An open letter to Freight Quote and UPS: Please comment

Dear all,

We have copied everybody who appears to have been involved in this contract on this email so that we don't have to reply to everyone individually. We request that you do the same. Also, as we are in Ushuaia, Argentina, we do not have the luxury of making phone calls [per your requests]. We have only a satellite phone, and it is a life-saving piece of equipment required for the expedition, so we request that all communication is via email for now.

In response to all your emails of this morning:

Firstly, we have not contracted separately with anybody, and we are still acting under our original contract. The boats were contracted to arrive in Ushuaia, AR, 5-7 days after pickup in New York City. <Undisclosed Name> of UPS did some trouble shooting of the original order for us [thank you <Undisclosed Name>] and offered to get the boats as close to the contracted destination as he could, knowing that Freight Quote and UPS were not able to meet the terms of the contract.

We, at our own expense, and own inconvenience, agreed to pick up the boats in Punta Arenas [a different country than contracted, but the closest <Undisclosed Name> could get them] and arrange transportation to Ushuaia [from Punta Arenas] by ourselves, picking up the cost of the move from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia.

The UPS web site [see two attachments] does not reflect – at time of emailing – that the boats are in Santiago, and this is a source of confusion for us. The only information we have been able to base our decision making on, is the information you have provided to us, and the information available on the UPS web site. If what you are saying is correct, and the boats are in Santiago, then the information on the UPS web site is out of date.

Please reply to this email, with a confirmation of both boats locations, and a confirmation of the flight number and date that was used to transport each boat. Also, please update the UPS web site so that the boat’s location is documented.

If the boats arrive in Punta Arenas in 2 days, you will still be in breach of contract as they will be 400 miles short of the contracted destination and they will be late.

That said, know the following:

We have every email you have ever sent us. Also know, that we have provided them – along with all contracts and shipping documents – to a shipping and transportation lawyer. That lawyer advises us that companies involved are – very clearly – in breach of contract in at least four areas.

As their closing statement our lawyer notes that [sic] "When you are back in NYC, any lawyer could eat the lot of them for breakfast."

We have emails from Freight Quote, apologizing for this shipment. Again I quote [sic] "I know this will never suffice for all the trouble you have gone through on this but I still want to apologize. I take this very personal and certainly wish this would not have transpired this way."

Here is the deal.

1. We will consider this matter resolved if our boats are in either of Punta Arenas or Ushuaia on Wednesday December 23rd 2009 under the terms of the existing contract [<Undisclosed Name> indicates they can be in Punta Arenas in 2 days from today]. Note, that we know we are responsible for payment of duties at the final destination and we will complete customs clearance. However, Santiago is not the final destination. The final destination is one of Punta Arenas, CL or Ushuaia, AR [per the emails you have sent us]. Other handling fees originating in Santiago (2 x $85 + IVA) should be covered under Freight Quotes UPS SCS # as confirmed on Friday, in writing, by both Freight Quote and UPS.

2. We will consider this matter on hold pending legal action if you choose to return the boats to the origin.

3. For any other outcome, we will continue to seek legal advice.

This is an open letter that we will forward by mail, today, to the CEOs of both Freight Quote and UPS. We will also publish it on our expedition web site and blog [www.tierradelfuego2010.com and www.tierradelfuego2010.blogspot.com]. Know that we will also publish your responses, and the eventual outcome to this matter.

Please let us know as soon as possible, what you choose to do.

Thank you

Marcus Demuth [3015105621]

Elizabeth Wruszek [3015009360]