Feedback on double brokering

F

FR8 4ME

Active Member
Feb 8, 2010
106
51
28
10
I'm just looking for a little feedback on a double brokering situation. Recently I had a customer tell me that they were contacted by a trucking company looking for payment on a load I had taken care of. Of course it was not the company I had booked the load with. I immediately contacted the company that moved the load and put the initial company's account on hold.

The trucking company that moved the load is now being very pushy about payment even though I told them that I will pay them directly and the invoice just hit 30 days today. The contact there tells me this is all my responsibility and that I should have made sure the carrier was not double brokering my freight and that they must be paid no matter what. They say they will pursue my customer for payment unless I give them an answer by the end of the day tomorrow. I believe that it is only fair to pay them(the amount agreed to with the initial) but I think some of the responsibity is their's(due diligence i.e. a credit check should have been done).I am just waiting on a release from the factoring company(of course they used a factoring comany) saying that they will not pursue me for payment once I pay the people that actually did the work.

My question's to some of the seasoned transportation peple on this site is, am I being unreasonable by ensurring that I am coverd agianst having to pay for the load twice before I release payment? The invoice has only been with me for about a week is it fair for me to take 30 days to pay it or should it be paid right away? What do you guys and girls do when this sort of thing happens to you? From what I know it's much more common now than it used to be.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.
 
If it were me, I'd wouldn't pay the delivering carrier without a signed release from a Principal of the company, promising not to bring any action against you or your customer. You have to protect them as well.

The carrier who double brokered your load on you should be informed that your aware of their behavior and not to expect payment of any kind.
 
It all sounds very suspicious, I would explain to your customer the difficult situation, I am convinced your customer will understand. Afterwards, just pay the actual trucking company directly. If a company that double brokered a load and is looking for quick payment there is a possibility they will never pay the trucker, from past experience it sounds like trouble. I would be curious what company out there did this to you but that's not necessary.

Also, if the actual trucking company is looking for payment, maybe they have negative information about the double broker. It's becoming a lot more common!!
 
I have been through this twice now and no you are not being unreasonable. The comments you are getting from this carrier that you are trying to help remind me of the last situation I just resolved recently. I figured out that this carrier was being screwed (by Road Transportation Solutions) and contacted them and they started making demands and treating me/us like we were the criminals. I explained to them that there was paperwork that had to be drawn up and some things that had to be taken care of. After a few days of going back and forth and being treated like crap I/we finally said this is how it's going to go and if you don't like it too bad. Untill you are ready to do this in a proper adult, business like manner, do not contact us. We will have the ppwk waiting for you when you realize we are trying to help you and you are going to get screwed otherwise.
Send the carrier a letter or email stating what your intentions are and that you will pay them, once all the right procedures have been done.
You must have that release and they need to sign it and whomever else is involved, you need to protect yourself. It's not that you don't want to pay them, you just don't want to have to pay twice. I would call your customer and explain what has happened and that you will pay them but there are certain legal procedures that have to be followed and tell them if the carrier calls them regarding the situation to have them contact you as it does not involve them at this point and you are trying to resolve it.
Their choices are wait and get paid and do it by the book so everyone is protected, or be an ass, burn bridges, make a bad name for yourself, harass people and waste money and time filing false claims.
 
And this is exactly why there must be ZERO TOLERANCE when it comes to double-brokering that includes companies that hide behind the TIA like G Roch. I routinely compete with G Roch for freight even thou I am a carrier and haul the freight I call about, while they just double-broker and hide behind that TIA.

The situation with Road Transportation and dozens of others scams in the past year means the must be ZERO TOLERANCE. Given that this double broker is so desperate for the $$$, it all sounds too familiar for those of us that have heard of RTS.
 
Last edited:
One thing that has helped us here is something I implemented when I came to X West over 2 yrs ago is that we DO NOT deal with factoring companies. It is written on our conformation sheets and a letter was sent to as many factoring companies as I could think of and is sent to all new carriers. Our contract is with the carrier not a factoring company and that is who I pay. We pay our bills in 30-45 days from receipt (depending on when the cheque runs fall) we do not offer quick pay either. It is the carriers job to pay the factoring company if they got the $$ through them.
This system helps to weed out some of the questionable companies/carriers out there.
It has also helped for reciprical buisness. I can hold funds on the brokerage side and pay some people on the same terms that they pay us on the trucking side.
 
My take is a little different.

I actually had a customer of mine call me a couple of days ago with the same situation and then the carrier called me. Honestly, I feel bad for the trucking company, especially since it's someone we do occasional work with. On the other hand, the carrier saw when they picked up the load that our company name was in the routing -- why didn't they call us then?

