A : → We believe the proper procedures for an international trade transaction would be for the exporter to 1) ship the goods to the customs, 2) present all documents via the collecting bank to the L/C issuing bank as stipulated in the Letter of Credit for payment, 3)the collecting bank will check the documents against the terms of the L/C and present to the issuing bank for reimbursement of the proceeds, and 4) the issuing bank will examine the documents submitted and pays to the collecting bank if no discrepancies occur.
Q : → We shipped 4 containers to an australia customer thru a shiping company assigned by the customer. We held the bill of lading so that the customer can T/T the payment before we send the B/L to them. But the shiping company gave all the goods to them without our B/L. And then no payment was received. Now we want to sue the shipping company. But thewording in the B/L stated that any law issue must be dealt in Australia. I asked the lawyer in Hong Kong, the money involved in suing an asutraliancompany will be much more than half a million, which is more than the cost of the goods. Now, what can I do? Let this australia company get thegoods for free?
A : → I don't think a lawsuit in Australia would be that expensive.More importantly, you could probably avoid filing an actual lawsuit. The best first step would be to hire an Australian lawyer, tell them your story, give them all the written evidence that you have, and then ask them to send the shipping company and/or the buyer a seriously worded letter threatening legal action if payment is not made asap. The lawyer will probably charge you a small fee for preparing such a letter (in the USA, something like this would probably cost around US$500). Good luck!
