NSW Full Payment to Grace Removals - Pay Extra Charges After Delay?

[Andy999]

I have a Permanent Residency in Australia. I have been recently relocated to India for a job. My goods were moved by Grace Removals. They had promised that my goods would arrive on June 22 to Chennai port whereas the goods arrived to some other port, hence this delayed the goods arrival to Chennai port by more than a month.

Now I am asked to pay the port charges in spite of me making the full payment of over A$6000 for a door-to-door delivery. How can I get this addressed through Australian Consumer Law?

 

[Sarah J]

Hi Andy999,

Under ACL, there are a number of statutory guarantees that are implied into your contract with the delivery company. Take a read of here to learn about what they are: Australian Consumer Law Guarantees - How Can They Protect You? - Blogs - LawAnswers.com.au. The main one that might apply here is: due diligence and care. If they breach one of these guarantees, or another consumer protection, you should:

1. contact the business directly and try and resolve it between the two of you. Is the business happy to reimburse you the port charges? Is the business going to offer you free delivery from the other port to the original address at no extra charge? Will the business compensate you for the delay in getting your goods (for any costs and expenses you may have incurred due to their error)? You should record all correspondences down in writing and confirm any oral conversations in letter/email form;
2. if you cannot resolve it with the business, you can contact Fair Trading NSW for some free advice and possibly lodge a complaint. Lodging a complaint will initiate a free dispute resolution service, following Fair Trading's internal dispute resolution policy, with a case officer working closely with you and the business. Fair Trading will require you to have tried to resolve the dispute with the business directly first, hence, this should be done after the first step. The whole process may take a while as Fair Trading deals with many complaints at any one time and they have limited jurisdiction/power to assist you and request against the business;
3. alternatively, or after Fair Trading, you can apply for a hearing in NCAT. The application process is online and a hearing is usually held within 6 weeks of application. This is like an informal version of court (i.e. it is not court but similar). You can sue the business under consumer law or contract law (does it say anything about delays and compensation under your service contract?) and seek compensation for any costs you incurred as a result of the error.