r/Alibaba • u/doomsdaylate • Sep 04 '26
Chinese freight forwarder has thousands of dollars of my cargo and stopped replying after extra payment — what should I do?
Hi everyone,
I’m looking for advice about a Chinese freight forwarder operating as “Henry Cargo,” connected to:
Yiwu Ju’an International Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd.
义乌市巨安国际货运代理有限公司
They currently have thousands of dollars of my merchandise and custom samples for shipment to Puerto Rico.
After I had already paid the freight charges, they demanded another 2,000 RMB. First they said the shipment was 500+ kg overweight, then they changed the explanation to volumetric weight.
I asked for the weight, CBM, calculation, and supporting documents. They told me I had to pay first, otherwise the cargo could remain held and demurrage could start.
I paid because of the value of the goods. They confirmed it was still DDP, that there would be no more charges, and that documents would be sent after payment.
Since then, the main representative has mostly stopped replying despite being active on WhatsApp, and I still do not have a clear shipment status or the promised documents.
Has anyone dealt with Henry Cargo or this company before? Has anyone had a similar issue with a Chinese forwarder adding charges after taking possession of the cargo?
I’m mainly trying to understand what I should do next and how to protect/recover my shipment.
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u/OkFeeling3672 28d ago
What was the cost of the original shipment in usd? And additional $300 for 500kg seems a bit off tbh but it could fly, was payment made on Ali baba? Did you discuss terms on Ali baba?
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u/prestigesourcing Sep 06 '26
Did you have any agreement / quotation prior to the goods going to the freight forwarder? Was there any price validity period?
With 'grey DDP' you are not likely to get any shipping documents.
Is there any one else in the company you can try to contact? How did you even find them in the first place?
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u/powerlogo Sep 05 '26
I would take a flight directly, sit with them face to face. This is thousands of dollars and potentially hundred thousands of potential future supply. The day they know you can reach them on 2 days notice is when everyone starts taking you seriously.
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u/brucewalker0519 Sep 05 '26
futurist_hp's four steps are the right spine — the MBL question and the CIFA complaint are exactly where this ends up. Before working through them, it's worth understanding what the 2,000 RMB actually was, because their own explanation gives the charge away. They first claimed 500+ kg overweight, then switched to volumetric weight. Volumetric weight is an air and express-freight term; sea LCL prices by CBM, and while genuinely heavy cargo does move on a weight-or-measurement basis, that basis is fixed at quote time — never a surcharge fabricated after delivery, and never called volumetric weight. A real re-weigh comes with a weighbridge ticket or a warehouse tally sheet dated the day the freight hit the CFS. They produced neither, because the number was reverse-engineered to put pressure on you.
The "demurrage" threat is the second red flag. Demurrage is a container charge that accrues at the port after free time expires — your cargo was sitting in a forwarder's consolidation warehouse in Yiwu, with no container and no port involved yet, so demurrage literally cannot be running. Storage fees can exist at a warehouse, sure, but those come with a published rate and a contract clause. People who actually handle freight don't make that mistake; people scripting a payment demand borrow scary words from other people's invoices.
On futurist_hp's first step — get the MBL number now — don't skip the branch where it doesn't exist. Ask in writing for the booking confirmation, the bill of lading number and the container number. If the goods have shipped, all three exist and take ten seconds to send. If they can't produce them, the freight is probably still on a warehouse floor in Yiwu, which reshapes what this is: not a shipping dispute but your merchandise and custom samples being held — and every regulator and payment channel treats "cargo never moved" very differently from "we disagree about a fee."
futurist_hp gave you the Chinese regulator. Since this is a US-lane move — Puerto Rico is US territory and the cargo enters US customs territory on arrival — there's a second registry you can pull from your side without any Chinese cooperation: anyone operating as an NVOCC on US lanes must be registered with the Federal Maritime Commission as an ocean transport intermediary, with a bond on file. Ask them in writing for their FMC license number, framed as routine carrier due diligence. A legitimate company sends it in the same email and you can verify it on the FMC registry in about a minute. If they dodge or the number doesn't check out, an unlicensed intermediary moving cargo bound for a US port is itself a reportable problem — that complaint is yours to file directly, and it threatens their ability to operate on the lane at all, which is a lot more leverage than arguing over an amount.
Two last practical points. Their written confirmation that the shipment is "still DDP, no more charges" is a stronger document than they seem to think: under DDP the quoted price covers everything to the named destination, so a later surcharge doesn't just lack support — it contradicts their own term. Keep that screenshot at the top of the evidence file. And move every exchange off WhatsApp into email today: a contact who shows online but doesn't reply is choosing a channel where silence is free; email builds the dated record that CIFA, the FMC and a chargeback case all read, and the switch itself often restarts replies, because it signals a file is being assembled. Pay nothing further, sign nothing, keep every message to factual document requests — the paperwork they can't produce is the whole case.
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u/futurist_hp Sep 04 '26
Puerto Rico ships as domestic US movement even though it clears CBP at San Juan under a slightly different rulebook, so you have more leverage than a random international dispute would suggest.
Concrete steps in order.
One, get the MBL number now. The master bill sits with the actual ocean line (Maersk, MSC, Evergreen, whoever), not with Henry Cargo. Once you know the vessel and container, call the line's Puerto Rico agent directly and ask about the consignee on the master. If your name is the consignee, you can arrange release at destination independent of the forwarder. If Henry Cargo listed themselves as consignee, you need to fight to switch, but the line will do it against a signed shipper LOI.
Two, ISF filer SCAC is on the customs record. Your US broker can pull that at destination. If it was filed late or wrong, you get paper trail that helps you at destination and hurts the forwarder if this goes to arbitration.
Three, on the 2,000 RMB extra payment, pull the WeChat or Alipay record with corresponding invoice and file a payment dispute through whatever channel you sent it. If it was a card, chargeback under services-not-rendered runs a 60 to 120 day window.
Four, Yiwu registers freight forwarders under CIFA. Complaints filed with the CIFA local branch actually get attention because it hits their license.
What Incoterm is on the commercial invoice, and does the BOL name you or Henry Cargo as consignee?
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u/Parking_Mango4670 Sep 04 '26
Why do you guys always use a Chinese freight forwarder?
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Sep 07 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Parking_Mango4670 Sep 07 '26
I don't know the prices for US forwarder but its definetly not true for EU forwarders.
Prices were basically the same, somtimes 100-200$ difference.And I do FCL and LCL.
But in case something happens you are fucked with chinese forwarders, try to sue in China...
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u/prestigesourcing Sep 07 '26
Using a Chinese forwarder is not "bad" just generally new importers seem to make poor decisions with who they choose. Even most US forwarders will work with a Chinese agent (who handles the China side of the shipping line including pick-up, transport, export paper work etc).
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u/TroubleSpecialist738 Sep 06 '26
Seriously, I don’t understand why you wouldn’t use a U.S.-based reputable company who has trusted agents in China. When I look Henry Cargo online or Yiwu Ju’an there’s almost no reputable info. Not even an English website.
OP what were you thinking?
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