Stevedoring down under – where some playing fields are less level than others
Either way, Mr and Ms Consumer lose
© Kim Britten | Dreamstime.com
By Sam Whelan
A court in Australia has ruled that a freight forwarder’s terms and conditions (T&Cs) can be incorporated through an email ‘footer’, despite the absence of a signed contract.
The ruling was made in the recent County Court of Victoria case of cargo owner Technology Swiss versus freight forwarder Famous Pacific Shipping (FPS).
That case dates back to 2014, when the shipper paid FPS to transport some mining equipment from Melbourne to Bangkok.
According to the court filing, the forwarder “failed to adequately secure ...
Comment on this article
Andy Robins
December 02, 2019 at 3:05 amI presume the full amount had to be paid due to a negligence argument, (failure to secure the cargo probably).
Perhaps forwarders in this digital age should make the STC’s (as it limits liability) at the footer of the page a direct link to their STC’s.
I see many still advise “available on request”, whereas “click here” would suffice.