Terms and conditions

Terms of carriage

Customers are responsible for items packed by them — damaged and breakable goods should be declared by the customer. Customers are liable for all extra customs duties, charges and surcharges that may apply due to the type of commodity being freighted (if unsure, please ask our customer service team for a list of prohibited items). Incidents of loss are thoroughly investigated; MDS carries a maximum insurance cover of £300 per consignment. Claims without evidence will not be considered. Customers with goods of high value are advised to arrange additional third-party insurance.

Delivery time: for air freight we deliver within 7–10 business days (estimated) from flight departure date; for sea freight, within 40 business days from sail date. Delivery times are estimated but usually accurate — unforeseen circumstances may occasionally cause delay.

Electronic products shipment

All electronic products such as TVs, laptops and phones should be declared before shipment, including their value and any relevant purchase documents. MDS Cargo does not assume responsibility for damage to electronic products in transit — customers are advised to seek third-party insurance. We'll negotiate on the replacement of any declared electronic product missing while in our possession, but are not responsible for items damaged in transit. Where an electronic item is damaged in transit, MDS will bear half of the cost of shipping it back to the sender for a possible replacement (provided goods were declared before shipment, a purchase invoice was presented, and our safety recommendations were followed).

Dangerous goods (DG) shipment

Dangerous goods must be handled extremely carefully and declared to MDS Cargo before shipment. The MSDS for any DG item must be forwarded to us two weeks ahead of the intended shipment date. MDS Cargo is not responsible for the shipment of dangerous goods not declared in writing beforehand. Certain conditions stipulated by the United Nations and IATA must be met before dangerous goods are shipped, and DG goods require specialist handling that incurs extra cost, payable by the customer. Goods that must be declared include explosives, gases, flammable liquids and solids, oxidizers and organic peroxides, toxic materials, infectious substances and radioactive materials.

Contraband products

MDS Cargo is not liable for the shipment of contraband, from origin to destination. We're ready to help customers avoid this if declared in advance, but it remains the customer's responsibility to declare contraband items and to check whether goods fall under contraband rules in either the origin or destination country. All contraband goods will be destroyed and the customer banned from using our services; we will also report contraband items to the appropriate authorities as required.

Goods of a fraudulent nature

MDS Cargo does not accept liability for goods purchased or solicited fraudulently and shipped through us. We apply stringent checks to mitigate this — once a shipment is suspected to be linked to fraud, it will be held for investigation, which may involve requesting documents from sender and recipient for verification. Where we're not fully satisfied by our investigation, we'll alert the appropriate local authority.

Goods insurance

MDS Cargo provides a maximum insurance of £300 per consignment for all types of goods freighted on a customer's behalf, for both commercial and personal shipments by air and sea. We encourage customers with high-value goods to arrange third-party insurance — goods are not insured beyond this unless requested.

Goods payment

All goods must be paid for before shipment — we operate a no payment, no shipment policy.

Delivery of goods

Delivery times stated above, or provided by our team through correspondence, are estimated and not guaranteed.