[WARNING] 16 Months Undelivered Balikbayan Box & Charging 2nd Shipping Fee in Manila - RDR Cargo

OCT.2015 PACKAGES STILL UNDELIVERED

Package suppose to be for Christmas

FilipinosOfNY and many Newyorkers are warning Kababayans living in the East Coast to refrain from shipping your Balikbayan boxes to RDR Cargo if you do not want delays and paying another shipping fee when your boxes arrived your delivery address in the Philippines. I have personal experience of undelivered box with RDR. My used tv was picked up last October 20th 2015 by Rommel and up to this date, the tv has NOT yet delivered to the destination. I paid $120+tip for a used 46" tv (see invoice attached). Yes, it's been 16 months of agony. I keep calling but no one is answering their phone. I went to their office in Woodside NY and all I got is the same excuses with their 3rd party trucking company problem in the Philippines. I called my sister in Makati and she told me RDR Manila will not deliver the TV unless we pay another shipping fee. I've heard a lot of complaints with similar stories from our Kababayans in the East Coast. Today, while writing this blog my tv is still undelivered.

Anybody who read this, contact me at erickgomez@msn.com, let us all join together and file a class action lawsuit against this company. I'd been to their office in Woodside Queens more than 20 times and every time I go there I'm hearing complains from walk-in customers and some over the phone and the lady is telling different stories.

Watch ABS-CBN News => https://youtu.be/ndS7iLOmG7Y

Where to file complaints? (NY State)

• Philippine Consulate General
  Telephone: (212) 764-1330
  Fax: (212) 764-6010
  Email: newyork@pcgny.net
• NYPD - Telephone at (212) 825-5959 or 212-3-NYC-DOI;   Fax (212) 825-2504

            Writing a letter or visiting the NYC Department of Investigation
                Address: 80 Maiden Lane, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10038
            Filing a complaint online by clicking here

• NY Attorney General's Office - https://forms.ag.ny.gov/CIS/consumer-complaints.jsp
• BBB - http://www.bbb.org/new-york-city/business-reviews/shipping-masters/rdr-cargo-express-in-woodside-ny-151087
• NYC Consumer Affairs - http://www1.nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/file-complaint.page
• Federal Trade Commission - https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/Information?OrgCode=IRS#crnt&panel1-3

PHILIPPINES - DTI
Ms. Fatima B. Pacampara
Officer-in-Charge, Mediation Division
DTI-Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau
GF UPRC Building, 315 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Makati City
DTI Hotline at 751-3330

RA 7394, The Consumer Act of the Philippines (http://www.dti.gov.ph/contentment/9/63/files/FILE273_001.pdf)

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Pnoy's Good News to OFWs: He Signs Law That Exempts ‘Balikbayan Boxes’ From Taxes Up To P350,000

On INQUIRER last June 1st Wednesday reported of the “BIG GIFT” outgoing President Benigno Aquino III is giving to the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). This happened after the President signed CMTA or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act that raises the tax exemption ceiling from P10,000 to P150,000 and up to P350,000 for gift packages or Balikbayan boxes sent by overseas workers to their families in the Philippines.

According to Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina:

We, at the Bureau of Customs (BOC), are pleased to announce that Republic Act No. 10863, otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), has been approved and signed into law by His Excellency President Benigno Aquino III.

With this law, the BOC will implement several reforms including:

• full electronic processing of shipments,
• streamlining of export and import procedures,
• simplified processes for seizure and disposition of illegal goods

Under this law, OFWs can send up to three P150,000-worth of tax and duty free balikbayan boxes in a year, as long as the goods are not in commercial quantities nor intended for barter, sale or for hire.

Additionally, returning Filipinos will also benefit from this law with the following tax-free ceiling:

• Stayed overseas for 10 years or more – P350,000 tax-free ceiling
• Stayed overseas for 5 years but less than 10 – P250,000 tax-free ceiling
• Stayed overseas for less than 5 years – P150,000 tax-free ceiling

This is really good news for our OFW relatives! However, we hope no one uses this to evade paying taxes.

Sen. Angara thanked the President and said that with this law now effective, our OFWs“can bring home more things to their families. This would bring comfort to their families because they could send home items that they were able to buy at a lower price abroad.”He also expressed his hope that: “With the increase in the values, we lessen the discretion of the customs officials to inspect goods and collect taxes, thus minimizing cases of corruption and smuggling.”

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Balikbayan Box Season in Time for the Holidays

Above is the list of Balikbayan shippers located in FilipinoTown in Woodside NY. We compiled rates for easy comparison of our Kababayans. For not so familiar with Balikbayan box, A balikbayan box (literally "repatriate box") is a corrugated box containing items sent by Filipinos living in United States or other countries outside the Philippines (known as "balikbayans"). Shipped by freight forwarders specializing in Balikbayan boxes by sea cargo. Part of the attraction of the balikbayan box is its economic value, as it allows cheaper bulk shipment of items via sending each individually or in smaller boxes through postal services. The tradeoff though is longer transit time by container ship, which typically requires several weeks, along with the lack of a firm delivery date. The Balikbayan box is a modern manifestation of the general Philippine practice as being family oriented and generosity.

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Informative Video

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What is Balikbayan?

Under the "Balikbayan Program" of the Philippines, the following persons are considered Balikbayans:

• a Filipino citizen who has been continuously out of the Philippines for a period of at least one year from the date of last departure;
• a Filipino Overseas Worker; and
• a former Filipino citizen who had been naturalized in a foreign country and holds a foreign passport (proof of former Philippine citizenship may be required).

Balikbayans are entitled to the following benefits:

• travel tax exemption
• visa-free entry to the Philippines for a period of one year from the date of arrival in the Philippines
• duty-free shopping privileges up to US$1,500.00

Family members (spouse and children) of a Balikbayan who are holding foreign passports are also entitled to Balikbayan privileges, on the condition that they:

• travel with the Balikbayan;
• pay any applicable immigration fees; and
• observe and comply with immigration rules and regulations.

(proof of affiliation may be required)

However, a Balikbayan who has acquired the citizenship of a country that falls under the visa-required nationals category per Philippine visa regulations, or his/her family member whose nationality also falls under the cited category, is not entitled to a Balikbayan privilege and is required to obtain an entry visa to the Philippines.

What is Balikbayan Box?

A balikbayan box (literally return to one’s homeland box) is a ubiquitous corrugated box containing any number of  small items and sent by an overseas Filipino known as a “balikbayan”. Though often shipped by freight forwarders specializing in balikbayan boxes by sea, such boxes can be brought by Filipinos returning to the Philippines by air. These boxes might contain nearly anything that can fit and that the sender thinks the recipient would like, regardless of whether those items can be bought cheaply in the Philippines, such as non-perishable food, toiletries, household items, electronics, toys, designer clothing, or items hard to find in the Philippines. Balikbayan boxes are delivered directly to the recipient, nearly always the family of the overseas Filipino. Another part of the attraction is the cultural expectation that returning travelers will bring gifts to family, friends and colleagues left behind in the Philippines.


The balikbayan boxes come in three standard sizes:[3]
Medium: 18 x 16 x 18 inches
Large: 18 x 18 x 24 inches
Extra large: 24 x 18 x 24 inches

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