Lewoh Group Co., Ltd
India
Seller:
Lewoh Group Co., Ltd
Seller Website:
www.lewohgroup.com , http://www.exportersindia.com/lewoh-group-co-ltd/
Seller Address:
Oweh Road, Muyuka, , , South West Region, Cameroon, PO Box- 112, Cameroon
Initial contact with the supplier:
Online Supplier Directory
Type of product(s) being purchased:
Banana
Value of the Purchase Order when the incident occurred:
6,001 to 12,000 USD
Destination market of order in question:
Middle East
Type of Complaint(s):
, , , , scams & other unethical activities
Stage of relationship with the supplier at the time of the incident:
Initial Order
User Experience:
I am from doing import business in Oman. We requested import of 2 containers of banana from a prominent B2B website (www.exportersindia.com), for which we received many offers from different suppliers. Among them was a Cameroonian company called ‘Lewoh Group Co., Ltd’, which offered to supply at the best price among the offers that we received. The total value of the consignment is 10,000 USD. The mail was sent by Mr. Nkeng Donald, who claims to be the sales director of the company. They requested the money to be transferred via Moneygram. The payment was to be made in three parts, first installment of 30% for confirming and placing the order, second installment of 30% upon receiving the Bill of Lading and the last installment of 40% upon delivery of the container at the destination port. We made the two installments after they presented all the documents and the Bill of Lading. After the two installments were made, they requested us to send money for insuring the containers which was 3,600 USD. The insurance company is Ayudhya Insurance Public Company Limited. They said that this insurance money is refundable, so we will have to pay this amount less in the final installment of 40%. They provided us the tracking number of our container that can be tracked through the website www.atlanticshippingagency.com. Then we waited for the consignment for more than a month to arrive at Sohar Port, Sultanate of Oman. We made many calls and mails but only very few response. Then they said the container has arrived at Port Sohar anchorage. We received a mail, that was claimed to be sent from Atlantic Shipping Agency, which was forwarded by Mr. Nkeng Donald, stating that they needed additional 1,625 USD to clear the containers from the price control committee at Sohar Port customs. At first they agreed to pay the charges, but then after making us wait for some days, they asked us to make the payment. After waiting for nearly two months, desperately we made the payment of 1,625 USD. Again there was no response from them for about a week, and then we receiced a mail from Nkeng Donald stating that they lost the containers to the price control committee, so we will not receive the container. They said we will receive the compensation from the insurance company. They said that they have filed a case against the shipping company and will claim the money from the insurer. Again we waited for 1-2 weeks. Then they said that they won the case and will claim 50,000 USD from the insurance company, from which about 20,000 USD will be for us and the rest for them. They sent us a wire transfer receipt of CitiBank that showed the transfer made by Ayudhya Insurance Public Company Limited to our company. Again they made us wait for 4-5 days and then said that the transfer couldn’t be processed from Cameroon, so they will make the transfer from Thailand, where the head office of the insurance company is situated. Then again they asked us to send 800 USD in order to process the transfer of fund from Thailand to our account. Only after they requested this last payment did we realise that we were being scammed. All the documents and receipts they provided were fake. The website lewohgroup.com was created recently, atlanticshippingagency.com was created just after we received the bill of lading, there was no response to the calls and mails we did. All the payments were made through Moneygram.
I have all the supporting documents and email exchanges to prove my part. I have spent about 12000 USD till now on this scammer.
It was a traumatic experience when I got to know that I was being scammed. Now I am determined to make others aware to not fall in a trap like thia
User Recommendations:
* Always do proper research about the company that you are dealing with, the country and other relevant parameters.
* Never deal with businesses that requests payment through Western Union or Moneygram.
* Always check the credibility and legitimacy of the businesss you are dealing with, by all means. Try to verify the running of the business that you will deal with, with the government of that country.
* Always move forward after having full clarity, the minutest of the doubt shoild be cleared.
* Be cautious while dealing with countries that cannot even meet its domestic requirements.
* The suppliers that provide products at never heard of low prices, is a bait by the scammers.
I was also ripped off by this company. I was looking for bulk Boswallia Seretta and lewohgroupcoltd.com came up on a web search. All of my correspondence was with Nkeng Donald(some 30 emails). I was initially informed that it would cost $80 for 1 kilo and $45 shipping. He then told me it was going to cost an extra $180 because of certain customs procedures. He would only take payment via Western Union, which should have raised a flag. I was also supposed to receive a partial refund upon delivery.Then he emailed me and told me he needed an additional $197 for “cost of transportation to my address”. At this point I was very suspicious, Nkeng Donald also supplied me with an official looking invoice. I refused to send the additional $197 and asked him for the name and phone number of the shipping company in Alabama.He never responded. Upon doing research of the name of the airport that was supplied to me, I discovered there was no such place! I have written 3 more emails to Nkeng Donald with no response to any of them. I feel fortunate that I was only taken for $305. I too have all the emails and documents supporting my transactions.