hep- forwarding agent confusionl

[bananapunk]

Hi almighty forum,
I have a dilema- I sent 3 boxes of personal belongings (clothes, books etc) from London to hebore. 100 kg. It costed me 200 sgd on the UK side. Now my boxes have arrived and I was contacted by some forwarding agent and they want me to pay 480$ for clearing customs and delivery.. wtf???
here's their breakdown:

TOTAL CHARGES SGD 168.75 + SGD 319.1= SGD 487.85 (NOT INCLUDING GST BASE ON CARGO VALUE AND STORE RENT/REMOVAL)

DOOR DELIVERY CHARGES(LCL)

TRANSPORTATION SGD 80.00 LUMPSUM +7% GST =SGD85.60

HANDLING SGD 50.00

FORKLIFT SGD 65.00/BLOCK OF 4/WM = SGD65.00

DO PROCESSING SGD 35.00/SET = SGD35.00

TALLY FEE SGD 15.00 /SET = SGD15.00

DOCUMENTATION SGD 50.00/SET + 7%=SGD53.50

W/HOUSE SURCHARGE SGD 15.00W/M2 = SGD15.00


Anyone has an idea how the process works here? I've done air shipping in europe, where charges were way smaller and I could fill out the forms and pick up my goods myself.

thanks! this is urgent as they claim they will add warehousing fees if i wait.

[beppi]

I guess you thought you'll save by sending by freight forwarder instead of postal mail (which would be delivered free of charge). Sometimes it doesn't pay to be cheap!
But yes, the Singapore freight forwarders and customs agents are an expensive pain in the ass - and there is no apparent way around them!