I wished I never heard of MDM Inc and…
I wished I never heard of MDM Inc and Sequence Pumps. MDM Inc referred me to their distributor, Trome Belgium and Wouter Meeus. Their distributor and shipper failed to rectify a shipping documentation issue, and then Vietnam Customs took exception that MDM Inc had no make and model branded on their Sequence pumps. The delays effectively cost over 30% extra when considering the €2594 purchase and shipping price, the consignment took over 3 ½ months to deliver, and caused a significant amount of stress as I was forced to identify and resolve problems associated with MDM Inc, the supplier and shipper.
Wouter Meeus provided the correct consignee information to their shipper Intertrans, but Intertrans made a mistake when they created the waybill. Wouter Meeus failed to identify the mistake which resulted in the consignment being delayed in Vietnam because there was an issue with the waybill when compared to the shipping documentation.
I resolved the waybill issue, and then Vietnam Customs would not release the Sequence Pumps after their inspection because the labelling on the pumps did not match the shipping documentation. I emailed Ben Ashe, Chief Executive Officer, MDM Inc, seeking his assistance as Wouter Meeus and Intertrans were unable to satisfactorily answer DHL/Vietnam Customs’ concerns as to why the pumps were not branded with the make and model. He replied, advising there should be a metallic sticker on top centre of the pump, and that Trome should make contact with the shipper to amend customs declaration forms. I thanked him for his reply and suggestion, but nothing further happened. There was no further communication from Wouter Meeus, and Vietnam Customs refused to release the pumps. I emailed Ben Ashe multiple times and did not receive a further response.
I was required to personally visit Vietnam Customs and travelled more than 10 hours by bus over 2 days just to be lectured by Vietnam Customs for 10 minutes about the importance of getting shipping documentation correct. If I did not make the journey, I was advised by Intertrans that DHL could consider the consignment abandoned.
When the consignment was finally cleared by Customs, DHL Vietnam claimed an additional USD364 bonded storage fees because of the delay; a delay which was not a result of a mistake I made. They would not deliver the shipment until it was paid. Even though the delays were caused by Trome and Intertrans with the waybill error, and Vietnam Customs not being satisfied that the shipping documentation matched the lack of branding on the pumps.
My experience with Trome, Wouter Meeus and MDM Inc was terrible. As a self-described global distributor, I reasonably expected Wouter Meeus to be able to professionally manage the shipment to Vietnam. I did not expect that once issues became evident, Wouter Meeus and Ben Ashe would effectively disappear and leave me as the end customer to resolve mistakes that were not of my making.