Alibaba freight forwarder demanding extra payment after collecting my goods. What would you do?
Hi everyone,
I’m hoping someone has been through something similar and can offer some advice.
I booked a DDP sea freight shipment through Alibaba. We agreed a fixed price in writing around a month before collection. After my goods (worth around USD 40,000) were collected from my manufacturer, the freight forwarder suddenly demanded an additional USD 10,000, claiming the original quote could no longer be honoured.
Since then, the amounts have kept changing. They reduced it to USD 5,000, then when I arranged for my manufacturer to collect the goods using another freight forwarder, they started demanding warehouse and “return” fees before releasing the shipment.
I’ve opened a dispute with Alibaba, but the freight forwarder has now stopped replying to my messages. I even asked what documentation they could provide if I accepted the revised price (insurance, booking confirmation, guarantee of no further charges, etc.), but they’ve ignored me for several days.
Has anyone experienced anything like this? Did Alibaba help? Would you continue with the freight forwarder, or insist on having the goods released to another company?
Any advice would be hugely appreciated as this is a significant investment for our small business.