My situation.

Moving to NY/NJ under an L1 Visa for a multi-national

Shipping container with all our stuff in has been selected for extensive physical examination by US Customs.

They are charging about $1500 for the search and $330 per day to the shipping terminal company for the space we occupy whilst customs actually get round to routing through our stuff.

The estimated bill so far is $4000 !

This seems ridiculously unfair !

I can almost stomach paying for the customs search fees, but to pay a daily fee to the docks because customs are inefficient seems ludicrous.

Meanwhile I've been in a hotel for 13 weeks and my family for 5.

This is far tougher than I ever imagined !

Anybody been through a similar experience ?

I doubt if I have any redress....but does anyone know ?

Dreading the arrival of our precious possessions now...undoubtedly there will be a following insurance claim....

Welcome to the USA...the land of the free !

This is exactly why I ditched everything int eh UK and started again out here - nothing I owned was worth what it would cost to ship, store and retrieve.

Well our stuff is valued at about $70k so its not quite that bad...the point is that its not justifiable that the importer should pay for the inefficiencies of US customs. Maybe the search fees...although that's questionable....but the rental fees on the terminal whilst we wait for customs to search our stuff....why is that our responsibility....what's the justification...I know it's probably tough sh1t. but that doesn't make it right..we're just an ordinary family...the $5k its going to cost us may be the difference between success and failure here !

Any chance you can get your employer to pick up some or all of the additional cost?

This just happened to our stuff, however, I spoke to a legal friend of mine and he suggested I pose the following questions to my shipping company about the "costs" involved.

Firstly, I called Customs myself (armed with container information) and asked the status of my shipment. I found out my stuff had already been released by Customs (after a full physical examination) even though my shipper stated it hadn't cleared and was supposedly accruing storage charges. So, based on that info, my shipper couldn't tack on unnecessary charges (ie. storage, etc) and claim it had been sitting waiting for a Customs release.

Secondly, he suggested I demand an itemization with supporting documentation from the shipper in writing for the "costs". When I initially asked the shipper the status of my container they tried to tell me "as of this moment" you owe XX amount. The final bill, which I received yesterday was less than the figure they originally gave me. Go figure.

I don't know when your container arrived, but mine landed on July 27, clearing Customs on Aug. 8 after both a VACIS and full physical examination. Total cost to me was $1600...no, I'm not thrilled about it, however, I do feel if I hadn't chased up my shipper, they would've fleeced me with extra costs. They tried to tell me the same as you, so it might be worth checking up on it?

Good luck - I hope things work out for you.

PS-I'm worried about the state of my items also. I heard that Customs contracts companies out to do the physical exam...fingers crossed my stuff is still there/intact. At least I have the docs of the company who performed it, so I can file a report...geez.

This is a commonly reported scam on this and other boards by shippers. The above suggestion is right-on.

Gerber et al,

My container arrived on 1st August, had the xray on 5th, but still hasn't completed physical examination after 18 days.

I have been warned tht my costs are estimated at $4000 and increasing by at least $350 per day.

My employer may help, but this was a voluntary move, so they are certainly not obliged to.

Where did you get the contact details for customs from ?

Was it New York ?

Thanks,

Paul.

Gather all the information pertaining to your container, vessel name, port of arrival, date of arrival, name of warehouse, bill of lading number and container number. Google US Customs at the port and call them with the container number. You are generally given around 5 free days storage befor demurrage kicks in. If you have not been given free days ask why not it is standard practice. None of the information pertaining to your container is secret but if you are being screwed you may have to prod a little to obtain it. As mentioned get a very detailed statement showing a breakdown of all charges. A lot of shippers use the principal that they have your container and can hold you hostage.

Hi Paul.

I called my shipping company and demanded the container number, Bill of lading info, vessel information, and the number to the Customs office your shipper is dealing with. I then called Customs myself and they provided me with all the relevant info. Customs told me they don't charge for the exams, however, the terminal and companies they employ for the bonded warehouses (to use to store your stuff for examination) do.

When the shipper tells you they have "no idea" when your container will pass through the examination, it's time to check on it yourself. That's the same malarky I was told and, sure enough, my container had already been released even though my shipper had told me it hadn't. Customs also advised me that shippers have up-to-the-minute status info on their containers...hmmm.

Once armed with the Customs info, your shipper has no reason to add on unecessary terminal charges and such for storage etc.. I had mine come through Oakland, so I cannot comment on NY. Btw, my container is to be delivered in a few days versus my shipper only a few weeks ago claiming it would be sitting on the dock in Oakland "like 100's of other containers" for several weeks...ya right!

Also, try to get everything in writing (emails, etc) with shipper. It's hard for them to dispute company emails vs. telephone conversations.

PS- ottobear had some good advice also. Good luck!!

I can only wish you a speedy conclusion. We did just 4 weeks and I was going crazy.

It's happened to BE members before. I remember one was charged for a customs search by the shippers that never happened. A nice little earner.

However...I believe there are now a lot more searches carried out than there used to be.

Actually this made me remember when I was in the UK I had a guy on a placement with me whilst he was on probation. he'd been sacked from H M Customs for running a similar scam with container companies at Dover, so it's a worldwide phenomenon I guess. Hope t doesn't sour your entry into the US too much. Apparently the same scams occur occasionally when you have your car towed and the paperwork gets lost between police depts and car lots ...... Backhanders exist everywhere I guess - thankfully it seems to be a minority issue, and we Brits are as guilty of it as anyone. Good to see as always, some people are willing to share excellent advice garnered through experience here - an awesome resource to have on your side

The receivers at this end for my stuff "accidentally" sent the notification that it had arrived to the wrong address. Luckily I found out and managed to pick it up just before it accrued charges. They even wanted to charge me for disposing the plastic wrap it was wrapped in ($50! so I took it home).

Check to see if it's a scam...check the small print in your contract...see if the employer will pick the tab...

Or suck it up...it's not fun though.

Finally came out of Customs today. Total bill $4,500 approx.