Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Problems with Highveld Taxidermists/Oxi Logistic in South Africa

I want to post about my very good friend's problems with the shipping of his trophies from South Africa after they were mounted and now the companies don't want to take responsibility. He was supposed to have insurance on everything. I copying his post from another forum below, these are his words and explanation:
I would like to share the experience after my hunt. Close to one and half year I posted a report on how great my trip had been and the wonderful trophies I was able to get with Cruiser Safaris. They are a top notch outfitter with outstanding trophies, and this report is not in any way directed to them. The problem I'm having is with Highveld Taxidermists and their affiliated company Oxi Logistics.

Now, let me tell my experience with Highveld Taxidermists/Oxi Logistic. This is where my nightmare starts. After waiting for what seemed forever, my trophies finally arrived, to my horror I noticed that the crate is all busted up. I think, no worries, I have insurance. Not so much, this is where my nightmare turns ugly. The shipper Oxi Logistics tells me that my insurance coverage was only while my trophies where in transit and arrived in the US and not the final destination my house. First of all I was never given the option to change or upgrade my insurance coverage, or informed of what was covered and what was not covered. The invoice had insurance coverage and I was told it was for replacement cost. As of yet, and many request, I have not seen or have been provided a copy of my insurance certificate by Oxi, which leads me to believe that I never had insurance to beggin with.

I've been in a constant argument with Oxi Logistic, and the bottom line is that they are refusing to accept my claim for the repair of my m0unts. Oxi's suggestion was for me to ship my trophies back to SA and Highveld Taxidermists would fix them for free. Meanwhile, this would end up costing me over $5,000.00 in transportation fees, customs fees, import/export fees, etc, etc. Which I could use that money to get them fix here in the US, and why should I have to pay out of my pocket when supposedly I had insurance.

I know there are a lot of hunters that had their mounts done and shipped by Highveld Taxidermists and Oxi Logistics without any issues, but the true colors and the honesty of companies come out with issues like mine.

I paid some good money to Highveld Taxidermists/Oxi Logistics, and now I have a Kudu with a busted mouth, an Impala with a broken ear and broken neck, a Wildebeest with discoloration on his nose and a Zulu shield with gouges and scratches all over. All this would have been solved if I would have been given the option to change/upgrade the insurance coverage, or if my broker would have been made aware of the insurance limitations. I've paid a lot for this safari and for mounting these trophies, so another $100-300 would not have been an issue.

Here are some pictures so you guys can get an idea of what I'm dealing with:
NOTE: My friend had pictures in the other forum but I could not get the pictures to copy in. The damage is bad and is a bummer for the memories of his hunt and the cost he paid for the mounts. I just wanted to get this out so it might save someone else a lot of trouble. Going to Africa costs a lot of money and having your trophies damaged is a shame and kind of leaves a bitter taste from the trip. Such beautiful animals I hate if for him. He is working every means to get this taken care of but so far he has had no luck. The people in SA don't seem to care. Good luck with your African hunts and be careful with your trophies.

This is in total disagreement with the experience I had with both these outfits. My trophies arrived in perfect shape, other than the Kudu horns being discolored as has been discussed elsewhere here. My dealings with Highveld and Oxi Logistics were above board and fair. I am sorry your friend has had such an experience.
I will forward this thread link to those I know in SA and perhaps your friend can get help.

This is exactly why I didn't leave my game w/Highveld taxidermy. Your insurer has come up with a side step bullchit line to get out of paying the claim(doesn't surprise me).

Have you contacted Peter from Cruiser? Not his fault, though he does send a ton of business to Highvelds & should be informed about the damage. Did the crates look poorly built?

All is rosy until something goes wrong over there -- sorry your friend has found out what "no recourse" means. Buy American.

From what I read on the other forum and his account there, he says that they were damaged AFTER arriving by air in the US...i.e. by the trucking company...so I don't see how Highveld or
Oxi have any liability here...with the insurance coverage, maybe...but I was offered and took higher amounts for mine.at minimal cost..and I went to Atlanta and picked my crate up from Delta directly. No chance for a trucking company to beat it up.
Like I said above, these comments have been sent to all in SA that I have contact information for ...lets see if he gets any help....

Thanks for the comments and forwarding of his issue to SA. That is true that the damage was done by the trucking company. He thought through his talks with Highveld/Oxi that he had bought insurance to his door. He cannot even get a copy of the insurance document to look at it. So that is making him wonder the money he paid for insurance was even used to buy insurance. He is talking to everbody he can to work this out. Highveld/Oxi have not been any help and though it is not their fault they should provide him a copy of the insurance he paid for. He is working with the trucking company to have them paid for the damage. I just wanted to alert people to buy insurance to your door and to try and make sure you have proof of insurance. He loved the guide and his company that he hunted with. No problems with them at all, he would hunt with them again. Thanks for the help and it is true, it is hard to deal with an issue or problem with a company in another country.

