Pita: After the goods arrived at the Egyptian port

'I was so angry that I was blown up by the customer! From the time the delivery arrived to the port, the delay in payment; after the arrival at the port, the delay in taking delivery. From July 2 to September 23, he always used various reasons He told me in a good manner that he would pay; when I wanted to resell the goods, he promised me to pay immediately and not to sell.' Pita, who has always chosen to trust the customer, finally couldn't bear it.

On the afternoon of September 21st, Pita finally forced the customer to tell the truth: 'If you have no money, you can resell it to other customers. I will pick up the goods for you, but you have to return the deposit to me.'

'Is there anything more weird? It's really unlucky to encounter this kind of credible swindler customer! My current situation is very passive. Now this container of goods worth 35,000 US dollars has been stranded in Sokhna port in Egypt. It’s been a month and a half, but it’s quite troublesome to change the bill of lading and other documents in Egypt. I don’t know what to do.” Pita was melancholy...

Replay: Customers who took the initiative to place an order no longer pay

Pita company mainly produces light box cloth. At an exhibition in Guangzhou in March 2013, he met a customer from Egypt. At the exhibition site, the customer placed a deposit of $500.

But the good times didn't last long. After coming back from the exhibition, Pita had problems with the customer. The customer regretted not cooperating and requested a refund of the deposit, but the customer's request was rejected by Pita's boss.

In June, the customer contacted Pita again and said that he would place an order. In order to try to keep this lost customer who has come back to the door, Pita applied to the boss to provide the customer with the lowest price. The two parties quickly agreed on an advance payment of US$400, and the balance is shown in the settlement method of the copy of the bill of lading. After paying the deposit on time, the customer also stated that he would pay another part of the purchase price before shipment.

What Pita did not expect was that such proactive customers would change again.

On July 2, the payment negotiated with the customer was delayed. After obtaining the consent of the boss, Pita chose to ship the goods first.

In the subsequent contact, the customer promised Pita to pay after the bill of lading came out. However, when the goods arrived at the port and stayed in the port for more than a month, Pita tried every means to urge the customer to pay, but the customer repeatedly delayed on the grounds that 'will pay'.

'Our company has declared CITIC Insurance and plans to resell, but the customer has repeatedly promised to pay, and I once again choose to trust him.' He gave up the idea of ??reselling.

Returning to the company during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, Pita checked the payment again, but still did not receive the account. 'Transfer, pay 10,000, and you can check it again.' Facing the customer's reply, Pita was half-trusted and asked other customers in Egypt to call the customer. 'He told my other customers that they didn't have any money, and it would be better to have a customer show up, buy the goods and return the deposit he paid to him.' Pita said.

On the afternoon of September 24, Pita finally succeeded in talking to the customer on Skype, but the customer's answer disappointed Pita. 'I have no money. You can resell the goods to other customers. I will pick up the goods for him, but you have to return the previous deposit to me.' Since it is troublesome to change orders in Egypt, Pita can only rely on customers to pick up the goods, but if you look for For other buyers, Pita will have to bear the 3,000 USD fee that has been stranded in Hong Kong and the necessary discount for resale.

Pita is in a dilemma, not only working hard to find a solution, but also regretting the mistakes made by herself and her boss in the process. He said: 'If the earliest customer asked for a refund of the deposit, we could promise that we would not lose so much. Now we are deceived by untrustworthy customers.'

Progress: CITIC Insurance exerts pressure to advance payment

In November 2013, C Weekly interviewed Huang Yong, Assistant Director of Quanzhou Office of China Export Credit Insurance Corporation, on this case.

'I checked the company system and there is indeed a case of the buyer.' Huang Yong said that the exporter shipped a ticket of light box cloth to the Egyptian buyer in July 2013. The agreed settlement method was USD4000 in advance and the balance The payment was made on the copy of the bill of lading, but the buyer did not pay for the delivery in time after the goods arrived at the port, so the exporter reported the damage to China Credit Insurance and entrusted a recovery. After receiving the report, Sinosure sent a letter to the Egyptian buyer, reminding the buyer that if the buyer did not make the payment and redemption in accordance with the contract, it will be included in the credit blacklist by Sinosure; and remind all insured exporters to be cautious with the buyer. Cooperation and suspend all shipments. Under pressure, when the head of the exporter went to Egypt, the buyer and the exporter reached an agreement to pay all the money. The exporter withdrew the damage to Sinosure, and the buyer was able to maintain a good credit record with Sinosure.

