Alas Cargo

August 14,
Revdex.com of San
Diego & Imperial Counties
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Viewridge AveSuite
San Diego, CA
Re: Complaint ID #[redacted]
Dear [redacted]:
Thank you for your letter regarding Mr[redacted]'s
complaint. It is unfortunate that he
felt that he could not resolve this issue directly with us, because our company
does strive to provide excellent customer service to all our customers
Please allow me to explain the nature of our business, so
that you have a better understanding of this particular situation with Mr[redacted]. Our company provides cargo
forwarding services to our customers to send packages to the Philippines. Essentially we are exporting household goods
and personal effects out of the United States via ocean freight. Transportation via ocean involves numerous
modes of transshipment steps, most of which we have little to no control over, and
is subject to US Customs & Border Patrol Inspection by the Department of
Homeland Security.
Our Company gives our customers estimated delivery times,
but we do not guarantee delivery times or dates because there are many various
factors that can delay our shipments, such as US Customs inspections,
Philippines Customs inspections, extreme weather, capsizing ships/boats,
rerouted ships, ocean carrier offloads, political issues, changes to laws and
regulations of any federal, state or local government of any country from, to
or through which the shipments may be carried, etc. All of these possible situations affect
delivery times of the transport of goods and we have stated in our "Terms and
Conditions" on the back of the customers' invoices:
"The "Company" will not under any
circumstance be liable for delay in pick up, transportation or delivery of any
shipment"
Regarding Mr[redacted]'s complaint for his invoice
#1035857, his package was received by our company on May 30, and was loaded
onto a container scheduled to depart the Port of Los Angeles on June 6,
2014. This container was chosen to be
held and inspected by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). During holding and inspection the containers
are stored at the Port and a government-contracted, bonded warehouse, Price
Transfer Inc. As with most containers
that are inspected, this container was held by DHS for approximately two weeks
and departed the Port of Los Angeles on June 22,
In addition to the US DHS inspection delay for this
shipment, earlier this year the Mayor of the City of Manila, Philippines
implemented new regulations that have had an extremely adverse effect on the
movement of goods to and from the Port of Manila. This has caused major Port Congestions at both
Manila North and Manila South Harbors, leaving some ships with no place to dock
and containers accumulating in Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong. The port congestion has caused major delays to
all of our shipments which have been, on average, 2-4weeks delayed. Our containers are stored at the ports in
Taiwan and/or Japan until the shipping lines have space in the Manila ports to
be delivered
As a company that has been in business for more than years,
we are just as frustrated with the delays as our customers are. We built our company by providing fast,
reliable and affordable shipments to the Philippines and hope that issues with
US DHS and port congestions in Manila are resolved soon. All of these issues are beyond our control,
but we are always trying our best to expedite the shipments of all of our
customers. We follow up with our
shipping lines and our Manila partners every few hours days a week. The estimated time of arrivals, to the Manila
ports, for our shipments are constantly changing based on how fast the shipping
lines can load and off-load in Manila during any given day
Unfortunately, we will not be able to refund Mr[redacted]'s
shipment fee because we have shipped his package and will deliver it, as soon
as possible, when it arrives in our Manila warehouse. As was stated earlier in this letter, we are
not liable for delays in the pickup, transportation, and delivery of any
shipment
We hope that Mr[redacted] will understand that we are
trying our best to stay updated on the status of all our shipments and to
expedite every delivery amidst all of the delays that are beyond our control
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Alas Cargo,
COO

Review: Sent 2 balikbayan boxes(goods)to Philippines last May 30, 2014 for my children and grand childrens birthday(JULY 2014). I was told that the goods will be delivered within 40 days. As of this time, the boxes are still not delivered. I called their office several times and I was given the run around for the delivery date.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund for the cargo fee. And any goods that are spoiled due to the length of the delivery. They did not adhere to the terms and agreement of delivery, I deserve a refund.

Business

Response: