www.bifa.org


Robert Keen’s Column


BIFAlink


BIFAlink is the official magazine of the British International Freight Association Redfern House, Browells Lane, Feltham TW13 7EP Tel: 020 8844 2266 Web site: www.bifa.org E-mail: bifa@bifa.org (A company limited by guarantee. Registered in England: 391973. VAT Registration: 216476363)


Director General Robert Keen r.keen@bifa.org Executive Director Robert Windsor r.windsor@bifa.org Executive Director Spencer Stevenson s.stevenson@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Advisor Mike Jones m.jones@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Advisor Pawel Jarza p.jarza@bifa.org Training Development Manager Carl Hobbis c.hobbis@bifa.org Editorial Co-ordinator Sharon Hammond s.hammond@bifa.org


Published by Park Lane Publishing peter@parklanepublishingltd.com Contributors Robert Keen, Robert Windsor, Mike Jones, Spencer Stevenson, Carl Hobbis, Sharon Hammond, Pawel Jarza


Regional Consultants to BIFA Scotland and the Borders Len Hobbs: bifa.scot@gmail.com Northern Ireland Carson McMullan: carsonconluce@aol.com Midlands and the North Paul Young: youngyes@aol.com London West and the South West Mike Jones: m.jones@bifa.org


Anglia, London East and the South East Paul Newman: paul@pnauk.com


Please be advised that BIFA DOES NOT OFFER LEGAL ADVICE. BIFA is not a law firm and the authors of this publication are not legally qualified and do not have any legal training. The guidance and assistance set out herein are based on BIFA’s own experience with the issues concerned and should not be in any circumstances regarded or relied upon as legal advice. It is strongly recommended that anyone considering further action based on the information contained in this publication should seek the advice of a qualified professional.


July 2019


The importance of making correct usage of BIFA’s STC


Why do firms join BIFA? There are many reasons but the prime one is to have the protection of the BIFA Standard Trading Conditions (STC). It became apparent at our recent Legal Policy Group meeting that in some of the court cases that were discussed, the BIFA Member could not evidence that the STC had been properly incorporated. The crux of any contractual dispute is to be able to demonstrate that the customer was aware that the BIFA STC applied and we cannot stress strongly enough that all BIFA Members should have procedures in place to ensure provable incorporation.


However, on some rare occasions the STC are in place and a decision goes against the BIFA Member in a County Court. Occasionally a BIFA Member will use the County


Court system for payment of charges due, or may receive a summons from a customer to appear over a claim. Whilst there are many times when a BIFA Member can represent itself successfully, it is worth considering using a solicitor if the amount at stake is high. A recent case we were informed about seemed quite straightforward. The BIFA Member had completed the job according to the contract and had informed the customer of extra costs due to inaccurate dimensions being provided. However, the customer claim went against the Member.


County Court judges will hear a variety of cases in a day, from a house repossession to neighbours arguing


over an extension. They may have limited business experience, hence the need to tread carefully. County Court judges can make emotional decisions based on the demeanour of who is in front of them. In the recent case the judge professed not to know much about logistics but said the quote should have stated that a rate could change if the cargo was different than stated by the customer. Obviously, the judge was wrong as the STC were incorporated, giving the BIFA Member indemnities from the customer in such circumstances. But with the County Court, you get little room to argue once the judge starts to form a personal opinion. Representation from a solicitor for a few hundred pounds can be money well spent.


I would be interested to hear from BIFA Members that use the FIATA Multimodal Bill of Lading (FBL), as FIATA


is considering introducing an online, blockchain solution rather than the provision of paper documents. Naturally the cost of using such a system would be more than the current paper-based system, and I would like BIFA Members’ opinions on the worth of an electronic system compared with their business requirements and reasons for using FIATA FBLs.


Another month of media headlines about disruptors, digital logistics companies and the brave new world of


shipping without traditional forwarders. Meanwhile, BIFA Members continue to adapt to the changing world as they always have done. A recent headline trumpeted that almost 50% of shippers had used an online portal, so the end was nigh. Of course, if three shippers had been asked and only one had used an online portal, then that is nearly 50%. You can prove anything with statistics!


Finally, it was sad to hear of the passing of Harry Tapner, another of the great names from the past at


Heathrow. Harry was very helpful to me when cargo at Heathrow suffered a major problem with the Travicom system crashing, putting us back to manual entry fallback in the 1980s. A really nice man whose history from being an RAF Spitfire pilot to being one of the shaping forces of cargo at Heathrow deserves a fitting tribute, so thanks to our friends at ASM for drafting the obituary on page 6.


Robert Keen Director General


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