Here is a link to his post on the Weatherby.com forum if you want to read it. He has posted more details and you can see the pictures. The crate was built okay, I have seen it in his garage. He is keeping it in case one of the companies want to exam it. It was not built poorly and it was not built overly strong. Here is the link to Weatherby.com:
http://www.weatherbynation.com/spikecamp/conversation/1/11499/13/#msg103526
Please copy and paste, I don't know how to make it hot.

It seems to me the trucking company responsible and if legit, should also have insurance. I'd be after them too, if he hasn't been. This is why I had my hides tanned and horns, etc. cleaned and ready to ship. Have the taxidermy work done here.

Sorry to hear about this experience, I know that Highveld do some really great work (been there a couple of times) but as Ghost says, in the long run it is probably safer & possibly more cost effective to have your trophies dipped & prepped in RSA then mounted back stateside. I would look to the trucking company for answers!

It reads to me like the blame lies directly with the trucking company here in the US. Apparently that is who he is going after for damages.

Care to share the name of that company?

Did your friend use an import broker here in the States?

Who recommended the US trucking company?

Who hired the trucking company here in the States?

Did the US trucking company recommend insurance?

It reads to me like the blame lies directly with the trucking company here in the US. Apparently that is who he is going after for damages.

Care to share the name of that company?

Did your friend use an import broker here in the States?

Who recommended the US trucking company?

Who hired the trucking company here in the States?

Did the US trucking company recommend insurance?

You guys are scaring the crap out of me and making me rethink my decision to hunt Africa this summer. I am hunting with Cruiser in August, and had been planning on going with Highveld, just for the sake of convenience. Between the nightmare & horror stories I've read with regards to: bad taxidermy, bad dip/pack, bad flights, hassles with firearms, damaged firearms/gun cases, poor outfitters, corrupt SAP, crime, hassles with the USFWS, brokers, shippers, etc,........it makes me wonder if I'm setting myself up for nothing but a disappointing and expensive trip.
With all that's riding on this, I've signed up on several websites/forums re: Africa and hunting in Africa,and it seems like every day someone posts about some problem with something....I went to these sites to gain information and to try and become knowledgable, but it seems that for every post that says "do your taxidermy here" there is someone else who has a horror story about how their hides weren't salted correctly and ruined when they where finally shipped, if they were shipped at all, etc. Or, for gun cases.....post the question "which is a good airline case?"; a certain number will say "get brand X" to which an equal number will reply "Don't buy that brand, it's crap,.....get brand Y", to which another handful will reply "They are both crap; get brand Z".......I have never been so confused, concerned, and full of angst about a trip in my life!

Sorry if I hijacked the thread..........not really my intention.

Does anybody go to Africa and actually have a good time, without any hassles?

Go. You will have a great time. I hunted with Cruiser in 2010 and I used Highveld (dip and pack only) and had no problems. My buddy had all his animals mounted over there and he got his just fine too. Sorry about Fryebaby's friend, but most of the time things go ok.

+1, The issue has nothing to do with the outfitter. I've hunted w/cruiser & like Afterum said, it'll be a good time.

yep, and Stoney barely had a rifle!

I've hunted with Cruiser too. Fear nothing with them. I also had great experiences with Highveld/Oxi, other than the timeline it takes to get your stuff to the states...this is just an unfortunate situation and hopefully a rare case.

I would recommend though, that you pay to rent a rifle at Cruiser. Between extra baggage fees, importation fees, gun cases, firearms control and everything else, it is just easier to rent a rifle. That is unless, you're doing a review or writing an article on a specific rifle/load/whatever.

16gauge, my friend had no problem with Cruiser. He and his wife had a great time and great hunting. None of this is Cruiser's fault. He highly recommends Cruiser. Just buy insurance and try to have a copy of it and read what it covers. Try to get insurance all the way to your front door if that is possible. You will have a great time on your hunt. Just do your best to make sure your trophies are taken care of and that is all you can do. You can't worry about everything (I am the same way, I worry to much.) Have a great hunt 16gauge, it will be a trip and memories that you will never forget.

Yes.....don't get caught up in internet drama.

Sorry it took us so long to give you an official reply from Highveld Taxidermists- we had to wait for our registration to be approved.

