Should there be a financial penalty?

A

Appsolutely

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Apr 2, 2008
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I need some input. I had a partial load - 17 skids - that I booked expedite for a pick up on Friday pm in Mississauga, scheduled to deliver 8pm on Tuesday in Langley BC. Upon pick up - freight was 21 skids but same weight. Got a call upon loading advising it was more freight at which time I advised my carrier no problem - I would compensate them for the add'l skids, and asked if it would deliver as scheduled. "Yes" I was advised - (re-faxed with add'l money for extra skids on Mon). Imagine my surprise when the truck broke down outside of Cgy and couldn't make delivery until Thursday. After confirming still on schedule (Thurs afternoon) I secured appt for delivery at 10pm on Thursday...He again didn't make it. Finally arrived noon on Friday. I will have fines for the Thursday night delivery which I would have cancelled if I knew he wouldn't make it.

What would you do?
 
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Firstly, if it's someone you've never used before, be suspicious that a carrier other than who you contracted is on the load. Secondly, it's clear that they put other freight on the back of your expedite freight, which explains why they are conveniently "breaking down" in major cities like Calgary. Unless you know the carrier from previous moves to be honest, ask your shipper if he has a record of the bill of lading to see how it was signed by the carrier and tell your receiver to check the side of the truck when they arrive. If it's anything other than who you contracted, be poker faced about it and when it's delivered, have a discussion with the carrier - and not before. Also, emphasize that if it's appointment freight, you can tell them there will be an appointment fine if they miss it. That may not be the case in actual fact, but you can certainly justify it to drive home the fact you paid them expedite on condition that they said they could meet your required time, depending on when they left on Friday - IF they left on Friday. It sounds like they had other freight and left on Saturday.
 
Expedite

In such situations, ask the carrier or shipper to seal the trailer, which should be no probelm if moving exclusive. Use a high security seal. When the trailer arrives at the consignee, make sure the receiver verifies the integrity of the seal prior to opening the doors.

If tampering is visible you can look into deducting an amount from the carrier.

It's as simple as that.
 
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Shipment was expedite not exclusive use but of course pass on the fine if there was one and to catch them if their lie ask them for a copy of the work order from the break down.
 
What would I do?

Appsolutely, if the carrier confirmed the Thursday appointment time, and didn't communicate with you that they were not going to make it, then they have some"splainin" to do. It seems as if they had no regard to mitigating your loss or damage to the customer. If this is the case, I would ask them what sanctions they recommend be imposed on themselves for their apparent lack of concern or if they agree that you will act unilaterally as they did and make the appropriate set-off against their invoice.
 
One other thing I forgot to mention was that 13 of the 21 skids were refused because the po had expired and after the missed Thursday appt consignee would not extend. I had these delivered to my warehouse in BC but will have costs for the return.
 
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alx said:
In such situations, ask the carrier or shipper to seal the trailer, which should be no probelm if moving exclusive. Use a high security seal. When the trailer arrives at the consignee, make sure the receiver verifies the integrity of the seal prior to opening the doors.

If tampering is visible you can look into deducting an amount from the carrier.

It's as simple as that.
Click to expand...

As I understand it this was shipped expedite not exclusive. So the carrier is entitled to put additional freight on the truck. However, as mentioned in one of the other threads I read today... Carrier / Broker communication is an "issue" in this industry. Carriers need to communicate accurately and honestly with the broker. And the brokers sometimes need to corner the carriers to get the whole and complete story. I've had this happen in our office... someone calls a carrier to check on a shipment and dispatcher 'A' at the carrier says the truck is 4 hours away from delivery. Someone else calls from our office (without looking at the "load notes" screen and dispatcher 'B' says the shipment has already delivered. So whats the real answer? Hey, we're all busy but a little truthful communication goes a long way.

In this case... I'm sure that if the carrier would've told "appsolutely" that his other freight was going to screw up the Thursday PM appointment it could've been changed (again). The consignee wouldn't have been happy about it but there likely wouldn't have been a fine implemented.

Helluva world we've carved out for ourselves here in trucking where a customer wants 3 day service on LTL going 2500 miles away and if you fail... they send you a bill! :confused:
 
Still waiting to read what carrier gave you this poor service?
 
I would say if the rate was a true expedite rate that paid for the truck then yes you should be able to change that rate to regular rate and the carrier should be responsible for bringing the refused freight back because it was their fault they should be held accountable.
 
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