I find myself in a very difficult situation
I am a sole trader of a small business. I import products from china into the UK and sell on the likes of ebay.
I recently imported electrical items which were blocked by TRADING STANDARDS due to an issue with the plug (It was not compliant with UK Regulations). It has taken me two weeks waiting for trading standards to respond to me (Slow and unreliable process) before I was notified by my import shipping agent that as of the 17th may I have been charged £227.50+vat per day in WAREHOUSE CHARGES as my goods can not be cleared for delivery to me.
Having found this out, I managed to persuade trading standards to take the goods off hold so they can be cleared and delivered to me. However, the warehouse that have been storing my goods during this time are insisting I pay them what is now over £2,000 (for 8 days storage!).
Here's my issue with this and where I hope there is a legal route I can take with them to resolve in my favour:
1: I was not notified of their daily warehouse charges that kicked in as of 17th may
2: I have not agreed to any such rates before or after 17th may
3: I have no contract or agreement with the warehouse company therefor any alleged debt/bill is null and void in law?
4: On a separate note it is quite clear they are using and abusing their position (in possession of my goods) to charge excessive rates. £227.50+vat per day is excessive based on how much is owed after just a 7 day period.
So you understand, my goods are roughly a single garage full / large shed.
If this drags on for another 7 days, that's another £2000. £4,000 for 14 days of storage and so on.. totally unreasonable and unfair but they are doing this because if I don't pay they remain in possession of my goods.
Hopefully this doesn't sound too complex. Where do I stand? It's tricky because I don't actually know who this warehouse company is. When a shipment comes into the UK it is held in a local warehouse as instructed by the shipping company who handles the importing, whilst waiting to clear for delivery to the company importing (me) but in my case if there are delays or hold ups they start charging what ever the hell they like, in my case £227.50 per day.
Today I offered to pay them £750 as a good will gesture and to close the matter in favor of all parties involved. They refused and insisted on the full amount or they will not release my goods from their warehouse.
I'm trying to think if there is another analogy to explain what is going on here.
Perhaps if you parked your car in a car park that was free for 72 hour stays but you fell ill and couldn't pick it up in that time, 2 weeks later when you get out of hospital the parking company say you owe them £2,800 as they have been charging you £200 per day for the last 14 days and if you don't pay it well you don't get your car back! That's roughly what's going on here
I am a sole trader of a small business. I import products from china into the UK and sell on the likes of ebay.
I recently imported electrical items which were blocked by TRADING STANDARDS due to an issue with the plug (It was not compliant with UK Regulations). It has taken me two weeks waiting for trading standards to respond to me (Slow and unreliable process) before I was notified by my import shipping agent that as of the 17th may I have been charged £227.50+vat per day in WAREHOUSE CHARGES as my goods can not be cleared for delivery to me.
Having found this out, I managed to persuade trading standards to take the goods off hold so they can be cleared and delivered to me. However, the warehouse that have been storing my goods during this time are insisting I pay them what is now over £2,000 (for 8 days storage!).
Here's my issue with this and where I hope there is a legal route I can take with them to resolve in my favour:
1: I was not notified of their daily warehouse charges that kicked in as of 17th may
2: I have not agreed to any such rates before or after 17th may
3: I have no contract or agreement with the warehouse company therefor any alleged debt/bill is null and void in law?
4: On a separate note it is quite clear they are using and abusing their position (in possession of my goods) to charge excessive rates. £227.50+vat per day is excessive based on how much is owed after just a 7 day period.
So you understand, my goods are roughly a single garage full / large shed.
If this drags on for another 7 days, that's another £2000. £4,000 for 14 days of storage and so on.. totally unreasonable and unfair but they are doing this because if I don't pay they remain in possession of my goods.
Hopefully this doesn't sound too complex. Where do I stand? It's tricky because I don't actually know who this warehouse company is. When a shipment comes into the UK it is held in a local warehouse as instructed by the shipping company who handles the importing, whilst waiting to clear for delivery to the company importing (me) but in my case if there are delays or hold ups they start charging what ever the hell they like, in my case £227.50 per day.
Today I offered to pay them £750 as a good will gesture and to close the matter in favor of all parties involved. They refused and insisted on the full amount or they will not release my goods from their warehouse.
I'm trying to think if there is another analogy to explain what is going on here.
Perhaps if you parked your car in a car park that was free for 72 hour stays but you fell ill and couldn't pick it up in that time, 2 weeks later when you get out of hospital the parking company say you owe them £2,800 as they have been charging you £200 per day for the last 14 days and if you don't pay it well you don't get your car back! That's roughly what's going on here
Business Disputes: Cargo Ransom
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