• We Are Prepared To Pay Compensation — ABC
A customer to one of the country’s courier mailing service, ABC Cargo Express has alleged loss of an item during transit and decried the inability of the company to deliver it since August last year.
The customer had couriered two items to a location in Mbaise, Imo State from Lagos, on August 4 last year, one of the items was delivered, but the whereabouts of the other has remained a mystery to ABC officials.
The item with waybill number 655743FDY/MBS, was booked by an official of the company, Edith Nkem Idigwu, at the ABC Transport’s
Fadeyi Office in Lagos.
The owner of the item, Basil Onwukwe, a United States Based merchant, who has been patronising the private courier service company for a while, said he had since September 10 last year made several attempts and reports to the Fadeyi office Manager, Mr. Lorine Efienemokwu and Mr. Ifeanyi in the Owerri office without any valid response on the whereabouts of the missing item.
When The Guardian visited the Amuwo Odofin Corporate Office of the company, the Transport Manager, Admin, Mr. Ndu Mike assured of the company’s readiness to locate the item and return it to the owner. But he said in the event the item could not be located, ABC Transport would have to reimburse the owner for the loss.
He informed The Guardian that the “Ember Months” were peak period for the business but assured the company will look into the matter and produce the item by the middle of February. However, he noted that in the event they could not produce it, the company will pay the valuation made at the point of booking the cargo.
According to him, items could be lost occasionally due to many factors such as movement of packages to wrong address, theft, mix-up during transit and warehousing; among others.
To guard against these factors, he said the company has insurance in place to cover customers and indemnify them in cases of missing items. The Manager later called some of the officials conversant with the issue and directed them to investigate further and report to him.
But in another twist, an official of the company who identified himself as Sammy later called The Guardian to report that the item was lost in transit and the owner should settle for the valuation amount as compensation.
When informed, the owner, Onwukwe said he had rejected the offer, saying he was not ready to accept money as compensation and insisted they produce the item.He said the failure of the private sector in the courier services will put more pressure on the public sector that is in a state of decline. “It makes one wonder what has become the hope of the survival of the Nigerian State in cargo delivery,” he said.
