This happened to us recently, so I thought I'd pass the potential pitfall on to other BE members to look out for:

Many people choose to use a removals firm to ship their possessions from the UK (say) to Canada. The removals company will normally arrange delivery but, even so, you may still have to present your Goods to follow list & COPR copy in person to CBSA.

We shipped from Portugal and used an agent to arrange the shipping. There was a screw up on the shipping company quoting a 'To door' service and we did not discover it until the container was already at sea! They had quoted us for a post code in Vancouver - one we certainly didn't supply, had never heard of and did not see on any quotation. The shipping company concerned was Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). The handling office was Lisbon, Portugal. Their customer service standard is almost zero so be warned.

If you are paying for a container delivery to door service.. make sure the Bill of lading says 'Name of your city - Door' on it.
If it only has on it the 'city of the port of delivery - Door' and you are settling in another town/city... Query it!

We were quoted and agreed for a 'To door' service on Vancouver Island, BC. or we thought we did! We supplied our full (new) home address and post code etc.

Sure enough our Bill of lading said Vancouver - Door. We approved that, as we knew we had passed them the correct address. FYI, the Bill of lading does not quote a delivery address or post code, just a delivery city. I won't tell you how much extra we had to cough up to get the container delivered to 'Vancouver Island - Door'!!

Even locally, here on Vancouver Island, I have had a couple of people relate the same problem during the usual.. 'how was the move?' type discussions. Just recently another couple had to cough up a bunch of extra cash as the shipping co would not ship outside Vancouver city limits unless they paid an extra fee, seemingly plucked out of the air!

It seems that this is not a rare event and, for those of use that rarely ship containers, an easy trap to fall into. These container shipping company are ruthless. They know they have you over a barrel! Dispute any charges and they start on the .. "Your container will not move and will incur storage charges" routine! They have your stuff, you need it. It's not hard to see who will win that battle.

Thanks for the info will keep my eyes open!!! x

I am a little confused by this. Is this a self pack? Normally it the moving company that you engage that write the BOL. If they did it in correctly then it is them that should pay the extra $$$ to get it to your door. If you were quoted door to door and gave them your address at the time the survey was being done, then thats the service you should get.

Unfortunately it's like you say - they have your "stuff" and you want it! You can stamp your foot as much as you like at the injustice but it probably won't get you anywhere. Get your stuff to your door then it's time to rant and rave! Is it worth suing them for the extra you had to pay? They probably know it's not!

In the greater scheme of things - it's over. You're here, so are your posessions, and now you can enjoy the settling in period! By the way, have you been crab fishing yet?

I agree with rivingtonpike.
Trying to nail a Portuguese shipping agent from within Portugal in a Portuguese court can take years in it's own right... let alone trying to do it from Canada! They know it!! You need to have lived in Portugal for a few years to fully grasp how complicated the legal system is there. and how slanted it is against the little man in the street. They know that also!

The Canadian agent didn't make the mistake, so kept referring us back to the Portuguese agent.

Portugal admitted they made a mistake, but they wouldn't budge and simply said that people make mistakes from time to time! After about 5 phone calls and 20 emails I get fed up with the whole affair. I needed to move on.

By way of my post, all I wanted to do was point out to those that may may be shipping in future to make sure that the BOL states the correct delivery city-door. Contractually they are bound then. I guess most in this part of BE forum may ship from the UK, but get the BOL right in the first instance and it'll save hassle/time down the line. New immigrants have enough on their plate without having to commence legal proceedings against a negligent shipper.

I decided to suck it up and move on with life. Too many other things to get on with.

Not been crab fishing as yet... I have that thrill to come!!