I have carefully reviewed the OP's shipping file and questioned the staff involved in handling this shipment. We do regret that OP is unhappy with our services. I am taking this opportunity to summarize what happened as I feel it will serve as useful education for future shippers. If you are reading this post and planning on shipping and taking All Risk insurance, the lessons learnt in this case may be useful to you regardless of which company you ship with as marine insurance pretty much works the same way. So again, the below is more a summarization on why OP is unhappy with our services with general benefit intended rather than a mere rebuttal directed at the OP. OP is welcome to respond and add more to this if I missed out anything but let's together focus on making this useful for future shippers rather than a mere exchange of directed frustration and rebuttals.
OP has cited 3 reasons why he is unhappy, namely delay in delivery, THC charges and insurance claim denial because of damage to dining table. I will start with the insurance claim denial as that is the primary reason why OP is frustrated based on my review of the case file and staff interrogation. Per the staff that handled this shipment OP had no grievances until his claim was denied. I’ll also address the other 2 reasons (delay and THC charges) subsequently in this post.
What makes this lesson of particular interest to future shippers is that OP has mostly done all things right from his side including purchasing All Risk insurance but still ended up as an unhappy customer primarily because he did not pay close intention to the insurance Terms & Conditions (T&C) and did not purchase coverage for certain items the way he intended to. More below…
Claim Denial: OP had purchased All Risk insurance that covers the shipment against damages and loss subject to the insurance T&C and a valued inventory filled out by the customer. The valued inventory is provided by the Shipper and includes item description and value for items that are covered. All Risk insurance does not automatically include coverage for items that need to insured in pairs and sets (such as a dining table and chairs as one set, 3 couches as one set, entire bedroom set as one set). It also does not include coverage of electronic / electric items against mechanical / electrical derangement (no visible damage but internal malfunction). Both these options are however available at additional cost as add-ons to the policy. The insurance underwriter charges more for these add-ons as they entail a lot more coverage from their side. In the case of pairs and sets, consider a dining table that costs $950 including 6 chairs. If you purchase the pairs and sets add-on and if a single chair is damaged the insurance company will settle your claim (lesser of repairs or purchase value) for $950 minus the deductible in your policy. Likewise if your dining table is damaged but not the chairs you still get the same compensation. However, if you do not purchase pairs & sets coverage but declare it as a set in your valued inventory you end up getting proportionate value (declared value divided by the number of items in the set). So if you declared the value as $950 and your dining table was damaged then the insured value for any one item in that set of 7 (dining table alone or 1 chair) is merely $135.71 ($950 / 7). If the $135.71 is below your deductible then you get nothing leaving you very angry and dejected because your claim was denied and you have a damaged dining table that is of no good to you sitting in your house.
This is exactly what happened with the OP’s claim. While it is unfortunate, that is how insurance works. All shippers are given a copy of the T&C for review and signature before the policy can be activated. The T&C does state that items declared as a set will be insured based on proportionate value. It also states that pairs & sets coverage is available for any items that the insurer wants to cover as a set. OP was also provided with the T&C and an opportunity to purchase sets and coverage but he declined the add-on coverage.
It looks like a complete rip-off, doesn’t it? You may ask why I would purchase All Risk insurance coverage if I am not going to get any settlement unless I pay more for pairs and sets coverage. Well, it’s not that bad if you declare your items in the right way. Continuing with the same example, the right way to declare your dining table and the chairs is to list them individually as each item with value for each. Then if your dining table is damaged, assuming it was the most expensive item in the set you get a fair compensation. Same applies to living room and bed room sets. Again, pairs and sets coverage is available for purchase at additional cost if you have an expensive set that must be insured as a set. It costs more because it is a lot more coverage from the insurance company’s perspective.
LESSON FOR FUTURE SHIPPERS: Declare value for item in a set individually in your All Risk insurance valued inventory if you do not plan on purchasing pairs & sets coverage. Read the T&C document.
We also have a takeaway here. At our end, we will try to more proactively educate future shippers on the key clauses in the T&C as we know not everybody has the time or inclination to read through all the fine print in a 5 page Terms & Conditions document. That said, I still urge shippers to take the time to read through the insurance terms & conditions as it ultimately governs your insurance policy and educates you on your responsibilities. We can proactively bring the key points to your attention but imagine going through every clause in a terms & conditions document over phone with your sales rep. You should read through the document thoroughly and then feel free to contact us if you need any clarifications.
Next, I am addressing the remaining two grievances posted by OP.
Delay in Delivery (92 days): OP’s shipment was LCL and our estimated door to door timeframe for LCL shipments is 2 – 3 months depending upon LCL consolidation time at origin (usually 2 – 4 weeks), steamship line, route, distance from origin/destination location to nearest port, completion of required documentation, payment remittance and port congestion at any connecting ports.
THC Charges: OP feels he was charged THC more than customs duty. These are two different things and have no bearing on one another. Destination charges are inclusive of Terminal handling charges, Port charges and NVOCC charges. Customs duty on the other hand depends on your TR status and what you ship. One charge can be more or less than the other charge depending on shipment volume and duty assessment. OP’s shipment was 300 CFT and his THC charge was reasonable and commensurate to his shipment volume. OP's duty was based on custom’s officer assessment of items declared. The charges were listed clearly as exclusions in the contract with OP and official receipts were provided for the charges.
I would also like to take this opportunity to encourage all our customers to post their feedback in this thread whether good or bad. While we like to be applauded for a job well done we also view this thread and this entire sub forum as a valuable window that gives us a glimpse into what our customers are looking for beyond cost and reliability. Your feedback helps us improve each day and give progressively better service to our valued customers. We do ask that you read RRK’s note above in this thread on the code of conduct applicable to this thread and give us a chance to address your concerns and then post the facts here. If you can, also mention what went right for you and what did not. Hopefully that will help make your overall experience useful to others.
Adarsh Dattani,
Universal Relocations, LLC
pvmani;330614When did you ship : 17-Mar-2010
From City, Country : Reston, VA , USA
To City, country : Chennai, India
Shipper used : Universal Relocation
Shipping mode ( air, sea, road etc), : Sea
Size: container size, LCL, Crates, boxes, etc., : LCL (312 CFT)
Approx Cost : $3200
Did you take insurance or not ? : Yes
Experience with packers /movers : Very bad, Please avoid universal
Any delay in arrival of goods : Yes took 92 days to deliver
Experience with customs officials, bribe ? : No, but Universal's THC is more than the Customs duty apart from $3200
Any damages in shipping : Yes, Dining table is damaged and unable to claim the same due to Universal's wrong coverage
Quality of service, response to queries, customer service, experience : Very bad
Would you recommend their service ? : Not at all
tips, dos and donts for shipping : Please avoid universal