USA Import - DOT HS-7 Form? Help!
Discussion
Kit is due to hit port next week. Thought I understood all of the issues involved with EPA for import, now I am getting caught off-guard by DOT paperwork. My customs broker is telling me to fill out a DOT HS-7 form (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/hs799short.pdf) for "Importation of Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Equipment Subject to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety, Bumper and Theft Prevention Standards". I keep saying "it's not a car, it's just car parts", which was the key to getting past EPA, but he says I still need to fill out the DOT form... but I am not sure which box to check. Any guidance from those that have been down this road? Do I really need to fill out this form?
Thanks.
-Sky
Thanks.
-Sky
I just reviewed my paperwork to make sure my memory was correct. there is a letter signed by the factory stipulating that this shipment is to quote "unassembled car parts(without engine) dispatched against our invoice #.....TO......" also my brokers paperwork identifies this as car parts only. ME THINKS, YOUR BROKER IS ABOUT TO PUT YOU IN A CORNER WITH NO EXIT. LEE
Thanks. As I suspected. Am thinking I may just do the paperwork myself and give my broker the boot, as it seems like I have to tell him how to fill out the forms, and which forms to use anyway. Will see if I can make any significant headway on the 7501 form tonight. Wish me luck!
-Sky
-Sky
So I got in touch with Grace at Inter-Continental Logistics. They are whom the factory suggested. ICL _may_ know what they are doing (this hasn't been proven to me yet), but they certainly haven't impressed me regardless. Getting ahold of someone has been a challenge. Calls are returned...eventually. The secretary answers, but only to say that 'nobody is available, can I transfer you to voicemail', despite please to speak to somebody, anybody. I suspect that they waited until the last possible moment to submit my forms to customs, but I don't know the process well enough to know if this is true, or if that is just the way the 'system' works. My container has been in port here for 2 days now, and I cannot get any response as to where we stand with customs. I will now have to pay nearly $500 storage to let it sit in the yard over the weekend, and voicemails have gone unanswered all day.
Edit to add:
I just got off the phone with the customs office. They don't even show that entry paperwork has been submitted(!?!?). Spoke with the rail company, and they said that they have tried to contact my broker as well. Also unsuccessfuly. Even not knowing the ins and out of the import business, I am pretty comfortable now saying that this has not been handled properly.
Maybe others have had fantastic experiences with them, but I have not been very pleased.
Hoping for a quick resolution next week,
-Sky
Edit to add:
I just got off the phone with the customs office. They don't even show that entry paperwork has been submitted(!?!?). Spoke with the rail company, and they said that they have tried to contact my broker as well. Also unsuccessfuly. Even not knowing the ins and out of the import business, I am pretty comfortable now saying that this has not been handled properly.
Maybe others have had fantastic experiences with them, but I have not been very pleased.
Hoping for a quick resolution next week,
-Sky
Edited by gyroplane on Saturday 17th October 00:01
Thanks spatz. It's funny you should mention my 'bad luck'... I don't want this to sound like a complaint, because I have a wonderful life that I enjoy to its fullest, but I'll tell you - it is rediculous the way things seem to go sometimes. I have tried to think of the ways that I may be bringing it on myself, but I just can't figure out how things can go so wrong so often. (Don't ask me why an 8-month remodel, started so that I could have a garage big enough to build an Ultima as it turns out, has taken 30). I have certainly been taught patience though.
As to my prospects for being 'made whole' as it relates to the storage fees, it may be a tricky situation. We will certainly be having that discussion. Trouble is, everyone involved (shipper, freight line, customs broker, customs office) all get to put a hold on the container, and I can't pick it up until the holds are cleared (which usually happens right after they all get payed). So they have quite a bit of leverage against me, and it can very well turn into a staring contest where every day they say "we're not paying that", and the charge goes up for another days storage. Normal route then would be to pay under protest, then go back at them in small claims court for the difference BUT they are a Canadian company, so it would have to be filed in Canada by a Canadian lawyer, which I understand gets very expensive, very fast. If things don't resolve themselves to my satisfaction on Monday I will certainly be talking with my lawyer to find out what my options are.
In the mean time, I am using this weekend to read through all of the import rules, and figure out how to fill it out myself (I actually think I am making decent headway). I will try either showing up at the customs office with my best effort and a sad story begging for help, or will be in another brokers office walking them through the process. I am hoping to learn enough to post back here some useful information for anyone else that may be confused or stuck in the future.
Fingers crossed,
-Sky
As to my prospects for being 'made whole' as it relates to the storage fees, it may be a tricky situation. We will certainly be having that discussion. Trouble is, everyone involved (shipper, freight line, customs broker, customs office) all get to put a hold on the container, and I can't pick it up until the holds are cleared (which usually happens right after they all get payed). So they have quite a bit of leverage against me, and it can very well turn into a staring contest where every day they say "we're not paying that", and the charge goes up for another days storage. Normal route then would be to pay under protest, then go back at them in small claims court for the difference BUT they are a Canadian company, so it would have to be filed in Canada by a Canadian lawyer, which I understand gets very expensive, very fast. If things don't resolve themselves to my satisfaction on Monday I will certainly be talking with my lawyer to find out what my options are.
In the mean time, I am using this weekend to read through all of the import rules, and figure out how to fill it out myself (I actually think I am making decent headway). I will try either showing up at the customs office with my best effort and a sad story begging for help, or will be in another brokers office walking them through the process. I am hoping to learn enough to post back here some useful information for anyone else that may be confused or stuck in the future.
