Cargo claims ... Just for fun

Michael Ludwig

Michael Ludwig

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Jul 6, 2009
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I am curious, so just for fun, l am going to give you all some circumstances surrounding a load. If you are interested, reply with what you think the outcome will be. I'm going to use some of you as actors in this fun filled action drama ... LOL

On Friday, May 12, 2023 loaders sends me, via email and attachment, load confirmation # ABC123 to pick up a load in Toronto on Monday May 15, 2023 at 8:00 AM, appointment number 123456, PO# 987654, 30 skids of widgets to be loaded in a dry van. Cargo weight is 25,000 lbs. Deliver the load to Montreal for Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at 9:00 AM. Delivery appointment number 345678. I accept this load offer by return email.

My driver, Rob, arrives at the shipper's facility on Monday, May 15, 2023 at 7:30 AM and checks in with shipping. At 8:00 AM he is assigned dock # 3, and at 8:25 AM loading commences. Rob is not allowed on the dock to witness the loading as per the shipper's health & safety regulations. Loading is complete at 8:55 AM, and Rob is offered the bill of lading, supplied by the shipper, for signature.

The bill of lading denotes the date of shipping, shipper's name and address, the receiver's name and address, a description of the 30 pallets of widgets weighing 24,575 lbs. Rob accepts the bill of lading, and signs it Rob Driver, SL&C, then adds the date and time. The shipper countersigns Rob's signature, hands Rob back the BOL, and Rob is on his way back to the Toronto yard to drop the trailer for line haul driver Lrgcar.

Lrgcar is scheduled to pick up the Montreal trailer Rob dropped on Monday, May 15, 2023 at 7:00 PM, but there is a problem, and there are no other trucks available to recover the Montreal load. Lrgcar is stuck at the Windsor border trying to clear a load of fresh chicken the we got from Jackhole and there are paperwork and inspection problems galore. Lrgcar finally clears at 1:00 PM on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, but is out of hours and has to take 10 hours off duty, after which he finally reaches the Toronto yard at 7:00 AM on Wednesday May 17, 2023. He drops the meat load and picks up the Montreal load. Finally he arrives at the Montreal receiver at 7:00 AM on Thursday May 18, 2023.

Lrgcar presents to the receiver. The receiver rejects the load, and refuses to unload it.

What happens now ???
Who is responsible for what ???

Everything you need to know to answer these two questions is already in this story :)
 
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What reason would the receiver cite for the load rejection? I know this is a hypothetical scenario... but that's where I would start. If it's the wrong product then the ball goes into the shipper's bailiwick.. if there's damaged product then, again, it is the shipper's problem to deal with. If it's because the truck was a few hours late.. well.. let's see the contract. If there's no representation by the carrier that the load will absolutely arrive by a certain time then it would bounce back to the shipper in this situation as well.. they would need to make alternative arrangements and pay the carrier to either return the product to them or to send it on to an alternative receiver.
 
Freight Broker said:
What reason would the receiver cite for the load rejection? I know this is a hypothetical scenario... but that's where I would start. If it's the wrong product then the ball goes into the shipper's bailiwick.. if there's damaged product then, again, it is the shipper's problem to deal with. If it's because the truck was a few hours late.. well.. let's see the contract. If there's no representation by the carrier that the load will absolutely arrive by a certain time then it would bounce back to the shipper in this situation as well.. they would need to make alternative arrangements and pay the carrier to either return the product to them or to send it on to an alternative receiver.
Click to expand...
i believe this hypothetical load was 4 days late... at the end all its whatever the BOL says
 
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Geez Michael……..did all the telephones and internet services in Southern Ontario go down at the same time, and for the better part of a whole week???. As the experienced operator that you are, I know you would have been on the phone to me as soon as you became aware of this scheduling problem. After hearing of your dilemma, it would be incumbent upon me, as the good friend broker that I am, to negotiate an alternate delivery appointment for you with the shipper. Seriously however, if the delivery appt was spelled out as a condition on the bill of Lading and your company accepted that condition through the signature of your driver, there might be a case against your firm. Similar perhaps to a frozen load with the condition “reefer unit must be set to -10degrees F”.
 
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Lot of what ifs... but question. So Rob Driver drives for SL&C? Is that Smith Lewis & Carruthers? That new trucking company that just appeared? Correct me if I am wrong but acronyms don't stand up well in the legal proceedings...or.... do they?
 
