Better Business Bureau Warns Of Shady Shipping Firm
CHICAGO (STMW) -- After receiving 33 complaints since August against an overseas shipping company based on the Northwest Side, the Better Business Bureau is warning consumers about the firm.
The company operates as Shipping Express Philippines at 5009 N. Tripp Ave., a release from the BBB said. A review of consumer complaints shows a pattern of allegations of non-delivery.
Consumers allege items sent through Shipping Express Philippines have not been received at their destinations, the release said. According to consumers, the company has provided no explanation regarding delayed deliveries.
Consumers also allege they have not been able to reach the company's offices, saying a U.S. phone number goes directly to a full voicemail box and there is no staff at the office to answer inquiries. Calls to the company's office in the Philippines are answered by a third party who claims the company had moved.
"Inquiries into freight forwarding increased 29 percent in the last 12 months," Steve Bernas, president of the BBB serving Chicago and Northern Illinois said.
One customer, an Arlington Heights resident, said that after her aunt bought a house in the Philippines and moved there, she told the aunt she would ship her things -- a total of 22 boxes valued at about $10,000. The woman also sent some gifts but says nothing she shipped ever got there.
A Lombard man paid the company $50 to ship six pairs of shoes to his family in the Philippines for Christmas. When he called the company after the package did not arrive, he was told the package was delayed in Customs. They said it would get there during November, but it did not and that was the last time they ever answered the phone.
Since August 11, 2010 there have been a total of 33 complaints filed against the company with the BBB, and 17 of those are currently pending.
