Charge dispute

Free vessel transfer secured, then an undue amendment fee reversed

Anonymised case from Sync Port's operational records

Shipper → consignee
Plywood manufacturer, Paraná → industrial packaging plant, Ontario
Route
Paranaguá → Newark → Toronto
Containers
3 × 40'HC
0amendment fee paid
The problem

With no terminal windows before cut-off and no extension available, the booking had to move to the next vessel. The carrier then billed an amendment fee for that transfer and sent the invoice to collections while the cargo was arriving.

What Sync Port did

Sync Port negotiated the transfer at no cost, opened a dispute and escalated daily by e-mail and phone until the carrier's dispute team reviewed the invoice.

The outcome
0amendment fee paid

The carrier confirmed the invoice was incorrect, corrected it and issued a credit note the same day.

Why it matters for your next shipment

A vessel transfer agreed as free of charge can still generate an automatic fee weeks later. Keeping the carrier's written confirmation and checking every invoice against it is what turns a collections notice into a credit note.

A similar problem on an active file?

Send the route, the deadline or the invoice in question. We reply with what can be done and what we need from you.

Talk to Sync Port All case studies