As the owner of Highveld Taxidermists, I tried my utmost to help the client, Oscar Lopez, who I had extensive correspondence with. As Highveld, we offered to repair all the trophies that were damaged free of charge, even though this was not our duty. In addition, the Zulu shield that we made for Oscar, can not be repaired in the US, so I suggested the shipment come back to us at the clearing company's cost.

A quick summary of facts:
- The client paid us for the taxidermy services and Oxi Logistics for sending the trophies to Safari Specialty Importers (against our advice) in New York.
- Safari Specialty Importers was paid to clear and send the trophies on to his home.
- The damage occurred between New York and the clients home while being trucked.

I don't believe it's fair to expect Highveld or Oxi to pay for damage that occurred while the trophies were in the care of a 3rd party that was independently paid for that service. While this fact is also stated in our Terms and conditions, it would be logical to pursue either Safari Specialty Importers or the Trucking company directly.

No complaints. I even used a Tuffpak rifle case. My trophies aren't even to the taxidermist yet, but I have an expediter that will get them from the taxidermist to my door, so I don't anticipate any problems.

Hello everyone, and I apologize for my first post being a reply to highveld.

I'm the one with the issue, and I appreciate Fryebaby post.

I did not have any issues with Cruiser Safaris, and had a great time with them, and was able to harvest some awesome trophies.

16gauge, go with Cruiser and enjoy the trip. I shipped two rifles with me, and had no issues. The forms are easy to filled out, and as long as you have a customs form from here showing that you own the rifle(s), you'll have no issues when you come back with your rifles. Stay in touch with Cruiser Bob, and he should help you filling out your forms. I would consider having your trophies done in the US. Go to Africa Hunting and read up on taxidermist, and you'll see most will tell you to bring your trophies to the US.

I'm going to reply highveld:

I'm going to make this very clear, and again ask you, where is the copy of the insurance certificate for the insurance I paid Oxi. I have repeatedly asked you to please provide a copy of the insurance certificate, and my request has fallen on deaf ears. I have not blamed you for the damages, and all I've asked is for the insurance I paid for to pay up. That is why people buy insurance, right??? Also, if the coverage of my insurance was limited, like you claim. Why, I was never told of this limited coverage? Why I was not given the option to change/upgrade the insurance coverage? All these questions you have avoid answering, and you continue to not address on any of your e-mails.

If you carefully read my e-mail, you'll read that I make mention of your offer.

This is not about who did what, this issue is about insurance coverage I paid for, and for you as my shipper not protecting your client and providing the information I've asked you.

I'm going to ask again, and maybe now that we are in a public forum you'll provide what I'm asking for:

1. Where is the copy of the insurance certificate for the insurance I purchase?
2. Why my broker and I were never told of the limited insurance coverage? According to your bill, I paid for full replacement value.
3. Why my broker and I were never given the option to change/upgrade my insurance coverage?

No insurance certificate = no insurance. The fact that I was not informed of what my coverage was, falls on you as the shipper. I was a freight forwarder, and we took care of our clients by giving them the options to purchase as much or as little insurance as they wanted. This is something your company Oxi failed to provide me. Maybe its my fault for placing so much trust on your company. However, this is one mistake I'm not planning on making again.

p.s. Oh, so you claimed that you advised me against using Safari Specialty Importers, but you didn't advised me on the insurance limitation? hummm, I'm sorry sir, but I think you have me confused with another customer, because you clearly didn't do any of the two.

The quotation from Oxi Logistics always contains the attachment explaining, in detail, the insurance process and I have attached a link to the pdf below. As you can see, the first paragraph clearly states the condition of insurance, so if you had taken the time just to read the first 6 lines, we would not be having this discussion:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32441294/Insurance-%20Oxi%20Logistics%20%283%29.pdf

We use the Quotient App for all of our quotes, so I have independent proof that you received this .pdf with your quotation before you paid any money to Oxi Logistics.

The insurance certificate is thus a moot point and I don't think it will will benefit anyone in this forum to flog this dead horse any further.

As said before, I cannot understand why you are not pursuing the company actually responsible for the damage with as much vigour as your have shown with us. It is, of course, always easy to blame the Africans, but we run a professional outfit and have many satisfied clients that will vouch for us.

Any business has rules and terms. If you do not read these, there is unfortunately nothing that anyone can do to help you. If you had pushed your claim with the clearing agent that was transporting your trophies at the time of damage, I would already be repairing the trophies for you right now.

That offer still stands and there are no hard feelings from our side.

You have no idea what I'm doing with the other company. However, the big difference between a reputable company and you, is that they are not giving me the run around or putting up excuses and not providing proof for something I paid for. Maybe you should accept responsibility for your actions, which it's clear you are not by you giving me the run around with my request.

