You’re wasting time and burning money on cargo claims

The reality is that you were probably affected by 2020- 2021  in ways you were not even aware of, no matter whether you run a small cargo export business or are leading an industry titan.

So, I want to make sure you know that no matter how much grief you went through recently, there are still ways for you to boost bottom lines through recovered cargo claims.

See what I mean?

Now, I want you to share my certainty by realizing that even if you think you have no legal knowledge, no time, you have everything you need. Knowledge is out there.

I have witnessed so many times factories, exporters, importers, freight forwarders recovering transit losses from the liable carriers and gaining momentum in their actions.

Here are 3 sharp steps for you to follow:

1. Collect evidence

Although it can be time-consuming, the collection of evidence and documents is crucial to speeding up the claims handling process and ensuring it’s a success. This is a list of documents you will need:

Documents required for ALL claims: 

• Bill of lading, front and back
• Commercial invoice
• Packing list
• Photographs evidencing extent of damage/loss of cargo
• Photographs of container evidencing cause of damage/loss of cargo
• Notification to shipping line  (email)
• Claim value (breakdown of the claim amount)

 Really helpful documents: 

• Temperature records in the case of a reefer container claim
• Survey report
• Salvage invoice
• Destruction certificate
• Fumigation certificate

2. Identify the Carrier

You will need to identify the carrier before submitting your claim in order to ensure you are submitting your claim to the correct liable party and do not waste your precious time. Whoever issued BL or HBL for you is your contractual carrier!

3. Act Timely

All cargo claims are subject to a time bar. The date your cargo claim will be time-barred will depend on two things. The first is the date you took delivery of your cargo from the carrier as this is the start date, the second will depend on whether your shipment was a port to port shipment or a container yard to container yard shipment and which rules apply to your shipment, i.e. Hague Visby Rules, Hamburg Rules, etc.

However, to simplify things, if your shipment was a port to port shipment, it is safe to assume that your claim will be time barred one year from date of taking delivery of your container.

Many claims are never settled because either the claimant forgot to chase the claim, or the carrier deliberately drags the claim into time bar. So it is very important to make sure you do not lose the cargo claim battle by not following up on your claim in a timely manner.

The opportunity of a lifetime is here! Don’t miss it!