Terms & conditions

These terms govern your use of this website, the Compass customer portal and the services of Cargo Motive Freight Ltd (“Cargo Motive Freight”, “we”, “us”). By requesting a quote, booking a shipment or using the portal you accept them.

Company registration details will be published here on completion of incorporation.

All business is transacted under the current edition of the British International Freight Association (BIFA) Standard Trading Conditions, which are incorporated into every contract we enter as a freight forwarder. The BIFA conditions — copy available on request or at bifa.org — include important limits on our liability and time limits for claims. Where anything on this page conflicts with the BIFA conditions, the BIFA conditions prevail for freight services.

• Instant online rates and any “from” prices shown on this site are indicative and based on the cargo details you enter. A quote becomes binding only when confirmed by our operations team or accepted through the portal within its validity period.
• Unless expressly stated, quotes exclude import duties, VAT and taxes, customs inspection fees, demurrage, detention, storage and any charges arising from events outside our control.
• Quotes assume general, non-hazardous cargo unless declared otherwise, and are subject to carrier surcharge changes (fuel, currency, security) between quotation and shipment where outside our control.
• Quotes are valid to the date stated on them, and otherwise for 14 days.

• You warrant that cargo descriptions, weights, dimensions, values and HS codes you provide are accurate and complete — pricing, customs declarations and vessel safety (including verified gross mass) rely on them.
• Dangerous goods must be declared before booking, with correct UN classification, packing and documentation. Undeclared hazardous cargo is a serious safety matter; you are liable for all resulting costs, fines and claims.
• You are responsible for the legality of your goods, for holding a valid EORI number where required, and for providing customs documents and information promptly on request.

• Portal credentials are for your organisation only — keep them confidential and tell us at once about any suspected unauthorised access.
• Tracking milestones and estimated dates are provided in good faith from carrier and operational data. Estimated times of departure and arrival are estimates, not guarantees.
• Our website chat and portal assistants are AI-powered. They answer from live data where available, but AI responses can contain errors and do not constitute a contractual commitment, rate confirmation or customs advice. Confirmed figures come from a written quote or your operations contact.
• You must not misuse the website, portal or chat — including attempting to access other customers’ data, probing or overloading our systems, or submitting unlawful content.

Carrier and forwarder liability for cargo loss or damage is limited by the BIFA conditions and international conventions, and is usually far below the value of the goods. All-risks cargo insurance is available and quoted as an option — where you decline it, you accept those limits. Insurance we arrange is placed on the declared goods value you provide.

Invoices are payable by the due date shown, without deduction or set-off. Credit terms granted to your company may be withdrawn if invoices fall overdue, and we may exercise the rights (including lien over goods and documents) set out in the BIFA conditions. Late payment may attract interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

Our liability for freight services is limited as set out in the BIFA Standard Trading Conditions, including its monetary limits and nine-month time bar for claims. The website, portal and chat are provided “as is”; we do not warrant uninterrupted availability. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including for death or personal injury caused by negligence or for fraud.

The content, design and software of this website and portal are ours or our licensors’. You may not copy, scrape or reuse them except as needed to use our services normally.

These terms and any contract with us are governed by English law, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest continue in force. We may update these terms by publishing a new version on this page; the version in force when you book applies to that shipment. Questions to operations@cargomotivefreight.com.