Really, why do you think me asking for proof of insurance is a "moot point". If you didn't have anything to hide, you would have provided me with a copy of the insurance certificate, which you continue to ignore my request and not provide what I'm asking for, which I think I'm entitled since I paid for it.

Of course you have no hard feelings, you've been paid for a service, and I've been left out to dry with damaged goods. Reverse the situation, and if you were the one who paid for a service, and I guarantee you would be fighting for the service you paid for.

BTW, your link doesn't work.

Bump!

I'm curious, PARA45. What does Safari Specialty Importers say about this? Are they trying to punt the ball back to Highveld?

And I too am curious PARA45: what does the trucking company here in the US, that did the damage, have to say about making you happy?

SSI is working with me and they are trying to get this fix. It�s not a matter of punting or blaming Highveld/Oxi, it is what Oxi did that it�s in question here. I paid for insurance to Oxi Logistics and Oxi Logistics did not buy insurance for my shipment, they pocket the money. Oxi Logistics has not provided proof of insurance to me, which equals to no insurance. Without knowing who is the insurance company I cannot ask or file a claim with them. Oxi have given me bogus excuses and continues to avoid providing proof that I did have insurance. Like I�ve said many time on my post, if my coverage was only to the first port of entry (which is BS, I was a freight forwarder and I know better), why didn�t Oxi inform me or my broker of this "clause"? This is their excuse because there was never any insurance coverage purchased.

Safari Specialty Importer filed a claim with the trucking company, and its being worked. However, the trucking company has Insurance limitation on Taxidermy products and values of such, and most likely I will not get the full value to repair these mounts. I also have a Zulu shield that is damaged as well, and no one in the US wants to give me a quote because no one wants to fix it. Most likely I�ll end up suing them.
All this would have been prevented if Oxi Logistics would have purchased insurance like they claimed they did.

This makes me not want to get any taxidermy work done.

Eric

Eric, just bring your stuff to the US to get them done here. If you buy insurance, make sure you know for how much; and get the insurance to the final destination. Also, make sure you get copies of the certificate, and get it all in writting. I trusted these people and look where I'm at.

For those who were wondering what the trucking company ESTES was doing. Well, after many months of waiting, ESTES finally came back with their reply on my claim. To say the least this is BS and flat out criminal that after their negligence all they can come up is $42.10 for all the damages that they did! Here is their response, and hope every hunter in this forum has learned something from my ordeal. Is there a lawyer in the house? I don't know if it's worthwhile or not to take them to small claims court? I'm furious to say the least! Thanks all for listening.


"After a review of the contract with Estes Express, our legal dept has concluded that Estes’ Rules Tariff does apply. I sincerely apologize, however, their maximum liability for taxidermy items is $0.10 per pound, which will result in a payment of $42.10 ($0.10 X 421 lbs). I am waiting for Estes to advise when the payment will be issued.
I truly wish we there was another route, but the contract in this case determines their legal liability in the matter.
My sincerest apologies,

Wendy Meuse, CCPClaims Manager | Capital Transportation Solutions LLC1915 Vaughn Road, Kennesaw, GA 30144
office: 770-690-8684 ext. 2303
email: wmeuseshipwithcts.com
web: www.shipwithcts.com"

As far as having taxidermy done in the U.S.A. goes, I did that the first time. It took about 3 YEARS to get my mounts. The next time I had the work done in South Africa; about 1 year after they had the capes, etc., my mounts were in my driveway and looked better than the ones done by my U.S.A. taxidermist and at less cost.

As far as insurance goes, I've had no issues with damage yet. I will have another shipment coming in the near future and, after reading this thread, I ask the U.S.A. clearing agent about the insurance issue. She said that the insurance was supposed to be from "door to door." I will, of course, ask the same question of the South African shipping company.

One other thing. Some outfitters get no kickback from the taxidermist and some do. My advice would be to independently research taxidermists and make your own decision. Don't be pressured into using a particular taxidermist. I have no problem with the outfitter getting a kickback from the taxidermist as long as I'm not getting ripped off with shipping prices and the work is done well at a reasonable price.

Here is the reply from Cruiser Safaris concerning my problem. I'ts a shame that such a great experience can get screwed up so easily. I was planning on going back to SA in 2016 to hunt with Cruiser Safaris, but after this experience, I'll never spent a penny of my hard earned money with Cruiser, and if they continue to use Highveld, I will never recommend them to anyone. It's a shame that it all had to end this way. I got screwed by Highveld/Oxi Logistics & ESTES trucking.

