Hi there fellow IBoaters!
First of all, i would like to explain the situatuion i'm in currently, and would gladly accept any suggestions you might have on the matter. Ok, here i go:
I bought a 1997 Chaparral 31 Signature in december in MA (first time for me visiting US). Everything went smooth, no problems whatsover. After buying it i travelled back to Europe in order to arrange a transport from US to Europe. What i did:
- i arranged and prepaid for the actual transport
- i arranged and prepaid the trucker for the transport from MA to the port of departure (in my case Newark, NJ)
- i arranged and prepaid a cradle that had to be built for the transport
The shipping was booked for 4th of february and the latest date of boat delivery was on 29th of january. Because of that, I specifically said to the cradle company that the cradle MUST be in the dock by 21 or 22nd of january.
After I did all that, it became clear that the radar arch must come down (the boat was too high). The shipper also told me that i have to cover all the docking fees (he didn't want to accept any money in order to do that for me). Well, I decided that I'll fly to the US again and take the radar arch down mysef + travel with the trucker to NJ and pay all the docking fees. The first part went down smoothly, I successfully removed the radar arch, the 2nd part is where the trouble began. When me + the trucker reached the docks (that was on 25th of january), the cradle still wasn't there (i got written confirmation that it was picked up by UPS on 17th of january. I was using the telephone like mad to get the cradle company and get cradle down there, but failed, so the trucker had to stay overnight in order to wait for the cradle. He also stated that he would charge extra $1600 for the overnight stay (the transport alone from MA to NJ cost $1475). The next day (today) the cradle came to the port, but because of some birocratic bull**** they didn't let it in; the driver had to wait again. After 3 or 4 hours of intensive phonecalling, we finally got the things going. This time, the driver raised his sum for another $200, cause he couldn't drop the boat in the morning and drive back, so he wanted $1800 total (isn't that a bit high??). I tried to talk to tell him that it wasn't my fault that the cradle wasn't there or that he had to wait for 3 hours next day, but he wanted the money right away or he wouldn't unload the boat.
What could i do? The boat was at the dock, I finally got the things going and he said he won't unload the boat unless i pay him, so I did. Now what I want to know is if there is any option for me to get that money back from the cradle company? Since I'm not from the US, are my chances grim? Should I even try to accomplish anything or should i rather forget the thing? I'm pissed off cause I know the delay isn't my fault (got written proof), and still had to pay those $1800.
Well thank you for your suggestions / comments!
Alex
First of all, i would like to explain the situatuion i'm in currently, and would gladly accept any suggestions you might have on the matter. Ok, here i go:
I bought a 1997 Chaparral 31 Signature in december in MA (first time for me visiting US). Everything went smooth, no problems whatsover. After buying it i travelled back to Europe in order to arrange a transport from US to Europe. What i did:
- i arranged and prepaid for the actual transport
- i arranged and prepaid the trucker for the transport from MA to the port of departure (in my case Newark, NJ)
- i arranged and prepaid a cradle that had to be built for the transport
The shipping was booked for 4th of february and the latest date of boat delivery was on 29th of january. Because of that, I specifically said to the cradle company that the cradle MUST be in the dock by 21 or 22nd of january.
After I did all that, it became clear that the radar arch must come down (the boat was too high). The shipper also told me that i have to cover all the docking fees (he didn't want to accept any money in order to do that for me). Well, I decided that I'll fly to the US again and take the radar arch down mysef + travel with the trucker to NJ and pay all the docking fees. The first part went down smoothly, I successfully removed the radar arch, the 2nd part is where the trouble began. When me + the trucker reached the docks (that was on 25th of january), the cradle still wasn't there (i got written confirmation that it was picked up by UPS on 17th of january. I was using the telephone like mad to get the cradle company and get cradle down there, but failed, so the trucker had to stay overnight in order to wait for the cradle. He also stated that he would charge extra $1600 for the overnight stay (the transport alone from MA to NJ cost $1475). The next day (today) the cradle came to the port, but because of some birocratic bull**** they didn't let it in; the driver had to wait again. After 3 or 4 hours of intensive phonecalling, we finally got the things going. This time, the driver raised his sum for another $200, cause he couldn't drop the boat in the morning and drive back, so he wanted $1800 total (isn't that a bit high??). I tried to talk to tell him that it wasn't my fault that the cradle wasn't there or that he had to wait for 3 hours next day, but he wanted the money right away or he wouldn't unload the boat.
What could i do? The boat was at the dock, I finally got the things going and he said he won't unload the boat unless i pay him, so I did. Now what I want to know is if there is any option for me to get that money back from the cradle company? Since I'm not from the US, are my chances grim? Should I even try to accomplish anything or should i rather forget the thing? I'm pissed off cause I know the delay isn't my fault (got written proof), and still had to pay those $1800.
Well thank you for your suggestions / comments!
Alex
Additionaly i solved all the troubles with the transport, as stated above.
