On arrival
A defect that shows up days after unloading
Write to the carrier before you are certain. Damage that was not apparent at handover has to be raised in writing within seven days of delivery under the CMR rules, Sundays and public holidays excepted, and several things that go wrong with citrus take longer than that to become obvious. Waiting for certainty costs the presumption.
The figures
| Written window for damage not apparent | Seven days from delivery, Sundays and public holidays excepted (CMR, article 30.1) |
|---|---|
| How the days are counted | The date of delivery is not included in the period (CMR, article 30.4) |
| Effect of saying nothing | Taking delivery without reservation is prima facie evidence that the goods were received as described in the consignment note (CMR, article 30.1) |
| Limitation period | One year, or three years in case of wilful misconduct (CMR, article 32.1) |
What it changes on an order
You hold stock before selling it
Storage is where latent damage surfaces, and it surfaces after the written window has closed. If your model is to buy and hold, that timing gap is structural and worth planning around rather than discovering.
Your quality check happens weekly
A routine that samples every load on a fixed day has a built in delay of up to a week. Compare that schedule against the written window before a problem makes you compare it.
You want the grower to act as well
Carrier deadlines and packhouse usefulness are different things. A packhouse told in the same week can pull the rest of the batch and look at it. Told a month later, there is nothing left to look at.
What this note does not settle
- This sets out what the carriage rules say about timing. It is not advice on whether to claim, against whom, or with what prospects, and none of it is a legal opinion.
- Carriage deadlines bind the carrier. What you and a seller have agreed between yourselves about quality complaints is a separate matter, governed by your contract.
- We have no agreed complaints window with buyers, because we have no agreed terms of sale yet. That has to be settled before a first order rather than after one.
Source: Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR)
The clock is shorter than the symptom
This is the hardest of these situations, and it is hard for a reason that has nothing to do with anyone acting in bad faith. Damage that was not visible at handover has a short written window in which it has to be raised, and several of the things that go wrong with citrus take longer than that to show. An infection that went in through a wound on the line is invisible on the dock and obvious a week later.
So a buyer who waits until the problem is undeniable has waited past the point where the paperwork helps. The instinct to be sure before complaining is a good instinct in most of commercial life. Here it works against you.
What to do the day you first suspect it
Say something in writing while you are still unsure, and say it as what it is: an early indication, not a claim. Name the consignment, the pallets and the lot codes, describe what you are seeing, and keep the fruit. A note that says you are watching a problem develop costs nothing and preserves a position.
Then let it develop and record it as it goes, with dated photographs of the same boxes rather than a single picture at the end. Two pictures a few days apart are worth more than twenty on one afternoon, because they show a direction. And tell the grower at the same time as the carrier. Whatever the outcome between you and the haulier, a packhouse that hears about a keeping problem in the same week can go and look at the rest of the batch.
Talk to the grower
Tell us the variety, the sizes and the delivery week you need. You get a delivered price and what we can commit to in writing, from the person who picks the fruit.
The grower handles enquiries. Response times are still to be confirmed.