Pattern of operation
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T write regarding Michael 1Salt's "Sound Off" (CM 26 May-1 June). Michael's grasp of the situation is superb. Looking at my records, in 1993! dealt with 67 complaints by operators against freight forwarders. In many cases, these complaints stem from forwarders deducting monies for damages and other spurious matters. And in some cases, my clients have become personally bankrupt because of the total dishonesty of some freight forwarders. The usual excuse is that they have not been paid, where the reality is that they accept short payment and/or hide payment and six months later the phoenix emerges.
There seems to be a pattern to some forwarders' method of conning the unwary, ie, they pay diligently for the first three to four months and then it all goes wrong once the operator has been lulled into a false sense of security. It must be remembered that there are well established and responsible forwarders but my experience is that they are in the minority
Colin B Ward
Ward International Consulting, Fareham, Hants.