'Because we have established a large domestic and foreign credit database, when the insured company finds that the buyer has not paid the payment in time, we will put pressure on the buyer, and other insured CITIC customers will also be the first time Obtaining the latest information about the buyer's bad credit from Sinosure has raised its vigilance, which has caused great pressure on the buyer to promote substantive payment.' Huang Yong told C Weekly.

Huang Yong believes that CITIC Insurance can play an escort on the safe settlement methods of enterprises. Therefore, when insured companies encounter similar cases, they should contact China Credit Insurance as soon as possible and explain the situation truthfully. Do not unilaterally listen to the buyer's promise of payment in the near future, otherwise it is easy to miss the best time to reduce the actual loss. 'After receiving the report, we will send a letter to the buyer and exert pressure to advance the payment, and even take the approach of a local lawyer's door-to-door reminder. If the goods are stuck in port, the buyer is determined to refuse to pick up the goods, and we will guide the exporter to the principle of minimum loss Deal with the goods and pay compensation for losses to reduce the loss of exporters.' He said.

Summary 1: FOB clause implies risks

Although Pita's case was successfully resolved, the inspiration to foreign traders was profound. A senior person who has been engaged in foreign trade for 7 years said that Pita may not have encountered a liar. Strictly speaking, this is caused by the hidden risks of doing FOB. The same situation may happen to any exporter who does this clause.

The veteran told C Weekly that FOB may often encounter such a situation: After the ship arrives at the port, the consignee does not pick up the goods, and the port costs are increasing day by day. The salesperson is unable to do anything with the bill of lading, even if it is returned to China, because To change the consignee, the consignee’s abandonment declaration is required. Then, the buyer can start bargaining unscrupulously... The second possibility is that the FOB forwarder releases the goods without the bill of lading. When the salesperson finds out, the forwarder company that has never met actually only has 2-3 people, and claims The helpless salesman can only cry without tears...

'In fact, there are other situations that may occur due to the hidden risks of FOB. For these situations, I suggest that the salesperson change the cooperation method, prefer CIF, and ask the customer to make a written payment commitment. This is safer He said, “Before cooperating with customers, it’s best for salespersons to conduct customer credit investigations through banks or embassies; if you really want to do this, you can pass on risks through CITIC Insurance, and there is a Guarantee; but don’t be overly superstitious about LC. In the current turbulent situation in Egypt, the country can declare bankruptcy, let alone banks.'

Summary 2: Do a good job of buyer credit investigation

Huang Yong told C Weekly that the overseas economic downturn and weak market demand have greatly affected the probability of bad overseas accounts, and this situation is still getting worse.

He suggested that foreign trade salespersons should understand the buyer's credit in as many aspects as possible when receiving new orders. They can communicate with the buyer, make inquiries in the industry, initiate a credit survey through CITIC Insurance, and then compare the information to verify the buyer's strength. , When taking orders, know yourself and your opponents and know how to take orders.

'If there are customers with high repetitiveness in the above-mentioned similar cases, the salesperson should keep a clear mind, and remember that for such customers with average strength or whose credit needs to be considered, they should collect as much deposit as possible and strictly follow the contract. Once the buyer pays If it is not in time, the suspension of shipments can prevent buyers from offering large discounts and being in a passive position after the goods are stuck in port.' Huang Yong said.

In the case that the buyer's payment is not timely and the goods are stuck in the port, he suggested that the salesperson should not trust the buyer's unilateral payment promise, and should actively look for other solutions to avoid a large amount of detention costs or even a situation where the cost is higher than the value of the goods.

In addition to the above practices, the salesperson should also fully understand the import and export and customs policies of the buyer's country to avoid difficulties in reselling with high demurrage fees, or the goods being auctioned after detention, so that buyers can take advantage of the shortcomings to obtain goods at low prices. Happening.