What to Do if FOB Designated Freight Forwarder Charges Too Much?
Everyone knows that using a designated freight forwarder for FOB terms is expensive. Why? Because costs are shifted from the destination port to us. So what can we do when fees are too high? Do you just pay whatever the forwarder asks? You might worry they won’t release telex release if you don’t pay. But do we really have no choice?
Recently, Hassan shipped a batch of cargo to the Middle East. It was not a large shipment, only about 1 cubic meter, actually just 0.85 CBM. When the designated forwarder sent the fee list, Hassan was speechless. The charge was 1200 yuan. For less than 1 CBM of goods, they asked for 1200 yuan, and kept urging him to confirm quickly. It was already late when the forwarder sent the list, and the vessel would arrive at the port in about ten days.
Then Hassan directly emailed the forwarder, saying he could not accept the fees as they were ridiculously high. Right after that, he called them and said they charged the highest and most unreasonable fees he had ever seen. The two sides were in a deadlock for three or four days. Later, the forwarder contacted him voluntarily, saying other suppliers had already confirmed their fees and only his was left, since the container was shared by several companies. Finally, they negotiated the price down to 900 yuan. Hassan paid reluctantly, feeling he had been overcharged.
Therefore, whether you are sending goods by air freight to middle east or by sea, freight forwarders vary in quality. Most are small forwarders with only three to five people, who will overcharge whenever they get the chance.
In the past, people usually found forwarders through friends’ recommendations. But sometimes logistics conditions are strict in customers’ countries, such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and other countries in the Middle East. So we often search the country’s name plus “freight forwarder” on platforms, and many local forwarders will show up.
However, this is just a way to find forwarders. The communication process is very important. You need to tell the real from the fake, filter out shell companies and small unreliable forwarders, and find reliable and large-scale ones. You can directly feel their strength and professionalism during communication.
You can simply say you want to visit their company. If they hesitate and make excuses, they must be small forwarders. Usually they just rent a small office of around 20 square meters in an office building with only three or four staff members.
Those who confidently agree are usually reliable large forwarders. Take our company DL as an example. We now have nearly 100 employees and own the entire 8th floor of Block B, Rongde Times Square, Longgang District, Shenzhen. Our dedicated foreign trade warehouse in Yantian covers 20,000 square meters with 6 floors, and is managed in a standardized way. Foreign clients always praise us after visiting. We are among the top 5 companies for air freight to middle east. You can rest assured choosing forwarders like us, as we will never overcharge.