If the bill of lading is lost, you can solve it by having the freight forwarder reissue the bill of lading, or by telex release (the consignee does not need the original bill of lading, and can release the goods based on the freight forwarder’s telegram instructions). However, it is more difficult to handle, and the regulations of each shipping company are different, usually depending on the relationship with the exporter. Because reissuing the bill of lading is very risky for the freight forwarder, if there is a false claim or other disputes – such as malicious fraud by the exporter, after delivering the original bill of lading to the customer or bank, falsely claiming that it is lost, and detaining the goods – the freight forwarder will be difficult to escape responsibility.
In particular, if it is a “named bill of lading” (that is, the bill of lading specifies a specific consignee), it is relatively easy to handle, as long as the consignee proves his identity, the telex release can be done, but if it is an “instruction bill of lading” (that is, the bill of lading does not yet specify the consignee, which will be explained in detail in the freight chapter later in this book), it will be troublesome. If the freight forwarder trusts the consignor, then usually a letter of guarantee from the consignor (guaranteeing that all responsibilities arising from the guarantee shall be borne by the consignor himself) can solve the problem; if they are not familiar with each other, the freight forwarder will usually require a guarantee equal to or double the value of the goods when issuing the letter of guarantee, and the guarantee period may even be as long as one year. This will be a heavy burden for the consignor.
There was an example:
An instruction bill of lading was lost after being delivered to the express company. The consignor requested a telex release. The shipping company required the consignor to first provide a statement of loss, then report the case to the public security bureau, obtain the report registration, and declare the original bill of lading invalid in the publication designated by the shipping company, and finally pay a 200% guarantee for the value of the goods. Finally, with the cooperation of both the buyer and the seller, the shipping company finally allowed the exemption of the guarantee because the consignee had a good reputation, but this process was also time-consuming and labor-intensive.
The bill of lading generally has three originals and three copies. Therefore, unless the customer requires a “full set of bills of lading”, try to keep an original bill of lading to avoid the risk of loss.