A Story about Doing Business in the DR

Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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As many of you may know, we have a distribution business distributing body and bath care products to Caribbean Islands out of one of the free zones. Our business has been functioning slickly and well and we were at the stage where we felt we had overcome all problems with Aduana, DR officialdom and a host of other local issues. We are happy! We tell other people we know how to do it... But, with doing business in the DR, pride always comes to a fall.

This Christmas season, we were short of a number of products for customers. We needed to get 2 pallets of products in quickly to deliver to customers before Christmas - and that is where the "DR Business" story starts. We usually bring in by container by ship, the container comes from the Puerto Plata port sealed and gets to the free zone to our facility where it is opened and inspected by customs. Never a problem. With this quick two pallets, we decided to use UPS for speed - through Santo Domingo.

December 1 - Not expecting any problems, we gave UPS our free zone paperwork, numbers and whatever, to clear quickly and deliver to our facility to ship to our customers by around the 3rd/4th of December. First problem, customs finds a vague problem with our Free Zone permissions and tell us that we cannot bring in completed product. We now have to pay duty. We fight and quickly get our usual reliable clearning agents involved. Mistake number one - We trusted UPS and did not get clearning agents involved quickly enough.

We attempt to get a 'special clearance' from the Free Zone commission for a clearance that we already have, and they don't understand what we want. "Stupid Gringo's" they can't read their paperwork! Also, the value of the shipment is not so high that we push this very hard. Our clearning agents negotiate the duty and we agree to pay duty. At this stage it is more important to satisfy our customers.

Two weeks into December - Good, we're still barely in time to deliver to customers, but we're losing our shirts as by now, we've offered free shipping to make up for late delivery.

So we wait for the delivery of the two pallets - it is not happening... Call again. Next problem. The contents of the two pallets do not agree with the commercial invoice. We scratch our heads. Figure out that while this shipment is in customs, we're being stolen blind. Everyone walking by, simply help themselves to a jar of fluffy Pina Colada Body Mousse or Fruits and Flowers Body Mist. So, the contents won't ever agree with the invoice 'cause by now at least 25% of the contents is stolen. Customs fine us - $6,000 for a shrinking shipment initially worth $2,000 of which we've already agreed to pay 30% duty. The clearning agents send out their 'fixer'. Customs will not 'fix' without us paying more.... more than 30% duty, which we were not supposed to pay in the first place.

We tell our customers we cannot deliver - which does not go down well. We have to eat more crow. A supplier that cannot deliver just before Chrismas is usually no good. We manage to salvage all of the customers excepting a small one or two.

Today - Three days before Christmas - the story has not ended yet - the fixer is still fixing - we have not received our two pallets, the products on our two pallets are shrinking by the minute and we look quite silly to our customers. To add insult to injury, gifts that we were going to give to some customers, some friends and so on, are on these pallets.

That's why I drink a lot of wine in the DR! and I will never ever be proud again! Every container that comes through to process unscathed from now on, I will personally kiss!
 

mikeyone

New member
Apr 16, 2003
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why am I not suprised

Chris.....I think our housekeeper has some of yor stuff.... smells pretty nice this morning...............I bet the Customs office smells pretty good too............Sorry for yo Mate... Happens to some friends of mine all the time...............Cheers..M.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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You just found out why nobody like

Santo Domingo customs. With Quico Tabar they are the biggest thieves on earth..

besides they are low lives.

Sorry for you, and I believe every word of it...

HB, who will have a cup with thee in mind!
 

Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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Continuation...

OK, so the fixer fixed and time moved on - the clearing agent is mumbling, its not working --- it?s not working - and the fine stays firm.. $6,000.

My response, I won?t pay. Send the darn shipment back to England, but just before you do so, I am coming to inspect it to see the difference in goods and invoice. What, you don?t work on Xmas day? OK, I?ll come on Friday - "Inspection Meeting" set for Friday. I am going to unpack every little box in that shipment and count every item....

Response from customs - If you want to send it back, our price is $250.00.

So, quickly the price has changed from $6,000 to $250 - is this now a neotiation? A little more money will change hands, not a lot - possibly $50.00 and I?ll have my goods. I will not pay this fine but will first send the goods back to Miami to be consolidated with a bigger shipment.

