Hello! I need to ask a question about shipping containers. Does anyone know if you can change consignee once the container is delivered to the port if the original consignee will not get it out of port? Especially if it is a medical missions container to benefit local community hospitals!
- Thread starter Teacher1
- Start date
Can Consignee Be Changed?
Yes. Your broker can have it done. My question would be why are you asking here instead of asking your broker?
We sent a 40ft container first time to donate medical equipment to the local community hospitals. The original “customs broker” suggested that we change the original consignee to another person who could help “expedite” the process. After we paid that customers broker. He never paid the fees and appeared. Enter this lawyer who supposedly stepped in to help. We were bey Naïve to the process. There was one story after another but never provided any receipts. The consignee kept saying that lawyer needed money to get the container out of customs. After several attempts writing and translating the letter into Spanish finally someone from the container company and customs contacted us. After THOUSANDS of dollars being paid, the container is still in at the port. That’s why I asked if this the way all lawyers operate in the DR. We have sent many items to then DR as missions efforts and wanted to a big medical impact to make a difference in the live of the people there. Doctors, clinics and ordinary citizens in the US helped in this effort. We even ajad a group donate the money to ship the container This has turn into a tremendous nightmare. Now we are out of money. We only wanted to help the people there but after this experience we will never do this again.
Very sorry that happened to you, Teach. Hopefully there will be a next time and you can find someone reputable to deal with.
If you don't mind, where are the intended recipients?
Sounds like you don't even have a broker. Whoops.
Hindsight 20-20, you should have used a freight forwarding service with offices here and in the U.S. instead of a lawyer who probably doesn't have a clue on what had to happen.
A freight Forwarder would have gotten all of your ducks in a row before the container was even loaded in the U.S. so that when it landed, it would have the docs presented to Customs before it got here so all you would have had to do is pay.
Also, that trailer would not have entered the country without paying taxes to DGII on the donated equipment. Doesn't matter if it's "medical missions container to benefit local community hospitals."
Now that the trailer is here, it is accumulating daily charges for storage on the trailer itself, plus rental charges on the chassis along with daily charges on the dock.
How long has the trailer been in the country?
Hindsight 20-20, you should have used a freight forwarding service with offices here and in the U.S. instead of a lawyer who probably doesn't have a clue on what had to happen.
A freight Forwarder would have gotten all of your ducks in a row before the container was even loaded in the U.S. so that when it landed, it would have the docs presented to Customs before it got here so all you would have had to do is pay.
Also, that trailer would not have entered the country without paying taxes to DGII on the donated equipment. Doesn't matter if it's "medical missions container to benefit local community hospitals."
Now that the trailer is here, it is accumulating daily charges for storage on the trailer itself, plus rental charges on the chassis along with daily charges on the dock.
How long has the trailer been in the country?
We were extremely naive and this was our first attempt at doing this. We thought that the broker was legit. That’s when it went bad. After the original “broker” was deemed fraudulent, then the “lawyer” got involved and it got even worse. Even the US shipper was baffled by the events that happened once the came to port. After we contacted the shipper directly in the DR. Did we get some answers. Bottom line we were grossly taken advantage of. A seemingly legitimate roller reached out to us. The consignee will not get the container. Now we’re out of money.
Containers on the docks quickly pass the point of no return. Fees accumulate by the hundreds of dollars every day.
It will sit until DGII decides to have an auction to sell it, but it will still be accumulating daily storage fees that have to be paid.
If you ever decide to send another, let me know and I'll point you at a Miami forwarder with a strong presence here in the country.
Since this is a donation of medical equipment, I wonder if there is someone in the government you can contact. Maybe the news/newspapers.
It is possible to arrange for " exoneración de los impuestos" with the help of some higher-ups.
When the dental school where I was an adjunct wanted to ship in dental equipment for the "operativos" the students staffed we got close to ten thousand dollars of dental chairs and other equipment shipped in tax-free. There were some fees, but no actual taxes were charged.
When the dental school where I was an adjunct wanted to ship in dental equipment for the "operativos" the students staffed we got close to ten thousand dollars of dental chairs and other equipment shipped in tax-free. There were some fees, but no actual taxes were charged.
There have been many frauds inthe past regarding "donated" items. It's extremely hard for the government (Aduana) to verify that this items really reach their designated target and are not sold on the free market. This abuse of the system happened not dozends but hundreds of times before. And the time is working against you. Daily fee for container withold are outrageos high. Next time you have to get this authorized ahead of shipping the container. This practice is well known and it seems like you have been very very bad informed by your broker.
We have grown weary of this entire process. What happens if we tell the shipper to auction the container’s contents. With all of the medical supplies, the proceeds from an auction should more than cover the fees. It a shame that the intended recipients will not benefit but at this point we have become weary of all of the games and nonsense.
The problem is the orginal “broker” was a fraud and never paid the fees. Then this “lawyer” got involved to get our fees back meanwhile he keeps requesting money to “work” on our behalf. We were told that the container could not be released while he was “working” My husband has gone to the DR several times to meet to get this settled no lawyer. In the meantime I writing the the customs department as well as the shipping company asking if they could verify all this information regarding “this case “ and this “lawyer” is legit. The shipping company here has been doing the same. We only recently received a response from the shipping there in the DR. This benevolent effort has turned into a money pit. We have been involved in missions efforts in many countries. WE HAVE NEVER ENCOUNTERED ANYTHING LIKE THIS. We have always been good stewards over the donations. We feel crushed and taken advantage of. We helped many in Puerto Plata and wanted to help the community hospitals and clinics there.