Terms and conditions

01The service

RV Courier Services, Inc. (“RV Courier”) receives documents and packages at its New York office, registers, weighs and labels them, and hands them to an external courier (“the carrier”) that carries them to the Dominican Republic, clears customs and makes the final delivery. RV Courier reports each shipment’s status using the information it receives from that carrier.

RV Courier does not operate aircraft or carry out international transport itself. Nothing in these terms means that RV Courier holds certifications, authorizations or registrations with air transport or customs authorities other than those it expressly discloses.

02Acceptance and documents of the agreement

The agreement between you and RV Courier is made up of these terms, the shipping policy and, for each request, the sender’s declaration. The privacy policy tells you how we handle data; it is not a contract, but we ask you to confirm that you have read it.

• Online, you accept them by ticking the boxes when you create your account, and the declaration when you register each request. No box is ticked in advance.
• We keep the version accepted, the date and time, the text of the box and the context (sign-up, new version or request) as a record. We do not store your IP address for this.
• At the counter, when you drop off a shipment you accept these terms and make the same sender’s declaration; our staff may ask you to confirm it.

03Sender’s obligations

As the sender you agree to:

• Provide truthful information about your identity and show an ID if we ask for it.
• Correctly identify the recipient: name, phone number, address and their ID (cédula), passport or tax ID (RNC) when customs requires it.
• Declare the real contents of the shipment, with a complete description, and its real value.
• Provide genuine invoices and documents when the shipment requires them.
• Only ship goods of legitimate origin that belong to you or that you have the right to ship.
• Comply with the laws of the United States (including export and hazardous materials rules) and of the Dominican Republic, and obtain the permits that apply to you.
• Not include prohibited items and ask us before shipping restricted items (see the shipping policy).
• Hand over the shipment properly packed for international transport.
• Make sure the recipient meets customs requirements, such as the Customs Registry (RUA).
• Not use the service for fraudulent or illegal activities.

An inaccurate or incomplete declaration may lead to the shipment being refused, delays, extra costs, tax reviews or adjustments, and action by the competent authorities.

Sender’s declaration. When you register each request online you tick this declaration: “I declare that the information provided about the contents, value, origin, sender and recipient of this shipment is true and complete. I confirm that the goods comply with the applicable legal restrictions and requirements, and I authorize the inspections that are legally permitted and necessary for the service. I acknowledge the responsibilities and conditions set out in RV Courier’s Terms and Conditions and Shipping Policy.” The declaration does not waive any rights the law grants you.

04Security and inspections

When we receive the shipment we may ask you to open it or inspect it in your presence before accepting it. Once accepted, RV Courier will only open it when there are reasonable grounds (suspicion of a prohibited or dangerous item, damage, odor or leakage, or differences from what was declared), as permitted by law and these terms. Whenever reasonably possible we will let you know first.

The carrier and the authorities (for example, air cargo security or customs authorities of either country) may inspect, hold or open the shipment under their own rules and powers; RV Courier cannot prevent this or always notify you in advance.

If you refuse an inspection required by law or by the carrier, the shipment cannot be accepted or transported. Every opening, inspection, repacking or difference in contents is recorded as explained in the shipping policy.

05Refusal, suspension and holds

With good cause, we may:

• Refuse a shipment that contains prohibited items, is poorly packed, has incomplete or false details, or that the carrier does not accept.
• Ask for additional documents, such as an invoice, a permit or an ID, when the shipment or the law requires them.
• Suspend or temporarily hold the processing of a shipment while a reasonable doubt about its contents, value, origin or the identity of the parties is cleared up.
• Suspend or close an account used fraudulently, for illegal purposes or against these terms.

A hold by RV Courier is only operational: the shipment stays in our custody while the issue is resolved, and we will tell you why and what is needed. RV Courier does not confiscate goods; seizure or forfeiture can only be ordered by a competent authority. If the law requires it, we will inform the authorities or make the shipment available to them.

06RV reference and label

The RV reference identifies your shipment with us and is used for tracking. The RV label is internal: it does not replace the carrier’s official waybill. When the carrier assigns its tracking number, we add it to your shipment.

07Prices and payments

• The price depends on the type of shipment and its weight, according to the current price list. We tell you before registering the shipment.
• You can pay at the office or online by card (processed by Stripe) from your account.
• If you registered a request online and the actual weight is higher than the estimate, we will add a charge for the difference, which you will see in your account.
• Taxes, fees or charges collected by Dominican customs are not part of our price unless we tell you so in writing.

08Delivery times

Any times we give you are estimates. They depend on the carrier, flights and the customs review, which may delay a shipment without notice. RV Courier does not guarantee a delivery date. “Delivered” reflects the delivery reported by the carrier.

09Customs

If customs holds a shipment because of a missing RUA, invoice or permit, or doubts about its value, we will let you know so the recipient can resolve it. Costs or delays caused by an incorrect declaration or a pending requirement are the responsibility of the sender or the recipient. Details are in the shipping policy.

10Liability at each stage

• At our office (from when we receive it until we hand it to the carrier): RV Courier has custody of the shipment and, as provided by law, is liable for loss or damage caused by its fault or negligence.
• Handover to the carrier: we record the date, the employee who makes it and the carrier’s tracking number.
• International transport and final delivery: performed by the carrier; its liability for loss or damage is governed by its terms and by the declared value. RV Courier files and follows up on your claim with it.
• Customs: reviews, holds, taxes and decisions belong to the authorities.

Using an external carrier does not exempt RV Courier from liability for its own mistakes, such as incorrectly recorded details or a wrong label.

To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for damage caused by inadequate packing by the sender, by the nature of the contents (fragile or perishable items), by incorrect information from the sender, by holds or seizures by the authorities, by force majeure (natural disasters, strikes, airport closures or other events beyond our control), or for indirect losses such as lost profits.

Nothing in these terms limits the rights the law grants you that cannot be waived.

11Costs caused by the sender

If RV Courier incurs demonstrable costs or damage because of false or incomplete information, or another breach of these terms legally attributable to you (for example, returning a refused shipment or repairing damage caused by a prohibited item), we may ask you to cover them. We will tell you in writing, with the supporting details. We do not apply automatic penalties.

12Claims

If your shipment arrives damaged or incomplete, or does not arrive, let us know as soon as possible at [email protected] or +1 9293752165. The procedure and the documents for each case are in the shipping policy.

13Your account

You are responsible for keeping your password private and for the activity on your account. If you think someone accessed it, change your password and let us know. We may suspend an account as described in refusal, suspension and holds.

14Privacy

We handle your data and your recipients’ data according to our privacy policy.

15Governing law and changes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, United States, without prejudice to the Dominican customs rules that apply to each shipment or to the rights granted to you by consumer protection laws.

We may update them; the version in force is the one published here, with its date and version number. Each shipment is governed by the version in force when you register it. If a change is significant, we will ask you to accept it in your account before registering new shipments; we will not ask you to accept again a version you have already accepted.