What to do when your goods have been delivered damaged?

Making a claim for damaged goods

First of all keep in mind that, delivering the goods to the client in a right, unchanged state is the sole responsibility of the shipping company. Once the cargo is not handed over to shipper – sender nor the receiver is responsible for it. But once the cargo is delivered at the clients doorstep and the clients gives the shipper clean chit, the shipper will shoulder no responsibility of the cargo.

So before accepting the receipt of the gods from the international courier and giving them clean certificate, check your delivery thoroughly and match its quality with the description from the sender’s end. Do not accept cargo without proper verification.

Once you have been delivered with a damaged equipment, do not forget to send your claim in written format to the carrier, the shipper, the port authorities and any other parties involved in the shipping process.

You should file this written claim letter within three days from the receipt of the cargo. Once the first written claim letter is accepted, and every party involved in the shipping process becomes aware of the incident you should send further letters with a detailed description of the damage happened to you.

The details should include – the amount monetary loss, the quantity of goods damaged along with supporting documents to establish your claim.

The claim letter

Before writing the claim letter, you have to follow another step – do not give a clean receipt to the shipper. A clean certificate from the client means he or the receiving authority has received the product in proper quantity and not damaged condition. Once you have given the international mover a clean receipt, you cannot claim of your damage any further.

When you receive the shipment, never forget to examine all consignments. Properly check all furniture, antiques, equipment, mirrors, painting and all other valuable items. You should check the quality and quantity of the goods at the time of delivery.

During the checking process if you find any evidence to prove that the damage in quality or the shortage in quantity, you should note down the details of the receipt handed over to the sender to the shipper. The immediate checking of the consignment eliminates your chance of giving the shipper a clean certificate in case of damaged delivery. We strongly recommend you take some pictures of the damage found.

Checking the seals

Seal of container is another important factor to keep in mind. Seals ensure the quantity of the consignment and the quality up to an extent. While receiving a consignment, you should check the seals the carefully.

You must ensure that an officer with proper authority to check seals examines the seals. The carrier company is responsible for delivering the consignment from the sender’s place to the destination with the same seal.

The shipper passes on the seal number to the receiver. If you find, that seals are missing or damaged; you must contact the removal company that delivered the cargo. Afterwards, the client should write to the carrier requesting them for a joint survey. The survey is usually conducted to check the amount of the damage to the cargo or if there is any damage happened to the goods at all. It is best to keep the consignment in the way it was delivered without opening it until the survey is completed.

At times, the cargo along with the container may be damaged. In that case it has to be seen which party undertook the responsibility of carriage, if the carrier company did the carriage than the responsibility will on their shoulders. In this case, a joint survey needs to be arranged. The joint survey will be conducted to calculate the amount of damage. And the client must also intimate the insurance company about the damage as soon as possible.

Inform legal Enforcement Authorities

In the case of damage or theft or any unexpected incidents, the client must also inform the Legal Enforcement Authority. Without Legal Enforcement Authority’s report insurance company may refuse to entertain any claim. Moreover, Legal Enforcement Authorities will help a lot in case of theft from port or such incidents.

It is also advised that the client should keep photographic evidence of all damages happened to the consignment. Photographs need to be kept for future reference to the damage. And some insurance firms need photographs as secondary evidence besides survey. It is also advisable that the damaged products should be stored in separate go down from the existing stock of the same products.

Check this out for the safe furniture shipping. Making a claim - What to do when the goods have been damaged by the moving company during the transport? Tips and advice on what to do when your goods have been damaged during the move. How to make a claim, tips and procedures. Things to do!"