BEWARE
BEWARE! We shipped household furniture back to Indonesia. We paid A$12k for door-to-door service. Once in Indonesia OSS passes off the logistics to its "partner" company AGS Indonesia who sent us ANOTHER invoice for A$3k which they claimed was for local port charges, storage and truck delivery in order to get our furniture delivered. When we complained to OSS they pointed to their small print about "extra charges" being likely at the destination. Essentially, OSS passes off responsibility once they have got your money and does not care what happens at the destination. This business practice means OSS does not get involved in the corruption, extortion and 25% "extra costs" customers experience at the destination. We have moved across continents and countries for work multiple times and have used other global shipping companies and never encountered this practice before, we pay the quote and the shipping is delivered door-to-door. There should not be 25% extra charges if the "worldwide mover" handles everything smoothly. Our advice is AVOID this company and choose another global shipping operator.
Reply from OSS World Wide Movers
Hi JLee Thank you for reaching out with your concerns. We appreciate the opportunity to clarify the charges and address the points raised in your review.
All international shipments are subject to Customs clearance, and clearance times will vary. Indonesia has a complex customs process, which will at times lead to unforeseen delays and associated charges such as detention (container rental charges) and demurrage (wharf storage) fees. which can be expensive.
If a container is held by Customs at the port beyond the free time period, the port will apply storage charges until the container is removed from the port. The port operator would argue that ports cannot function if congested with containers, but it is a bitter bill to swallow when the hold is applied by Customs preventing our partners from collecting it. The same could and does happen in Australia, the USA, or many other destinations but more developed countries tend to have more transparent procedures.
Likewise, the shipping lines offer a period of free time on the use of a container before it must be returned to them for use by other customers. Once this free time is exhausted daily rental charges apply. The quantum of these costs will be determined by the time taken by Customs authorities to clear the consignment, unfortunately for obvious reasons this timeframe is outside of our control.
Our quotation provides for known charges at the destination, but it would not be appropriate or fair to ask clients to pay for potential costs in advance when these costs may not occur. In your case, an additional fee was incurred due to your delivery location not being serviceable by a container truck. A shuttle fee, like detention and demurrage charges are general exclusions from all moving contracts.
There should be no surprises for you in relation to these charges as our quotation not only listed these items as exclusions but made highlighted notes on the first page of the proposal under the heading "Additional Charges" stating:
Likely to apply: Shuttle charges in case of difficult road access to the residence address that requires the goods to be reloaded into a smaller shuttle truck. This will apply for around 80% of the residences: 200 USD/20ft (incl. VAT)
Likely to apply: Shipping Line Demurrage & Detention (combined) and related administration charges, to be billed back as per actual receipt. Port storage charges and related administration charges (est. USD 175-325/20ft)
We understand that unexpected costs can be frustrating, and we strive to be transparent about potential additional charges. The charges were applied were based on actual costs incurred, and receipts from the shipping line and wharf authority have been provided to you as verification.
While we respect your perspective, the characterisation of our business practices are not an accurate reflection of the service and support provided.
We remain available to assist and provide any additional documentation you may require.
Regards
OSS World Wide Movers