!  This brought the total price to R98 256, which is still an increase of 68% (R39 805) from the original quotation. We believe this is unethical.

 Despite continuous correspondence, K&N maintain that the case is closed. In our opinion this is not the case and we dispute this huge price increase.  Is it then normal for such huge deviations between quotes and actuals in the shipping industry?  Were we misled with their quotation? Are we as individuals being exploited by a big company?

Lesson learned: be VERY careful and do your homework thoroughly before you choose a shipping company to ship your motorbike overseas.

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