Complaint / Review
Global Ocean Freight
Fraudulent Business Activity

Unfortunately, I've used Global Ocean Freight for an international move - it was a very bad experience.

My original quote was for $8,350.00 for a 40 foot high cube container delivered to the destination - door to door. After the container arrived at a customs clearing agent at the destination, Global Ocean Freight billed me in excess of $14,000.00. Of course, they would not release the container to the final destination until the bill was paid in full. Plus, for every extra day the container stays at the clearing agent while the invoice is contested, there's a hefty surcharge added to the amount owing.

Basically, Global Ocean Freight plays an interesting game. Even though a container will hold 2695 cubic feet as stated in their advertising materials and their web site, they have a clause in their contract that states — gt; "Please keep in mind that upon packing and loading, your goods will take up more space. Do not exceed the calculated volume of 2200 cubic feet for a 40- Foot H/C container, this will allow room for loading"

Note that the requirement to ship no more than 2200 cubic feet per 40 foot H/C container is not a contractual obligation - the above quoted phrase is only providing advice for loading.

So - even if all of your goods fit into the container, if Global Ocean Freight calculates the volume to be greater than the advised 2200 cubic feet, they charge an additional fee per cubic foot for overflow/excess volume. Also note that the calculation is performed by Global Ocean Freight and there is no recourse to dispute this calculation.

In my case, that additional fee was several thousand dollars...

I gave copies of the contract and invoice to several lawyers and the Federal Maritime Commission. Without exception, all were of the opinion that Global Ocean Freight's contract, calculation methodology and the additional fees added to the invoice would be successfully contested in a court of law.

You may wish to contact the Federal Maritime Commission and several other US Government agencies to enquire about each specific moving company. They will tell you information like the number of complaints, number of resolved complaints, whether the company is licensed, insured, etc... It's a worthwhile inquiry and will help to weed out the dishonest companies... All of these agency's URLS are just a quick google away...

Hope this helps... Good luck with your move...