The term is right, the documents are not: seven conflicts

Most term disputes we are asked to settle are not about the term at all. The contract says FOB, everyone agrees it says FOB, and then the documents describe something else. These are the seven conflicts that come up most often, in the order they usually surface.

Q1. Under FOB, who goes in the consignee box?

FOB means the buyer contracts the carriage, so the buyer is normally the consignee or the notify party, and the bill is issued to the buyer's order. Sellers who insist on "to order of shipper" under FOB are protecting a control they no longer have: the goods are at the buyer's risk once on board, and the buyer has paid for the freight. If payment security is the real concern, that belongs in the payment terms, not in the consignee box.

Q2. The credit asks for "freight prepaid" but the term is FOB. Which one changes?

The credit. A letter of credit must be consistent with itself, not with the contract; if it demands a freight-prepaid bill on FOB terms, the document cannot be produced honestly. Ask for an amendment, or price the carriage into the goods and change the term to CFR. Do not ask the carrier to mark a collect bill as prepaid — that is a misdescription, and it is the seller who signs it.

Q3. Does the invoice amount include freight?

Under CIF and CFR the invoice includes freight, and the customs value at destination is built from that invoice minus the international freight and insurance after declaration. Under FOB the invoice excludes it. Two invoices for the same goods, one FOB and one CIF, are not the same number — and mixing them in one file is the fastest way to a valuation query.

Q4. Must the certificate of origin match the term?

It must not contradict it. The origin certificate describes transport and origin, not price delivery. Where a form asks for the transport details, use what actually happened: port of loading, vessel, destination. What breaks a claim is a certificate issued for a different route or a different consignee than the one on the bill.

Q5. The description on the bill differs from the invoice. Does it matter?

It matters at both ends. Customs compares description, quantity and value across the bill, invoice and packing list; a bill that says "parts" where the invoice says "aluminium brackets" invites a question. Keep the goods description consistent enough to be recognisable, and put detail in the invoice where it belongs.

Q6. Under DDP, the forwarder is the consignee. How does the seller keep control?

It does not, in the documentary sense — under DDP the seller is the importer, the goods are delivered to the buyer's door, and the bill is often issued to the forwarder as consignee so that clearance can happen. Control therefore has to come from somewhere else: payment before dispatch, a delivery receipt signed at the door, or a different term. This is the single most common structural complaint we hear about DDP.

Q7. Telex release or original bill?

Original bills give the holder control at destination and cost time in courier. Telex release is faster and is normal for DDP and for repeat buyers. The rule is simple: whoever pays for the goods decides how much documentary control they need. Agree it before the vessel sails, because changing it after arrival costs a release fee and a delay.

Before the documents are issued, send us the term, the credit text and the draft bill on WhatsApp. We will point out where they contradict each other, while the fix still costs a phone call rather than an amendment fee.