Deal only with accredited forwarders, DTI tells consumers

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is urging consumers and businesses to transact only with freight forwarders accredited with the Philippine Shippers’ Bureau (PSB), following a series of complaints on misplaced or lost cargo.

Zenaida Maglaya, Trade undersecretary for Consumer Welfare and Business Regulation, said accredited freight forwarders could be trusted because they follow government standards that guarantee their capability to provide reliable service to their clients.”

“They also observe a code of ethics in doing business, and have an insurance coverage in case of accidents and non-delivery,” she said. 

As of March 31, 2013, there are 632 PSB-accredited freight forwarding companies: 422 are Non-Vessel Common Carrier (NVOCC); 590 are International Freight Forwarder (IFF); and, 157 are Domestic Freight Forwarder (DFF).

In 2012, the DTI-PSB received 153 complaints on non-delivery of balikbayan boxes shipped from various origins worldwide. Of these, 60 have either already been delivered or picked up by the consignees through the assistance of DTI-PSB.

Meanwhile, eight cases were withdrawn by the complainants, 41 were referred to regular courts, four were elevated for arbitration and 41 cases are still for disposition because additional information from the complainants is needed.

PSB director-in-charge Victorio Mario A. Dimagiba said cargo delivery delays or fails when foreign consolidators do not remit a portion of their collected charges to local freight forwarders

“When necessary funds are not remitted to accredited Philippine agent or local freight forwarders, the shipment or the balikbayan boxes with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will not be released and will not be delivered to consignees or recipients,”  Dimagiba explains.

DTI-PSB records show that most incidents of undelivered balikbayan boxes involved freight forwarding companies without PSB accreditation.

“DTI-PSB, as mandated by law to promote and protect the interest of the shipping public, helps to professionalize the freight forwarding industry by granting accreditation based on certain criteria to weed out those companies that are not yet ready and qualified to engage in the business,” said Dimagiba.

The DTI urges the public to file a complaint on the non-delivery, loss or pilferage of balikbayan boxes to DTI-PSB through email address, [email protected] or through a call at DTI Direct (02) 751.3330.

For more information on the lists of accredited freight forwarding companies and those companies with complaints against them, go to www.dti.gov.ph.