As much as we try to keep abreast of all this stuff happening and with who -- ultimately sometimes we get burned giving a load to someone who double-brokers it. All we can do is try to stay educated about it and block them out once we know what they're about.

It's funny that the guys who double-broker the loads pay more for them than we do in many cases ... the guys in the know realize what a load should pay IN PRESENT MARKET CONDITIONS and be skeptical when someone offers more, particularly if they don't know them. So in part you can look at the situation as greed on part of the carrier.

That said -- you really can't win if you blow the carrier off completely. They will continue to appeal to your customer and you have no chance of building a relationship with the carrier going forward ... and this business is about 2 things ... cash flow and building your network.

Personally, I'd try to work a deal with them. I believe that's what happens here in many cases when we find these things.
 
What to do?

We picked up a load today, that I know for a fact was double brokered to us.

The company that gave us this freight has given us this load couple of times before as well, and they paid within 60-70 days as well.

Should I keep my mouth shut, because there are no payment issues, or should I contact the original broker?

Any advice?
 
Did you know it was double brokered before it was on your truck? If you did I think you made your decision......
 
If you got one of my loads from someone else, I'd sure like to know. If you say nothing, you're encouraging unethical practices and while you've been paid so far, you should understand the person you're taking the loads from is unethical, so when they screw you don't be surprised. This kind of activity has to be shut down.
My work orders state that if you're caught double brokering you won't be paid by us. I already know from past experience that if my client pays me, and I pay the person I hired, that third guy isn't going to get anything from me or the client. I'll feel bad for him, but me and my client aren't taking the hit. It is not up to me to scrutinize someone who poses as a carrier. It is up to the guy who takes the load to decide if the person he took the load from is going to pay or not. This isn't my opinion, it's legal fact. We've been through it. And I agree with Jessica, when someone calls you to tell you so-and-so is double brokered to you and possibly going to screw you, take the time to listen and understand what's happening.
Ranger, if your friend calls you about the load you just took, I hope it isn't bad news
 
Thanks for you feedback guys. I'll contact them tomorrow.
 
any carrier should never take a load from a broker or carrier that does NOT have an MC and a surety bond or trust fund.

atleast with a bond or trust fund you can go back to get paid or cause a lot of trouble, but you guys who take freight from carriers/brokers who DO NOT HAVE BROKERING AUTHORITY get yourselves in trouble and you will pay for it like many already have...
 
Roca said:
any carrier should never take a load from a broker or carrier that does NOT have an MC and a surety bond or trust fund.

atleast with a bond or trust fund you can go back to get paid or cause a lot of trouble, but you guys who take freight from carriers/brokers who DO NOT HAVE BROKERING AUTHORITY get yourselves in trouble and you will pay for it like many already have...
Click to expand...

This is not what we were discussing here in this thread, and if you look at past threads Roca you will see discussions we have had that any Joe Blo can get an MC# or brokering authorities or trust funds and still screw everyone over. It's not hard to do if you are a slimy criminal.

The discussion we are having is about dbl brokering and what to do when you are caught in the middle of it. Ranger I think you know what you need to do. Just think of it like this, if the shoe was on the other foot...
 
Hey,thanks for the geat info everyone. I think Jessica's advice is very sound, plus she seem's like a no nonsense kind of person,thanks Jessica. I had some of those same thoughts she wrote about myself, but it is very reasurring to hear them from someone outside your own situation. This site is fantastic!!!
 
anyways if you always book with brokers who have a trust fund or surety you are sure to be able to squeeze something out of them... So many carriers broker out without authority and then those who take it and get screwed know about it and still accept the freight... SAY NO and this won't happen anymore!
 
It's true that any joker can get a broker authority and/or a CVOR. There are a few ways you can get a hint of who's what ... not foolproof, but hints:

a) if they're a broker and don't have a website, that should be a red flag
b) carriers should have websites too ... in their websites they should talk about their equipment and sometimes about their network or logistics capabilities. If they stress the latter, you know they have a tendency to double broker ... a broker with trucks will sell themselves much differently and will give a small blurb about their equipment only
c) if they're a carrier, check their SAFER rating. If they're one truck, you should be questioning them
d) I would be especially careful with 'carriers' that ask for quick pay
e) find out if someone in your network knows them

And last but not least ...

The Link is a tool designed to make freight matching decisions easier ... not so we all can become order-taking robots!!! Build relationships!!!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom