{"id":4705,"date":"2022-07-14T17:07:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T21:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fmc.gov\/?post_type=article&p=4705"},"modified":"2024-05-29T20:44:04","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T00:44:04","slug":"industry-advisory-interim-procedures-for-submitting-charge-complaints-under-46-u-s-c-%c2%a7-41310","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.fmc.gov\/articles\/industry-advisory-interim-procedures-for-submitting-charge-complaints-under-46-u-s-c-%c2%a7-41310\/","title":{"rendered":"Industry Advisory \u2014 Interim Procedures for Submitting \u201cCharge Complaints\u201d Under 46 U.S.C. \u00a7 41310"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Federal Maritime Commission gives the following guidance for parties wishing to dispute charges assessed by common carriers that they believe may not comply with the <em>Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, <\/em>which became Public Law 117-146 on June 16, 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parties interested in filing such \u201cCharge Complaints\u201d at the Commission may do so by following the below steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Identifying the common carrier<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Identifying the specific alleged violations of 46 U.S.C. \u00a7\u00a7\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uscode.house.gov\/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title46-section41102&num=0&edition=prelim\">41102<\/a>\u00a0and\/or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uscode.house.gov\/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title46-section41104&num=0&edition=prelim\">41104(a)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gathering and submitting supporting documentation, as appropriate, including:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Invoices<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bill of Lading Numbers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Evidence of whether the charge(s) have been paid<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Confirming that the disputed charge was incurred on or after the enactment of P.L. 117-146<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Submitting all relevant materials in one email (if possible) to\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:chargecomplaints@fmc.gov\">chargecomplaints@fmc.gov<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When the Commission receives sufficient information, it will promptly initiate an investigation, which could ultimately result in a civil penalty and order for a refund of charges paid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Investigations by the Commission are for law enforcement purposes and do not constitute representation as attorney for the complainant or a guarantee of refunds. If the filer chooses to pursue and control their own legal case, including with the assistance of their own attorney if desired, they may do so under 46 U.S.C. \u00a7 41301(a) and Part 502 of the Commission\u2019s regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To do so, filers must submit a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fmc.gov\/resources-services\/filing-a-formal-complaint\/\">formal<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fmc.gov\/resources-services\/filing-a-small-claims-complaint\/\">informal<\/a> complaint. Persons may also seek alternative dispute resolution services by contacting the\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fmc.gov\/databases-services\/consumer-affairs-dispute-resolution-services\/\">Office of Consumer Affairs and Dispute Resolution<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This guidance communicates the timely implementation of a self-executing provision of PL 117-146. The Commission reserves the right to amend processes related to \u201cCharge Complaints\u201d at any time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Federal Maritime Commission gives the following guidance for parties wishing to dispute charges assessed by common carriers that they believe may not comply with the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, which became Public Law 117-146 on June 16, 2022. Parties interested in filing such \u201cCharge Complaints\u201d at the Commission may do so by following the [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4705","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","category-industry-advisory"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Industry Advisory \u2014 Interim Procedures for Submitting \u201cCharge Complaints\u201d Under 46 U.S.C. \u00a7 41310 - Federal Maritime Commission<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fmc.gov\/articles\/industry-advisory-interim-procedures-for-submitting-charge-complaints-under-46-u-s-c-\u00a7-41310\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Industry Advisory \u2014 Interim Procedures for Submitting \u201cCharge Complaints\u201d Under 46 U.S.C. \u00a7 41310 - Federal Maritime Commission\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Federal Maritime Commission gives the following guidance for parties wishing to dispute charges assessed by common carriers that they believe may not comply with the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, which became Public Law 117-146 on June 16, 2022. 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