Btw, no-one gets a Christmas present from us before this shipment clears ;)
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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Well, I'll just have to stay stinky!!

Have a Merry Christmas! Take two huge PATIENCE tablets befor going to bed...

No, not for Richard, Good Lord no!, for the @#$%@#%^$^&* people at Customs!!

Hb
 

Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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Update... Patience was worth it!

Well, I took Hillbilly's advice and for the past six months we've lived on patience pills. Various visits to Aduana at Las Americas trying to sort out what the real problem was - and the end of the story is unbelievable. DHL, to try and make things easier for themselves, cut a commercial invoice in our business name. This small and very unprofessional little document surfaced only at our last visit to Aduana - almost six months after the fact - Aduana having kept it trying to prove that we cut a fake commercial invoice. The dollar value was correct, but the quantity and description of goods was not correct and it was clearly not on our stationary, and we could prove it. This was the final issue that Aduana was complaining about - and they were right, the document was incorrect. So, our final meeting last week with the Big Guy at last produced results. One more letter to explain the wrong paperwork and he has assured us that he will clear this shipment into the Zona Franca with no additional impuestos, no muelta (fines) and just as smooth as it should be.

We patiently went to Las Americas once a month during this period and took photos of the shipment (just to make sure it remained nicely and snuggly wrapped in the pallets.) Only a few items disappeared out of the top boxes on the pallets.

This process taught me so many things dealing with the DR aduana mafia - when to shout and when to be patient - when to smile and when to grumble - when to say Ay Dios Mio - and when to say maldita sea! When to pretend to be friendly and simply trying to verify things - and when to accuse the powers that be of trying to rip me off - when to cut my losses and when to display bulldog tendencies and not let go.

Our attorney, the customs clearing agents, all our business friends, everyone advised us to just take the hit, smile and pay up. I was damned if was gonna do that! Now I am going to make DHL pay for messing us around.

So, the good news is that everone that missed out on a Christmas present last year, will receive one this year. My Christmas shipment is at last going to clear.
 

Barnabe

Member
Dec 20, 2002
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dhl and customs

I used to have now and some documents shipped by DHL from Paris to SD. Never had problems (just simple letters).

Once I have to ship schoolbooks. 8-10 kilos. Around 500 USD.. After one week, had not arrived yet. They took one month to admit they had lost the parcel somewhere between Brussels and Madrid. (stuff sent from Paris to SD goes to Brussels first, then Madrid, then SD, this is logistics, not logics).

After 3 months I got my 500 USD. The books? "read the contract, Sir, DHL is not responsible for lost or destroyed items'. I read the shipping document, it's true, these people charge you insane amount of money and don't give a s*** about problems they make.

With seafreight through Haina I have never had a serious problem. The customs seem much more problematic at AILA...

Barnab?
 

GringoCArlos

Retired Ussername
Jan 9, 2002
1,416
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OK Chris, now I have a question. Did you use UPS as your December message states, or DHL, as your June message states?

I also operate in a free zone, and have NEVER had a single problem with UPS.

Using DHL or Fed-Ex has given me nothing but large pains in my nalga EVERY SINGLE TIME, either in sending or receiving packages, and they also don't seem to want to give me a bill before 5 or 6 months have passed either. (sorry but I like to pay fast). They are slow to clear, slow to deliver, and are just not fun to do business with.

Please clarify for me. Thanks.
 

gringo in dr

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May 29, 2003
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While I'm definately not shipping palets of stuff, I always have my stuff shipped to my EPS address in Miami. EPS takes care of everything and sends me an email to come pick up my stuff here in Santiago. I have even had cards sent by ignorant relatives with cash in them without incident.

I hope I haven't jinxed my latest box of goodies from NYC that should be here shortly. Knock on word.
 

leromero

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May 30, 2004
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Sending freight

I currently work for Fedex Freight in the US. My specialty is in shipping pallet sized orders starting at 150 lbs up to 20,000 lbs. I can arrange for ocean and air freight domestically and with an international specialist for air freight leaving the country. I have one customer here in Atlanta that receives shipments on a regular basis from the DR. With shipments of these sizes I haven't had many problems.