UNTRUSTWORTHY CAR SHIPPER: RST INTERNATIONAL / GMT LOGISTICS / JACK NIELSEN
M. Miller
Submitted this review about
GMT Logistics Ltd.
Review made Live: 7/16/2007 9:01:00 AM
GMT Logistics Ltd. is the successor to RST International Ltd. They are shipping agents specialising in international car shipping, working out of Lowestoft, Suffolk UK and with registered offices in Weybridge, Surrey. Jack Nielsen is Director/CEO/General Manager, but essentially he’s a one-man band. My experience is that Nielsen is not competent, unreliable and not to be trusted.
I contracted RST to ship my classic car and a quantity of household goods from New Mexico USA to Lowestoft UK. The items were collected from Albuquerque on 10 April 2006.
By 5 May RST had been paid in full – silly me - including an additional sum for insurance. Despite my repeated requests, no proof was given that the insurance was ever put in place (Some would call this fraud, since he happily took the money). Had this existed, at least the cost of what follows might have been avoided.
The car arrived in Lowestoft on 12 July and I collected it, but the crate of household goods remained undelivered. Documentation was nearly non-existent. Nielsen was vague about exactly where it was and why not delivered, and soon ceased to respond to emails and phone messages, and then moved office without informing me. For over a month, I was left with no idea of what was happening. Stressful, to say the least!
Fortunately I had the name of the removals company that had collected my stuff in the USA. Over several days and many UK-USA phone calls I was able to track the movements through at least 7 shippers, all of whom were helpful. Eventually I discovered that RST had not paid the marine shipper, who refused to release the crate for customs clearance until paid. We eventually caught up with Nielsen face-to-face, and he paid the shipper.
But from 10 July until 22 September, the crate was in a bonded warehouse, accumulating massive storage fees. Under the circumstances, the warehouse accepted a reduced (but still substantial) cash payment from me to release the crate. The warehouse fees are entirely the result of Nielsen’s inaction, aggravated by his lack of response to my queries.
I sued RST and won the whole of my excess-costs claim (Nielsen didn’t even bother to come to court, or be represented), but I haven’t so far been able to collect a penny: RST is no longer active, and Nielsen is claiming it has no assets. But in the midst of the above, Nielsen set up GMT Logistics in August 2006, and is now trading under this name. I’ve since confronted him face-to-face, and he just shrugs it off as my tough luck, no explanation or apology, claiming he “doesn’t remember” how it all happened.
Basically, he hides behind the ‘Limited’ status of the companies, to absolve himself of any responsibility. Think very carefully before you have any dealings with this man: When the going gets tough – Jack walks away.