"Dear Oscar,
Pieter and I are aware of your situation but have not got involved through email as we felt that this was an issue that could only be handled by Highveld and Oxi. We have been in communications with Thomas and the path that he was following seemed to be the appropriate course of action.
We have given our input to him concerning a Cruiser client but I just don't know what else we can do. As is the norm in the safari industry the outfitter must have one company that they use as it would be a nightmare to have several companies for the client to choose from for their taxidermy. I want to let you know that we have both spent considerable time in research on choosing a company and we determined that Highveld Taxidermy would be the best for our clients.
In regard to you problem I talked to Thomas directly and he said that you chose your own customs broker. Normally the transportation company assigns one that they know will be able to complete your shipment to our high standards. Because of this factor Oxi did not get involved in any way for the shipment after it reached the US. This was handled by your customs broker. Thus Oxi can not provide insurance for your shipment beyond it reaching the US. My personal feeling is that your complaint should be directed to your customs broker and the trucking company that she assigned.
It appears that Highveld & Oxi delivered your trophies safely to the destination that they were contracted for.
Sincerely,
Bob
Cruiser Safaris"

Here is a follow up to this nightmare. My broker (Safari Specialty Importers, Inc) has been heavily engaged with ESTES, and they accomplished the impossible. ESTES has admitted and taken responsibility for the damages done to my trophies, and have decided to pay up for the damages. Granted, I'm not getting the full amount of what it will cost to repair the mounts, but I'm getting something. The way I see it, is the difference between a reputable honest company vs one that is not. I don't know if the threat of going to court or placing negative comments about their company on the internet had anything to do with it, but I want to say that it did.

Thank you ESTES! Maybe Oxi should learn from your honest practices.

That is great news. Finally someone with some cahones' stepped up to the plate. I'd make sure everyone who asks a question about shipping trophies home from SA knows exactly who NOT to use......Oxi/Highveld.

Para45, nice to see some measure of resolution here!

Eric

Thank you JG & Eric, I appreciate your comments. It's a small victory, and I hope that with all the different post, I can expose them and prevent future clients from getting ripped off and lose thousands of Dollars in damages like what I went through.

Somehow during all this ordeal, I failed to mentioned that without the help and constant engagement of Safari Specialty Importers, Inc, I don't think I would have seen a Penny from ESTES. They are a top business, and never gave up on doing what they think was right to fix my damaged trophies. Thank you Rosella!!!!!!

Thank you Oscar....The whole situation stems from who is really protecting the hunter's interest with so many moving parts starting with the hunt to finally the exporting and importing of the trophies harvested. Until we started SSI, there was no company who legally stepped into the shoes of the hunter to take over their responsibility for exporting & importing matters. In your case, the decisions were already made and we worked through Highveld and Oxi and proved our position that some companies just don't care. Period. Still today, we have no copy of the insurance certificate they claim to have covered your shipment. After the damage, they claimed the coverage was only to the port of arrival and not the norm of final trophy destination known to be a fact in the freight forwarding business worldwide. Estes tucking was bound by federal regulation for the limited coverage of $42, however, we presented the facts of what happened directly to Mr. Estes himself and through his executive team, made the decision to reimburse 90% of the damage. When we say we put ourselves in the shoes of the hunter, this is what we mean and we are happy that it worked out to help a bit with your loss. Going forward, we have now extended our services to include door to door insurance for our clients in order that we never have to rely on any insurance company overseas again....

We are very happy with Highveld/Oxi. The taxidermy work was first class. Taxi cost were reasonable. Shipping communications was good.

7 hunters, 75 mounts, 2 years. Long wait but due to the number of animals it is to be expected.

Being a transportation specialist for nearly 40 years it was obvious to me Oxi knows what they are doing.

The problem is customers making assumptions of responsibilities/liabilities. Read the details. Don't assume anything. Everything in writting.

Yeah, it's easy for you to say because your stuff got in intact. If you would have had any issues with your shipment, and you filed a claim just to find out that you had purchased partial insurance, and not given an option by the shipper. You would have been singing a different tune!

Did you see my pictures? Can you honestly say that the work done on my Impala is first class? That is a pi$$ poor job, and it looks almost like if an apprentice did that work.

You are absolutely correct about ASSumptions! That is why I'm making sure every hunter out there knows what they are getting, and to get everything in writing and not to trust their shipper, because after all, once they are paid, you are no longer of any value to them! As it was evident with my experience!

I have typed this 3 times and Firefox keeps crashing.

The short story is all trucks on the road have at least $100K cargo insurance. When you pay extra for insurance (be it UPS or ESTES...) you are covering their deducible.

Glad ESTES stepped up to the plate for you.