Complaint Review: Ocean Star International

I recently used Ocean Star International to assist me with a relocation to Beijing, China.  I was not given a huge amount of money for the relocation, but Ocean Star brought in the lowest quote for a door-to-door service.  The initial quote was for 35 cubic feet door to port at just about 600 USD.  When I asked for the door-to-door service, they came back with a quote for 1200 USD.  I decided that it was a reasonable price and would not be paying much out of my own pocket, and the agent I spoke with seemed very professional and helpful.  I went to U-Haul and packed all of my belongings into pre-measured U-Haul boxes to make it easy to add up the volume.  I ended up with 13 boxes totaling 30.5 cubic feet (5 x 3 cubic feet, 2 x 4.5 cubic feet, 5 x 1 cubic feet, 1 x 1.5 cubic feet) and two persian carpets (3.5 cubic feet).  All of this together totaled less than the 35 cubic feet price that I was quoted.  After arriving in China, I received my final quote and price to be paid.  The final quote was for 61.7 cubic feet at a price of 2596.62 USD (200 of which had already been paid as a deposit).  That is 80% greater amount of space that was empty.  As I was already in China, my shipment was essentially being held hostage.  I was forced to pay the excessive charges for a total volume that was 80% larger than it actually was.  I was told that my shipment would be arriving in China on Sept 15, 2010.  It wasn't until a full week later that I was contacted by anyone on this end, and that was only because I sent an email to find out if it had actually arrived.  I also had to pay an additional 420 USD equivalent in RMB for customs and additional paperwork here in China.   From the time my shipment was picked up in front of my house (July 23) until it was delivered at my house in Beijing (October 22), I paid a total of 3120.48 USD.  This was all from an initial quote of 612 USD.  A friend here paid another company for nearly 8 Cubic meters of space, had it hand packed and each piece insured for her shipment, and it cost her 4000 USD.  My shipment was only 1.75 cubic meters (61.7 cubic feet), I packed it myself and therefore was only able to insure the entire shipment for loss (individual things damaged or missing would not have been covered) and it cost me 75% of what my friend paid.  I would NEVER recommend using Ocean Star International Shipping as you will very likely be yanked around.  And, most likely, the yanking will take place long after you have already made your move and have no other options.  They will also not tell you initially that you will pay a 4% surcharge for the use of a credit card.  I found that out when the deposit charge was greater than I was told.  I didn't see it in writing until I was already out of the country and being charged an additional 4% to use my credit card to pay for the rest of the shipment costs.  The people seem very helpful and professional, but don't fall for it.  This company will make money in any way that they can, even if it means inflating the size of your shipment by 80%.  They know that you can't do anything about it by the time you receive your final invoice.  And, when all is said and done, I could have paid the same price and had it packed by professionals and had each piece insured in case of loss or damage.  This company is unethical and unprofessional.