Has anyone used UTI for shipments? They screwed my shipment up and it seems they have been screwing up shipments all year.

Shipment came out of Zimbabwe and was quoted to be under $1,600.00 for over 500 pounds. Due to paperwork errors and other problems the storage charges will bring the bill up well over $2,000.00. This problem is not a taxidermy problem.

UTI completed and submitted all paperwork and refuses to pay any extra charges or credit for the work they did not perform. Only by a small miracle did I not lose most of the trophies due to these errors.

UTI Atlanta is handling the import and has done next to nothing to track the shipment or correct the paperwork. As far as the extra charges they claim this is not their problem and only the Zimbabwe office can agree to credit us the extra charges.

A client of mine used UTI for his shippment. It was the biggest monkey-screw you have ever seen.

The owner sent me an e-mail stating that a past employee had intentionally sabotaged the paperwork for this shippment and then quit to start her own company.

I have never seen such incompetence in a trophy shipment in my life.

This was a few months ago.

I've had good business with them from Zimbabwe to London or Jo'burg to Newark-Liberty International Airport. In the past 4 months I had 5 shippments come through them, Excellent job! Christie, the Import person at Newark did a great job for me.

One shippment was really screwed up. (ofcourse it was mine!) When it reached the states there was no paper work, import and cites permits, none! Gone! Come to find out British Airways has some "Bunny huggers" working for them, took the papers from the crates and threw them out! And this comes from a very reliable source. Seems there's been a few complaints about this.

One call to UTI and 3 days I had certified copies in my hand! Thank's to UTI!

It is true that they had a employee leave the company, and she did screw up paper work but that was last year, shouldn't have anything to do with shippments in the past 10 months

quote:

Originally posted by Widowmaker416:
It is true that they had a employee leave the company, and she did screw up paper work but that was last year, shouldn't have anything to do with shippments in the past 10 months

Interesting. This was only a few months ago. Maybe June or so. The lady that quit was Norman Kufa (sp?) she supposedly trashed all the paperwork associted with the crate. But what really got me was that everyone would lie to me about the progress. I was given a few different airbill numbers, none of which were accurate. It was as if they would say, "Give the guy something so he will leave us alone."

One mistake, I can forgive, multiple mistakes compounded with outright lies, I can not look past.

If what they were telling me were not lies then this was the most screwed up shipment I have ever delt with.

Now, they may have their affairs back in order. Mine was one experience in many. If others have had good dealings with them, then, maybe they have their paperwork straight again.

You do sound like you had a real headache, I hope everything did work out for you!!

Yes the lady was Norma Kufka, just remember too, and I'm not pointing the finger at anyone, "Everyone loves to pass the buck!"

I recieved notification in April that my shipment was being prepared by UTI. They had made a mistake and put my name on someone elses permit. My trophies were not ready until the end of June.

When the shipment arrived in London on July 8 they claimed they could not find the export permit or the Vet certificates. This was resolved in a day after I called Zimbabwe. It took another three days for BA to send the shipment on to Atlanta.

When the shipment arrived in Atlanta it was the weekend and then it was with Fish and Wildlife for three days before I was notified there was a problem with the Export Permit. The original was requested from UTI in Zimbabwe. I made several phone calls in order to secure this information and it took 8 days for it to arrive. No one at Parks for two days, then the weekend then 4 days by DHL.

It has taken 17 days and it has finally cleared. UTI Atlanta is looking for storage fees for British Airways and I want UTI to pay for them. Atlanta says I need to take it up with the Harare office. In talking with Zimbabwe this afternoon a young man thought they had resolved the issue and that they would pay the extra costs. I need to check again in the morning.

Fish and Wildlife in Atlanta was not the problem and I am very complimentary of how they have handled this matter.

This may be old news to some, but anytime you have a shipment obtain copies of all relevant documents prior to it leaving the country of origin. Pay particular attention to the Export Permit, Veterinary Certificates, Cites Permits and the packing lists. Check and recheck for any mistakes, or if anything is misprinted or cannot be read.

I should have pushed to have seen the information before it left instead of relying on their word.

Oh, another thing. DO NOT PRE-PAY YOUR SHIPPING!!!

That is what caused us so much greif. It was pre-paid and they had no incentive to move on it.

quote:

This may be old news to some, but anytime you have a shipment obtain copies of all relevant documents prior to it leaving the country of origin. Pay particular attention to the Export Permit, Veterinary Certificates, Cites Permits

TNJohn

Sounds like part of your problem was BA, (read my earlier post)

Copies will not do you any good when clearing shippment in the states, you have to have the orginals, but make copies of all the paper work, have the shipping company at the airport make copies for you, for your own records. When I clear shippments for my clients I make the client a set and me a set.

Widow maker,

I'm sure when you clear FWS and customs you look at all the permits and paperwork and make sure they are completed correctly. I checked and you have a great reputation and I had considered rerouting to New York just to use your services.

Yes it was awful strange that it could have been placed on the plane but in London the paperwork went missing. That is three days delay that BA caused.

The other delay is a UTI delay. There is little excuse for the error and no excuse for charging me for them causing the delays. What it I lost several trophies to their errors? Would insurance have paid?

If I had been able to see the Export Permit prior to it leaving Zimbabwe I would have immediately seen the error and prevented this snafu. UTI in Zimbabwe and in Atlanta may have glanced at the paperwork. They surely did not read all but the to and from.

Again gold stars to Fish and Wildlife.

Will have the trophies in hand this evening. British Airways charged only $115.00 in storage, which I paid. UTI would not pay for the storage even though they created the delay.

Total bill for 570 pounds was $2,130.00. Not bad for the size of the crate.

UTI stated that had I lost the trophies they would not have been responsible.

I would not use UTI again unless they are the only game in town.