Chapter 10 Claims and Settlement,10.1 Background Information If a complaint or claim has to be made by the buyer, the matter should be investigated and these details should be laid before the party charged. Sometimes, a reference to the previously satisfactory deliveries and services may help to win more sympathetic consideration of the present complaint or claim. Each party shall appoint an arbitrator within 30 days after receipt of notification from the opposite party and two arbitrators thus appointed shall jointly nominate a third person as an umpire to form an Arbitration Committee. In China, the arbitration is conducted by the Arbitration Committee of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in accordance with the Provisional Rules of procedures promulgated by the said Arbitration Committee. The decision of the Arbitration Committee shall be accepted as final and binding upon both parties; neither party shall seek recourse to a law court or other authorities to appeal for revision of the decision. Arbitration expenses shall be borne by the losing party.,10.2 Situational Conversation Section 1: Claim (1) B=Brown; W=Wang W: Hello, Mr. Brown, how are you? It is nice to see you again. B: How are you, Mrs. Wang? It certainly is a pleasure to see you again here. I hope you had an enjoyable trip from London. W: The flight was really long, but it was comfortable so I do not feel very tired. B: I am glad that you had a pleasant trip. I hope you are comfortably settled and find things at the hotel satisfactory. W: Everything is perfect, thank you. Well, now, Mr. Brown, if you dont mind, Ill get to the point. B: Okay. You want to take up the subject of the arbutus, dont you? W: Thats right. You see, Mr. Brown, you have probably been advised of the serious damage done to the last consignment of 60 cases of arbutus. Upon its arrival in London on board the S.S. Cornea, it was found, much to our regret, that about 50% of the cases were leaking. Closer inspection by the Health Officers showed that the contents were considered unfit for human consumption.,B: Just a minute, if you please, Mrs. Wang. Have your people in London discovered what were the exact causes of the leakage? It was rather a singular case, for thousands of tons of this product have been exported and this seems to be the only case of a shipment being damaged en route. W: I am sorry I have to say it was not en route. It was definitely damaged prior to loading onto the S.S. Cornea. You may think it a singular case, yet the fact remains that this has made it necessary for us to file a claim on you. Here, Mr. Brown, I have brought along with me the certificate issued by the London Health Office. It speaks for itself. As to the causes, closer inspection and examination by our cargo-handling people revealed that the leakage of juice was brought about damaged tins. They were evidently broken through careless handling while being loaded onto the ships hold in Sydney dock. B: As I have said before, the whole business is most unfortunate. We have never come across such a case of damage during loading.,W: I have to remind you that our terms are CIF port of London. While we have full confidence in your Commodities Inspection Bureau, this is a case that occurred after their sampling and analysis at the factory. And the broken tins through careless handling and deterioration of the contents en route brought about this state of affairs. Now, Mr. Brown, you are well aware that our business has just started this branch of activities and the loses thus sustained will be a blow to this department. I am sure you will think it fair on our part when we suggest that the total value of the parcel should be reduced by 50% and that you should give us an allowance by way of credit for the amount to be set against our future purchases of canned fruits from you. B: To be fair to your company, I am directed by my Sydney branch to settle this issue with you amicably on the condition that you give us a certificate issued by your Health Department. Now that this is available, I think everything will be in order. W: I am so glad to hear of your ready agreement. Your fairness in business dealing is unsurpassed. Shall we send you a letter confirming this?,B: As soon as you send us a letter confirming this conversation, well send you a reply immediately. W: Thanks ever so much for your cooperation, Mr. Brown. Goodbye. B: Goodbye. Section 2: Claim (2) W: Mr. Brown, Id like to talk with you about something that is getting to be a problem. Id like, if possible, to see it settled at this meeting. B: What is it, Mrs. Wang? W: Its about the quality of 300 cartons of dried mushrooms. They reached us two weeks ago, and were immediately examined after they arrived. To our astonishment, about 20% of them were moldy and in many cartons there were even small brownish bugs crawling in and out of the half-eaten mushrooms. We cannot accept them in this state. They are unfit