Fingers crossed,
-Sky
Edited by gyroplane on Saturday 17th October 09:26
Sky
I feel for you . I thought I had probs when my engine arrived at the house and they had no way of getting it off the lorry ! They hadn't warned me . Driver phoned his boss and I overheard " that bloke can jump up and down all he likes etc etc " .That wasn't the right thing to do ; big mistake .[ They wanted £200 to redeliver ] . I said nothing , walked away , locked the main gates and left the bloke in the lane . Emailed HQ in germany . Guess what !! Bloke drives off in a panic and 2 hours later engine arrives with a forklift . Germans will not tolerate problems in my experience . Hats off to them !
Good Luck
Frank
I feel for you . I thought I had probs when my engine arrived at the house and they had no way of getting it off the lorry ! They hadn't warned me . Driver phoned his boss and I overheard " that bloke can jump up and down all he likes etc etc " .That wasn't the right thing to do ; big mistake .[ They wanted £200 to redeliver ] . I said nothing , walked away , locked the main gates and left the bloke in the lane . Emailed HQ in germany . Guess what !! Bloke drives off in a panic and 2 hours later engine arrives with a forklift . Germans will not tolerate problems in my experience . Hats off to them !
Good Luck
Frank
that is good news that the factory will assist you there, imports require a lot of experience and finally made me not buying a GT40 from USA, because there was only trouble ahead of me getting this car imported and registered. Finally directed my to Ultima still have an unknown registration process in front of me.
It is absolutely true that this is a personal sale, and not through the factory, and I hope I haven't misrepresented the situation. This may indeed be a complicating factor.
What I find somewhat unforgiveable though, is the lack of communication. No update on our status since before the container reached port. No customs paperwork submission as far as I can tell. No response to calls from the port itself. But most importantly, no answer to my desperate calls to even explain where we were at and why there may have been a delay/when it would be addressed. That to me, is the real indicator of the commitment to their customers, or at a minimum, an indicator that they are not sufficiently staffed to support all their customers. There was a secretary that answered, but she would only tell me that Grace was busy, and that I could leave a message. There was nobody else that I was allowed to talk to. Nobody else that could help me, even when I explained to the secretary the urgency of my situation. Believe me, I know that things happen. That stuff gets delayed. That people get busy. Please though, take 2 minutes to let your customer know what's going on, especially when you know that they are about to start racking up large chages.
As it stands, I have no idea what the plan is, or if there is a plan. I have been up all night reading DOT regulations, customs regulations, and federal laws, trying to fill out the required paperwork as best I can. There are other things I would rather be doing, but I must be as prepared as possible for any scenario come Monday morning, because I have no assurance that they will even get back to me then. A single call to let me know that it was at least going to be handled, if it hadn't been already would have saved me this stress, effort, and lost sleep. As it stands now, I am pretty sure that by the end of the weekend, I will understand it well enough to do it on my own, so I would rather take their fee, and use it to whittle down my debt with the freight yard. Even so, without any communication, I don't know how much time they have invested, and if they will even let me out, or if they will still charge me anyway. Should be an interesting day, Monday.
As always, I DO appreciate the help and support that I continue to get from you guys at Ultima. Even though it is a used kit, purchased from a third party, it doesn't appear to have hampered your willingness to help me out and answer my questions. I truly appreciate that. I don't mean for this rant to be any more than my own personal experience, with a single transaction, with an individual customs broker.
Best regards,
-Sky
What I find somewhat unforgiveable though, is the lack of communication. No update on our status since before the container reached port. No customs paperwork submission as far as I can tell. No response to calls from the port itself. But most importantly, no answer to my desperate calls to even explain where we were at and why there may have been a delay/when it would be addressed. That to me, is the real indicator of the commitment to their customers, or at a minimum, an indicator that they are not sufficiently staffed to support all their customers. There was a secretary that answered, but she would only tell me that Grace was busy, and that I could leave a message. There was nobody else that I was allowed to talk to. Nobody else that could help me, even when I explained to the secretary the urgency of my situation. Believe me, I know that things happen. That stuff gets delayed. That people get busy. Please though, take 2 minutes to let your customer know what's going on, especially when you know that they are about to start racking up large chages.
As it stands, I have no idea what the plan is, or if there is a plan. I have been up all night reading DOT regulations, customs regulations, and federal laws, trying to fill out the required paperwork as best I can. There are other things I would rather be doing, but I must be as prepared as possible for any scenario come Monday morning, because I have no assurance that they will even get back to me then. A single call to let me know that it was at least going to be handled, if it hadn't been already would have saved me this stress, effort, and lost sleep. As it stands now, I am pretty sure that by the end of the weekend, I will understand it well enough to do it on my own, so I would rather take their fee, and use it to whittle down my debt with the freight yard. Even so, without any communication, I don't know how much time they have invested, and if they will even let me out, or if they will still charge me anyway. Should be an interesting day, Monday.
As always, I DO appreciate the help and support that I continue to get from you guys at Ultima. Even though it is a used kit, purchased from a third party, it doesn't appear to have hampered your willingness to help me out and answer my questions. I truly appreciate that. I don't mean for this rant to be any more than my own personal experience, with a single transaction, with an individual customs broker.
Best regards,
-Sky
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