Brat1

I'm sitting here this morning, in the sun, with my cup of coffee, wondering if I've been living in a bubble for the last 4-5 months.

After waiting 10 weeks for our belongings to arrive from the UK (490 cft), they've been stuck in Philadelphia since Sunday 11th April. Firstly we got word on our shipment tracker that they were being x-rayed, which we were warned might happen on arrival, at a cost of $44. No worries. A couple of days later it was updated to intensive exam for another $44. Fair enough. If Customs want to check through all our stuff, let them carry on. Ten days later (last night), another check reveals that our charges are now sitting at $373.00 and this is not finalised.

What the .... In no conversation with the shipping company was this discussed. When I asked on his 2nd visit to my home, if there were any further charges we should expect, I was told that we may have an x-ray fee but they are less likely to do those sort of checks when a shipping company has packed all your stuff.

Anyone know what these charges are for. Are we getting charged for something that we've shipped over that they're not happy with or thats been missed off the inventory. I'm totally confused and feel rather hacked off that no-one can enlighten me. The removal company here have no details either and can only tell me that Customs will tell them nothing. Has anyone else experienced this or maybe I've been sleeping throughout the whole shipping process and missed all these explanations of additional charges.

Undefeckable

Welcome to the lottery.

Here's some stuff I got from my shipping company that may help explain what's going on with your stuff:

Customs clearance

Upon the vessel arrival, we will submit your documents to US Customs. Customs Clearance (paperwork review) takes approximately 2 ½ to 3 weeks.

Customs inspection

During that time, US Customs will determine if they choose to conduct further examination. As part of a High Risk cargo detection program nationwide, these inspections occur frequently: 1/ x-ray: 90%, 2/ intensive: 70%, especially for containers holding shipments of multiple consignees. If the container is scheduled to undergo an Intensive exam, US Customs will order transportation of the container to their Licensed and Bonded Examination Site. They will charge for usage of their equipment and storage of the uncleared container.

Fees

Because this is a shared container, you will not be liable for the full cost of these charges. Although, you will be billed in direct proportion to the volume of your consignment, That cost ranges from $ 100.00 up to several hundred dollars, depending on: volume, the type & number of exam (x-ray, physical inspection) and the days of demurrage (port storage while container is still ON HOLD at the port, pending release from US Customs).


Shipment's availability

Once the container is fully released by US Customs, the transportation to our depot will take place within 3 to 5 business days. We will deconsolidate the container and account for all clients pieces and finalize any missing or damage reports.

We will then contact you and advise each client of their goods' availability and the respective portion of the Examination and Demurrage (port storage fees) cost.

avanutria

We were charged about $250 or so for customs x-ray fees. We weren't given a running tally, just told at the end. I think we had about 420 cubic feet.