7 months later: Laparkan Guyana fire investigation ongoing, no compensation yet for customers
Seven months after Laparkan Guyana’s shipping bond was destroyed, the company has said the investigation is still ongoing and no claims for compensation by customers has been paid out.
Laparkan Group of Companies’ shipping bond was destroyed in a massive fire on January 16. Since then the company’s insurance company has commenced an investigation to account for the loss.
Speaking to the News Room on Tuesday, General Manager Bodhan Nipan explained that the company is working assiduously with its insurance company to compensate customers.
Nipan revealed that thousands of claims were submitted by customers after the insurance company requested this information.
“Our current situation is that we have about 5-6,000 claims of customers.
“Now the last information we receive to date is that the loss adjusters are currently undertaking their investigation,” the general manager said.
He said that after the insurance company completes the investigation, the customers will be compensated. However the customers have complained that they have been waiting for months.
Nipan said the delay is due to the wait for the investigation to be completed. He said the company is “following up with them on a daily basis assiduously to ensure that we have something to at least tell the customers.”
He explained that the company has shared several advertisements in newspapers and on its social media stating that the insurance company is investigating the claims.
Nipan said to date no customer has received compensation and no deadline was given for when the investigation will be completed.
A customer, Ann Kelly, told the News Room, her packages were shipped with the company from the United States. After the packages arrived in January, she was contacted and told she can uplift but the packages were not collected on the said day because of the closing time.
The packages later perished in the fire at the shipping company.
“Right now I am still frustrated. From the 11th January to today it is seven months. Nobody called me, nothing. I am very frustrated over this entire situation.
“My daughter spend a lot of money to send these stuff,” Kelly told the News Room.
“My daughter had send packages, like about eight pieces, including dining sets, two doors, clothing and food stuff and other little ‘fineries.’
“I did all the paper works that I had to do but by the time I was finished with everything, the bond had already closed,” she said.
Kelly said she spoke to someone who claimed to be a manager, who told her that the insurance company will contact her but no one has contacted her.
In January, a massive fire destroyed two shipping storage bonds at the Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNIC) wharf.
Millions of dollars in vehicles and other imported items were destroyed at the Laparkan and Tropical Shipping bonds. The Fire Chief Gregory Wickham revealed that the fire was ‘maliciously set’.