Complaint Details

Status	:	Closed
Complaint No	:	0108143/2019
Category	:	Service Provider
Date	:	10-03-2019
Subject Line	:	The Shipment that I sent from Malaysia is not delivered
Complainant	:	Yousef Rahath House
Address	:	Rahath, Peringadi
Complainee	:	Interem relocations ( A Division of Freight Service India)
Address	:

Complaint Details
I had sent a shipment (used personal items and books) from Malaysia to Chennai in November 2017. My agent in Malaysia was SRD Millennium Vanlines and local forwarding agent was Interemrelocations (a division of Freight system India). As a person who paid RS 155, 000.00 for a DOOR TO DOOR service, it was my legal right to get the shipment to my home. It was written in the contract (Quote) and the payment bill that the agent would do this job. My only responsibility was to send my original passport for clearance purpose along with signed documents to the INTEREM (Freight Systems) because according to the contract Interem was the partner agent in India. Before the arrival of the shipment INTEREM itself had written the following lines to me: We have been advised by SRD about your upcoming shipment to Chennai port and delivery in Mahe. I will be your point of contact....After arrival of the shipment, shipping line we will complete the documentation formalities with port custom authorities and thereafter, we will be allowed to start the clearance process... After clearance, shipment will be transported in Interem trucks for delivery based on our earliest available schedule.

Based on this information, I had sent my passport to INTEREM as soon as I received the notification mail from the person who handled this move. But the shipment was not delivered until now because the partner agent ( INTEREM) asked me to pay the Shipping Line charge (SSL) imposed by Cargo Consolo India Pvt Ltd, a container line that brought the shipment from Malaysia to India. According to me, firstly, since the Shipping line charge is the charge related to the movement of shipment it should be paid by the agents who involved in this move because my contract was for the door-to-door service. Secondly, since my agent in Malaysia is SRD and its partner agent in India is Interem I believe that INTEREM does not have any right to ask me to pay to another agent for the job that the agent did on behalf of SRD/ INTEREM. Thirdly, even the bill issued by CCL was not in accordance with the normal charges because it has several illegal charges such as personal effect surcharge, rupees depreciation charge, Chennai trade recovery charge etc. It means Cargo Consolo India (CCL) was trying to squeeze me and grab money from me without a valid justification with the silent help of INTEREM and SRD. Since INTEREM knows that these charges are illegal it was their moral responsibility to protect the interest of the client by asking CCL to remove all kinds of illegal charges and ensure the delivery of my shipment. Instead of doing this, these companies kept on suggesting me to pay the bill issued by CCL. Then I wrote so many letters to emphasis the fact that I was a person who paid for the door to door service. But INTEREM ignored me. SRD argued that they had paid about INR 65,000 to the INTEREM. Then I had to go to the Malaysian Consumer Tribunal. But, the Tribunal was not able to settle the complete dispute because according to the Tribunal this malpractice happened in India and agents in India are not under the jurisdiction of the Malaysian Consumer Tribunal. However, the tribunal had tried to settle some issues related to the dispute by suggesting SRD to give me back additional money they had taken from me. Moreover, now because of the delay in the delivery the port storage charge in India has increased drastically and now it has become more than 95,000. If INTEREM had cleared the shipment as soon as it reached the Chennai port, I would have gotten the shipment without this port storage fee. Since Interem is the local forwarding agent and partner agent of SRD the company must have done everything to deliver the shipment on time by suggesting all parties involved the right way of doing things. Even the tribunal suggested me to settle this case in India because Interem had charged more than 1000 USD from the SRD. This is what the president of the tribunal revealed to me during the hearing session.

Then I wrote a letter to DP World, a company that handles customs and shipment in the Chennai port. I explained the DP world the complete situation and sough the companys help in terms of releasing my shipment without the involvement of these notorious agencies. But DP world told me that it would not be able to do anything without the delivery order and that delivery order is with CCL. For me it is the responsibility of INTEREM to make the delivery order available and clear the shipment in order to deliver it to my home. As I explained since these agents are not doing anything to resolve this issue, I believe that there must be another way to settle this issue. That is why I wrote this detailed letter to the DP world. I had also requested the DP world to waive port storage charges because it was increased not because of my fault but because of the malpractice of agents involved in this move. But DP world was not ready to do anything to settle this issue.

Then I submitted a complaint against INTEREM to national consumer help line through the web site. However the explanation given by the company was not in line with truth. INTEREM tried to wash its hands by saying things that do not correspond to the truth. Since the company is located in Chennai and I live in Kerala it has become more difficult for me to file a lawsuit in the consumer court because I will have to travel to Chennai again and again if I file a case in Chennai.

I am tired and I am going here and there to ensure the delivery of the shipment. Now it is almost 14 months after the sending of the shipment. For a person who had paid for the door-to-door service, this kind of experience is awful. Moreover, it is a particular kind of humiliation. I have not got my shipment yet. Therefore, I kindly request you to analyse my complaint and do necessary things to ensure the delivery of my shipment. I believe that DP world and INTEREM should be requested to either deliver my shipment or pay the compensation.

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