Although the Standard Bill of Lading has a paragraph that absolves the carrier from any liability in failing to meet any “market” conditions or timetable, it could be argued that the condition inserted on the front of the B/L regarding a confirmed, and mutually agreed delivery appointment supersedes that. It has always been my understanding that the “market” reference applied to the value of the goods in the event of a freight claim. For example, a carrier picks up a load of watermelons in Georgia on Friday for delivery to Sobey’s DC on Monday. Sobeys has printed thousands of sale flyers advertising US watermelons on sale for $5.00 each. If the load is, heaven forbid, destroyed enroute to Sobeys, or the driver and load disappear, the claim would only be for the replacement value of the watermelons, NOT the value of the lost sale of the watermelons.
 
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Its just late not a claim. You have to start charging storage on the dam flamingo chicken wings.
They will need to pay your storage and freight bill inorder to claim you :)
 
Let’s not over think this scenario. All that has actually transpired here is the delivering carrier has missed his scheduled delivery appointment. No claim, no need to hit the panic button. It would have been nice if M Ludwig Transport hadn’t been asleep at the wheel and notified either me, the broker, or the receiver of the delay, but he didn’t…shame on him. Since I am the broker in this play, I would be trying to negotiate an alternative delivery appointment with the receiver, hopefully as soon as possible. In the meanwhile, Mr Tardy Pants, hold your fire and we will find a way to get you off loaded.
 
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Would all depend on what the reason is for rejecting the load, as it was dry I can only assume it wasn't product that would spoil with age.
 
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Should have dropped the trailer of meat at the brokers border office while waiting for it to clear. Then bob tail home in PC.
 
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Thank you to all the participants in my story for being such good sports :)
Thank you to everyone else who took the time to give an answer.
@NotForHire was the first one to get it mostly right. At this point in time there is no claim. Yes, I would be well within my rights to put the goods into a warehouse and charge back to the shipper those costs, after a reasonable amount of time is given to the shipper to mitigate the problem on their own. I am not however, obligated to return the goods to the shipper. That brings up the point that just because you have the right to do something does not necessarily mean you should exercise that right.
@loaders was second to get it mostly right. At this point in time there is no claim. @loaders goes on to detail what, in a cooperative world, should have happened, and is really what would have happened had this been a real life transaction as far as my company is concerned (I can't speak for others).
The story is an example of focus. Focus on what is in front of you. Do not read into the situation things that are not there. Separate what is relevant and what is irrelevant. Focus. Losing focus can, and most likely will, cost you money.
Here's what I learned from those of you that answered;
1) Everyone means well. This shows me that end-customer service is the most important thing to each of you. IMHO that will put you all in good stead when facing clients, carriers, and brokers.
2) Please don't take this as my being arrogant or anything like that, but lots of you just guess. Don't do that. Take the time to completely understand the problem, source the correct information, and respond from a point of knowledge. Exhibiting a lack of knowledge will put you at a tremendous disadvantage.
3) There is reference in the responses to the load confirmation as if it were carved in stone, and carried down from the mountain by Moses himself. The reality of a load confirmation is that it is a "this is what I would like to see happen" document for the broker and a "this is what we are going to try and make happen" document for the carrier.
The document in any transportation transaction with real clout is the Bill of Lading which is, as you should all know by now, a contract of carriage. A real contract that has legal force and consequence.
In this particular case the Bill of Lading was conspicuously sparse on information. That's usually a good thing for the carrier, and a bad thing for the broker and/or shipper. Case in point; there was no date or time specified for delivery on the Bill of Lading.
4) Many people read the story, the responses, and stayed quiet. Why was that?
Lastly, the story is an example of knowing, or maybe in this case, not knowing, the people you are working with. Suppose this really did happen? Imagine @loaders having to explain to his customer that what I am doing is perfectly legal, within my rights, and the shipper is indeed going to have to fork out additional funds. What do you think the chances are that the shipper will ever give him another load? What will happen to @loaders reputation? What are the chances @loaders would ever give me another load? What will happen to my reputation? Could this happen to you? All very valid questions. All things each of us needs to consider. This is what could happen if you just flog loads out to whoever will take them. This makes a great case for networking with like-minded folks doesn't it? :)
 
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It was an interesting exercise and reinforces the point for brokers and shippers, that every special requirement you are requesting of the carrier, must be spelled out in the greatest of detail on the Bill of Lading. Load confirmations are, as Michael suggests, just a wish list of what the broker/shipper would like to see happen. Once a shipment has been given to a carrier, they are free to do anything they want with it. Dry van loads can be placed onto flat beds, frozen loads can be put into dry vans in July, flat bed loads that require tarps can be shipped without tarps. As long as the goods arrive at the consignee without damage or shortage…. there is no freight claim. In spite of how angry the broker or shipper might be, if the goods are OK, the carrier has fulfilled his obligation, or part of the contract, and must be paid. Although you can try, charging someone for not doing what they said they would do when no loss or damage resulted, is a difficult battle. Know who your suppliers are and keep the good ones on speed dial!
 
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