Warning - Bongo International (BongoUS.com) shipping consolidator review

I appreciate this forum is a regular venting place for frustrated individuals. I am deeply frustrated but I'll try and avoid that but post a warning regarding Bongo International (BongoUS.com) shipping consolidator.

Buyer Beware

Bongo International offers a shipping consolidating and forwarding service which, on paper, resolves two problems many UK buyers have purchasing items from Ebay in the USA; those problems being; By "additional costs", I don't just means the unavoidable taxes & duties so much as that there are various thresholds which make it worth or not worth sending things, e.g. size, value, tax and duty limits etc. In theory, having some receive items for you, repack them safely and efficient, and send then on in one bigger box, could in theory be a very useful and valuable service.

Bongo, however, do not offer such a service ... so be warned ... and be warned of loopholes and get outs they do not make clear on their website when it comes to compensation claims that they are entirely at fault and responsible for.

On my first shipment through them I collated relatively rare and carefully chosen 'like new' items with a replacement cost of over $1,000 and a 'fair market value' (what I paid) of just over 1/3 rd that.

Having spent a long time finding and choosing them, Bongo managed to damage every one taking perfectly adequately packed items, unpacking them - even separating items tapes together for security - and repacking them insufficiently. And then did nothing more than lay them in a box, 1/3rd empty, to bounce their way across the Atlantic to me.

Needless to say, they make profit on selling 'volumetric space' (space plus weight, more profit than just actual weight).

In my case, the items included over 20kg of heavy, metal items which were not even wrapped or taped by them, just laid on each other and separated by bubblewrap which, by the time it had reach me, had burst and flattened offering ZERO protection.

One item was bent, one was crushed, one had its coloured coating chipped and scuffed, one was pitted from the last one bouncing up and down against it.

These were all 'like new', unused, second hand items. "Zero mile takeoffs", as we call them.

Bongo International BongoUS.com do not know how to do their business and re-pack items sufficient. Do not trust them to do so. There is no place in their system to give them instructions on how to do so.

Then the bullsh*t started ...

I placed my compensation claim in detailing at length, with photos, references, proof of replacement costs, proof of actual costs etc. I had, after all, paid extra for insurance.

Waste of time

Bongo International BongoUS.com responded making an offer several times less than I had proven. It seemed reasonable to me that 1/3rd of new, replacement price was a 'fair market value', which they claim is their policy. It was what I paid.

It then became apparent what BongosUS had done. They were merely offering me the US shipping cost, the costs of shipping my items to them. They were offering ZERO compensation for the items' actual purchase costs. At no point was I contacted regarding the matter. They chose what to do, either follow or breaking their policy.

Additional Warning

In addition, unlike it is stated on their website, BongoUS do NOT compensation full shipping costs. This is a bit of a con, I feel. They separate shipping costs into various sub-total and exclude them, e.g. they charge separately for an aviation fuel surcharge, which you will not get back. Nor will you get back any duty and taxes on items that are now junk. Nor will you get back what they charged you to unpack perfectly adequately packed items and re-pack them inadequately.

They will still charge you for their negligence ... Why?

It turns out that the packers look through your items for an invoice and not finding an invoice, place the US shipping costs into their minimal system as the market value. In my case, they neatly divided the shipping cost of the item into two for each item, to the cent. Thereby, they valued the items at ZERO.

This was my first consignment with them. They are now holding me responsible for what they admit their agents did and are refusing to compensate for my items. All they are offering is my internal US shipping costs, less the reduction above.

Wait, it's not over yet ...

And, just to rub salt into your wound, they refuse to refund your credit card payment. Instead, they insist on sending out a Dollar cheque - despite knowing the majority of their customers are overseas (that's their business after all) - incurring weeks of delays AND a high bank charge.

So you lose another week and £10 plus charge for your bank to cash a dollar cheque.

They don't care ... they know there's nothing you can do about it. They are over the water and it's not worth you taking legal action against them. They'll cover their !!! before they'll accept and shoulder their responsibilities.

Usual customer service hell

Once this has happened, you'll fall into the usual customer service hell. Once they have made their offer the matter is closed as far as they are concerned, and you can **** off. You are wasting your time.

You are responsible for what their agents did.

What others should learn from this is, especially, Bongo International aka BongoUS might be safe enough for cheap consumer items that can be readily replaced off the shelf, like trainers and DVDs, but you cannot trust them with anything valuable. They do not care. They are not even normally skilled. They do not think like you. They do not have basic common sense.

No doubt their re-packers are working on a minimum wage somewhere in the middle of no where and their customer service agents will defend them first, but they will actually unpack adequately packed items and repack them insufficiently ... even, in my case, leaving enough space that they could have sent all the original boxes. That appears to be their policy.

But that is the way Bongo International aka BongoUS makes their profit.

Sadly, from what I hear, Ebay's own 'Global Shipping Program' partnership with Pitney Bowes is even worse but doing the same thing; taking delicate, specialist items out of packing done by a seller who knows and cares and repacking them lighter and insufficiently ... to make money out of the cheaper shipping. They don't tell buyers and they don't tell seller but if it all screws up, they will pass the buck back to the innocent seller.

Is there anyone else out there?

Dealing with all the hassle has cost much much more than their insulting compensation offer. Items I took days to find have been damaged by BongoUS.com's idiotic, mindless negligence, and they are now using some get out clause to slip out of any responsibility for it. I click the last button to send, their negligence is my responsibility.