Complaint Review: Cargo Zone - Miami Florida

For Cargo Zone to daftly state that there was many packages in that daily delivery, therefore that can not verify that the camera lens package was there is just plain ludicrous. Why bother signing for UPS shipments at all then?? The signature the Cargo Zone employee placed on the UPS hand held scanner shows responsibility. The # of packages and tracking #'s were available on the display BEFORE signing. It is the recipients responsibility to verify the package count BEFORE signing. If a person just scibbles a signature on a contract without reading what they are signing, does that make them not liable?? Since when?

Ask Cargo Zone why UPS requires that signature. Ask why they're bothering to sign. Ask them if they realize the signature for the exact package count and tracking #'s for each package is the purpose for them signing. Ask them if UPS is having them sign for 10 packages, would Cargo Zone sign for 9..or 8..or 2...?

And tell Cargo Zone thay YOUR package WAS there, because YOUR camera/lens package tracking number was on the electronic list that THEY signed...and that very package was scanned when UPS was THERE at Cargo Zone!

That employee signature is proof positive that they accepted that shipment from UPS. Your case would hold up in a court of law but, if Cargo Zone does not take the responsibility that they should, how would you pursue legal action? Unless you know someone in the vicinity of Cargo Zone, how would you take the to small claims court? I would continue to call Cargo Zone and ask for supervisors. Back them into a corner and demand an explanation how they signed for a package that was scanned in front of them, then refuse to take responsibility for it's whereabouts.

Darrien, you sound like you know whatever we are talking about.  I'm just an idiot who got ripped off.

UPS, has everything in order and available (tracking, scans, every town the camera traveled through, trucks, employees that touch the packages  ... from the day they picked up the camera until the employee from Cargo Zone singed she received it.  They even provide her first name and signature!

That's why UPS doesn't take responsibility.  In the other hand, Cargo Zone says the camera never made it to the mail box (which is true)...  They also claim that the signature UPS got corresponds to a lot of packages from different shipments, not just for the camera.

Do you or anyone has an idea how can I make them liable? 

Not sure why Cargo Zone is stating that they were so busy that day had anything to do with responsibility. Do you have the actual tracking # that was used by the company that sent the lens/camera to Cargo Zone? If not, get it from that company. Sounds like you may already have it, though. Hopefully it's a UPS or FedEx #. That tracking # shows the time it was delivered and, most importantly, who signed for it. That signature was by a Cargo Zone employee. Perhaps we're missing something here, but that tracking # with signature should wipe out any doubt that they have it. Cargo Zone can not deny a record of their employee's signature.

If for some odd reason that does not suffice, a tracer will have to be placed. Call the shipping company with that tracking # and state that the package is claimed to have never arrived. The tracer will show the exact delivery time and place and perhaps, if you used UPS, the GPS coordinates of the delivery location.

One detail I find very bizarre is that Cargo Zone asks customers to prepay duties and taxes. There is absolutely NO WAY any person or business can predetermine what a customs broker in another country will assign for these fees. That camera and lens may have fees of $50 or $500, and they can not be determined until customs inspects the declaration forms and, at times, package contents to determine those fees. I tried to take a look at the custom Zone website, but chose not to download Korean font. If that wasn't the correct Cargo Zone homesite, they don't make it easy to find.

Cargo Zone does not show the integrity to risk these kind of complications for any diversion of costs. Even if Cargo Zone did nothing dishonest and/or is not totally disorganized, international shipping is complicated enough withough adding to it - adding to your risk.

To answer all your questions...  the camera and the lens came in a different package than the rest of the accessories.  
What Cargo Zone says, that..... THAT SPECIFIC day,  they signed for a big load of packages form UPS, so they are not sure if the camera was included in that load.  Clients can access information about package arrivals to their mailboxes.  And the camera NEVER made it.  But according to UPS and all their tracking technology indicates otherwise.
That's why I can assure, Cargo Zone STOLE the merchandise before sending it to Colombia. 
The price of the camera in Colombia is nearly double of what I paid.  Thats the reason why I bought it in the USA.  Cargo Zone offered the service to ship it to Colombia---  they claimed to be experts in costumes, international shipping, and they included price of taxes in their shipping fee.   Trust me, it wasn't cheep!   Well, I'm already screwed.  I'm just trying to help other people out, or looking for ideas on how to recover my loss.  

For all the expense involved, it is probably cheaper for a Colombian to import a camera this way, essentially a gray market purchase, than to buy it in Colombia. BUT the flip side of that savings is the risk that something like this will happen.

Officially distributed items probably have national customs, duties, taxes etc factored in to the price.
He figured he'd get around that using Cargo Zone as the middleman.Guess he figured wrong.

Next time, buy locally and support your government by paying proper VAT or whatever, so they don't have to rely on the USA for foreign aid, instead of trying to beat the system.

If I understand this scenario correctly, an order was placed with Nikon. We'll assume the Nikon company, or business selling the camera, does not ship internationally. Enter Cargo Zone. First of all, it is unusual for any company to be able to ship internationally without the actual sender present, you in this case, to acknowledge and sign for the responsibility of shipments. Cargo Zone would be responsible for all contents, legal, illegal, hazardous, or unacceptable per destination country standards. Interestingly enough, businesses such as The UPS Store's, Fedex Office, and all middleman retail markup shippers cannot legally offer this service. International shipment forwarding is often used by fraudulent parties with illicit commodities.

Your camera and lens could be missing for several reasons. Did you verify that the camera/lens and accessories were not shipped in seperate packages from the retailer? Then, we can assume in the next handling phase, it would be mandatory for Cargo Zone to open the package to verify the appropriateness of contents. Then the shipping company handles the package for export. Then the destination country receives the package in customs, where handling may include inspection of contents. (Some countries are notorious for having contents disappear while in customs.) The shipper in the destination country then continues the package transit. The receiver then takes possession after signing upon delivery. The camera and lens could have 'disappeared' in any one of those stages.

To narrow the mystery down, did the package appear to be tampered while in transit? Was there signs of cut tape or tape over the shipping label or sorting tag? Did the box seem plenty large enough to safely accomodate a camera and lens even though they were not in the box? One key detail to verify is the weight of the shipment on the shipping label. Does the indicated shipping label weight match the actual received package weight? The weight difference between the camera and lens versus only the accessories could be 3 or 4 pounds or more. If the weight matches, then the camera and lens were never in the box when it left Cargo Zone. If the weight is off a few pounds, then the camera and lens were removed in transit after it left Cargo Zone.

Curious... Is that camera and lens not available in your country, to require the risk of international shipping along with the significant shipping cost and custom duties? And what did you have to pay for those duties and taxes upon delivery? You could present the case to the shipper (UPS in this case), whom would convey the case back to customs, that the fact that duties and taxes were paid for items which were not in the package. Customs information may also narrow down the source of when the camera and lens disappeared.