$38k soya-meal vanishes from Byo warehouse
EDIBLE oil processor, United Refineries Limited (URL) company has dragged a bulk storage firm, Bak Logistics, to court for failing to account for $38 900 worth of soya meal stored at its Bulawayo warehouse.
BY SILAS NKALA
URL filed its summons at the Bulawayo High Court on May 16 this year demanding compensation for the lost soya meal.
“Plaintiff’s claim is for an order for payment of the sum of $38 969,50. The said sum is equivalent to plaintiff’ soya meal consignment which was entrusted to the defendant in terms of warehousing agreement and to which the defendant dispatched and failed to inform plaintiff the identity of the recipient thus making it impossible for plaintiff to raise an invoice,” the summons read.
In its declaration of the claim, URL submitted that parties entered into an agreement in terms of which the defendant provided warehousing services for the plaintiff’s goods against payment of rentals.
“It was a term of the said agreement that upon dispatch of the plaintiff’s goods from the defendant’s warehouse, defendant would raise a delivery note based on which the plaintiff would issue an invoice to the recipient of the goods,” the declaration read.
“Defendant dispatched a consignment of plaintiff’s soya meal worth the sum of $38 969,50 and raised a delivery note indicating Sunset Milling as the recipient of the consignment. Plaintiff duly raised an invoice to Sunset Milling who indicated that they did not take delivery of the soya meal but instead received maize.”
URL submitted that it had on numerous occasions enquired from Bak Logistics as to where the soya meal was delivered in order for them to raise an invoice, but the defendant failed, neglected and or refused to provide the information.
“Plaintiff has been unnecessarily dragged to court in order to recover the value of its consignment that was dispatched by the defendant. An order that the defendant pays cost of this suit at an attorney client scale will be proper and just in the circumstances,” URL submitted.
Bak Logistics is yet to respond to the summons.