Trailer damaged by shipper in US

[ZoCNX]

Our trailer got damaged by shipper while being loaded. Shipper is refusing to put it in writing or pay for a mobile mechanic but did accept the fault verbally. Broker is refusing to take any responsibility saying I'd have to collect directly from the shipper.

What’s the point to have a broker on the load, if they are never responsible for any issue???

Anyway, I have a hole in the roof. No one wants to take responsibility. I’m not able to load this trailer with any other load but I have to get him home.

Any advice?

 

[ShawnR]

If the shipper damages your trailer or if you damage the shipper's yard/dock, the freight broker has nothing to do with it. He can be the middle man for communication but for insurance and damage you need to take it up with the shipper directly. Brokers don't own or operate equipment nor the yard/dock so they can't be held liable nor can they really be responsible for payment or fixing things.

 

[loaders]

Unless the broker was actually driving the forklift, or contributed directly somehow to the cause of your damaged trailer, all he or she can and should do, is assist you in contacting the right people to help you in this matter. Was the shipper the direct customer of the broker, or is the receiver the broker's customer? I would suggest that you have your driver take as many cell phone pictures as possible of the damage. Get the name of the person who verbally accepted responsibility, and see if there is anyone else at that location that you could speak with. If all else fails, contact your insurance provider and explain the details to them. An unfortunate situation made worse by the shipper not accepting full responsibility for their carelessness.

 

[Rob]

Where is the value added service in handing matters that we keep hearing about on these forums? I do agree the broker is not financially responsible but they should at least try and help out.

If it were my trailer (and it has been) I would call in the mobile guy to get a patch on the roof to get the trailer loadable to get it home. Red Green's favourite duct tape has also gotten us out of this pinch more than once.

Good luck and shame on the broker for not being the middleman in a dispute - like he was in the rate negotiation.

(I guess that is the value added service that garners the %)

 

[ShawnR]

As I stated, a good broker would get shipper & carrier together and make sure things are going well. Shouldn't just run from the issue, unless he doesn't want the client anymore

 

[JN1981]

Where is the value added service in handing matters that we keep hearing about on these fourms? I do agree the broker is not financially responsible but they should atleast try and help out.

If it where my trailer (and it has been) I would call in the mobile guy to get a patch on the roof to get the trailer loadable to get it home. Red Green's favorite duct tape has also gotten us out of this pinch more than once.

Good luck and shame on the broker for not being the middleman in a dispute like he was in the rate negotiation. ( I guess that is the value added service that garners the %)

My thoughts exactly, a broker is far better served by getting in the middle and mediating and keeping the carrier calm and not allowing things to get out of hand. An irate carrier can make things much worse for the broker with their customer.

 

[loaders]

By all means, a responsible broker would want to take on the role of mediator between the carrier and the party responsible for causing the damage, especially if the party responsible was his client. However, solving this problem is best left to those actually on site, the carrier (driver) and the shipper who caused the damage. Any assistance the broker can offer is to be expected.

 

[MikeJr]

When a broker is the entity that created the relationship between the carrier and shipper (or consignee) you're darn right they have a duty to at minimum to ensure that the right people are in contact with each other. I prefer to ensure all parties are completely satisfied rather that offering an exchange of contact information and walking away 'assuming' everything will take care of itself.

Highlights (and partly the reasons for my premature grays):
trailer roof damage
shipper camera damage
shipper railing damage
landscape services - that one was fun, carrier damaged the teamsters lawn next to my consignee. Those union peeps are awesome to deal with (really nice too)
damage to trailer wall
carrier straps CUT by consignee (thanks Paul for your help on that one!!)
truck stuck in a snowbank (blocking the entrance and exit to the shippers facility)
...

The list can go on forever, and I've only been doing this for 11 years, but in the end I need both the customer and the carrier to see value in dealing with ME. Solving problems together builds relationships and that's the bottom line.

Keep well,
Mike

 

[AccountsReceivable@DRC]

If the shipper refused to pay in this scenario - the broker could also just "cough" up the money for the repair OR have the equipment repaired at a site of their own choosing. Why can't this be a plausible resolution?

Chalk it up to the cost of doing business and more importantly - keeping a good relationship with a carrier.

After all...brokers need carriers. And if the broker were to pay for the repairs - that same carrier would likely do the broker a "big solid" another time around. That's give and take...and exactly how it works.

 

[ZoCNX]

Thank you all.

Duct tape is the way to go at this point (Friday is the earliest mobile guy).

By the way, Broker and Shipper both admitted that this happens all the time. Shipper provided driver with Accident report and his Insurance information. Shipper is making a claim. And now I would have to deal with the shipper’s insurance after trailer will be properly fixed in Canada.

I had truck end up partially in the river because of shipper’s fault (long story). Took me a week with Broker over the phone to resolve this and get paid for towing and damage. Still do business with this broker. I had trailers damaged by customer so many times and I always go to the broker and they deal with it.

I think a “good” carrier and/or broker is showing their true face once there is an issue. We all can do an excellent job on this excellent loads but 50% of it all … there is something (delay, weather, paperwork not ready, load is not ready, location is not ready, different location, problem location, overweight, oversized, damage and etc….). It’s all about how you resolve it!

 

[busterknoxville]

I've been caught up in this a few times, from different sides, and I can never understand the confusion.

If this load was NOT a brokered load you'd have 3 options:
1) go through your insurance, who will in turn go after the shipper's insurance
2) ask the shipper to pay/avoid involving their insurance
3) pay for it yourself to avoid the potential rate increase on your insurance

Why do some people think there's a magical 4th option just because it's a brokered load?

Love him or hate him, the broker is your customer...he's not an all-powerful problem-solving machine...he knows where freight is, and he knows where the trucks are, and he introduces the 2 to each other (for a fee of course)...you use brokers because you need to...why risk pissing them off over issues like this?

Sorry if this comes off as rude but it's almost 5 & I actually stand a chance of getting off work on time today!! Good luck with your trailer @ZoCNX I hope it doesn't cost you too much...

 

[loaders]

AccountsReceivableDRC, I think that a broker would be setting a dangerous precedent if he started to pay out of his pocket for repairs to a carrier's vehicle. First of all, where would you draw the line in terms of how much you were willing to "cough up"? If my customer takes too long to load a carrier, or turns them away because the load isn't ready, and then refuses to offer any compensation, by all means, I'll "cough up" some money. If there is any sort of motor vehicle or equipment accident, all I'm going to do, and all I should be expected to do, is assist in every way possible to get the parties talking and resolve the matter. It sounds like ZoCNX was able to find an equitable solution to his problem by doing exactly that, talking to the proper parties.

 

[chica123]

I do understand ZoCNX's dilemma. From my personal experience, if the hole is in a fibreglass roof, and it is big enough, you really need to replace the whole roof. It is not a pretty sight. Any sort of patch job will last a while but will eventually fail and water will come in one way or another. A new fibreglass roof is not cheap either. I don't know if ZoCNX's roof is fiberglass or not, but when this happened to us and the damage was large enough that a new roof would be needed, that trailer didn't pull out of the dock door until I had a signed acknowledgement from the shipper that they would be responsible for the repair. And the broker was quite helpful in terms of communicating back and forth with us.