Equipment Ordered and Not Used Charges

MikeJr

MikeJr

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Jan 21, 2010
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Thunder Bay, Ontario
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Good afternoon,

I thought I understood when this should and shouldn't apply... Perhaps I'm mistaken - my rant for the afternoon:

We booked a shipment with a carrier last week for pickup today in Toronto ON outbound to the US East Coast (Truckload). The shipment had a 3PM ready time today and delivery tomorrow. Just before 10AM today, the order was cancelled (not put on hold).

The carrier we have had to cancel as we no longer have this order first advised the driver was already dispatched and rolling to our pickup. We asked why they would send the local driver 5 hours before pickup when their yard is 30 mins from the shipper, we're then advised there is not a driver en route but there is one allocated to our load. How much notice is reasonable in order to cancel a truck without incurring EONU charges? I'm talking about a simple scenario like the one described above, not a Saturday pickup where we've asked a driver to run out empty for the pickup. Also, Should I ask this carrier for the same $150 if they cancel a pickup (with less than 5 hours notice) on me?

I look forward to the discussion (or is there an old thread I couldn't find?)

Keep well,
Mike
 
In the scenario describe - I would say no charge applies whatsoever...

IF the carrier was 5h from the shipper place, then yes, something for the mileage, re-positioning, etc... should be paid...

IMO - 'truck ordered not used' charges should be used when driver actually arrives on time, at the pickup and then it's cancelled. IE they found out by typing the po on their system it's cancelled.

Stop Off/miss pickup and truck ordered not used should be seen as 2 different type charges / scenario.

Might get rocks thrown at me but...that's what makes more sense...
 
Given that it's a local P&D that got canceled, I'd say there shouldn't be a charge. It's different if your load is in Buttplug, OK and you are running a truck from Dallas to go get it.
 
No rocks throwing here, misto27, we are all civil here..))

On today p/u - tomorrow delivery scenario, carrier probably had backhaul already.
Charging you, MikeJr, carrier protecting themselves against possible charges if they have to cancel on their part.

Or there is something I don't know ?..
 
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I agree. 5 hours is reasonable notice, on either side, especially for a local pickup. I think we would all be billionaires if we charged for every single "last-minute" change or cancellation. :)
I've had trucks in a dock at a shipper, trailer almost completely loaded and then all of a sudden..........."uh, we are gonna have to unload the trailer 'cuz this shipment has been cancelled." Rare, but it has happened. And these folks are crying about 5 hours advance notice? Amateurs........ ;)
 
In my opinion if it cancels on the day of pickup the charges should be applied.

The truck was tied up to cover the load..
The driver was called into work and if they have nothing else for them then should be paid a minimum 4 hours for their time and costs.

Those costs shouldn't be on the shoulders of the carrier.



I know if I book a tee time at a golf course a day ahead to reserve a spot and then cancel the morning of the tee time..there's a cancellation charge..which is the same rate it would have cost to play..

Same as booking a flight.. cancelling the day of the flight comes at a cost.

No difference here..



You book your time and then cancel..it costs.
 
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It seems we have an array of answers. The majority here state that our customer cancelled with ample time, and as a result so did we with our carrier.

Exceptions:
Igor, I hear you - they may have arranged a backhaul. Having to call another customer and cancel is unpleasant, but I can't immagine it would be a huge issue, this was scheduled for a late PM delivery Tuesday and so their return load was either after hours or Wednesday. Do carriers really get charged for cancelling on brokers? I've never had a carrier offer to pay for cancelling on me. If it happened, I would remember and then give that carrier as much business as I could forever.

Snafu: The driver was called in to work 5 hours before the pickup? Is there really a tangible cost with this much notice, or is this just a request where they hope we'll pay but aren't really expecting it in the first place. Ask and hope kinda thing. It's $150, more than others here have suggested in other threads for missed pickup charges. I'm trying to determine what the 'cutoff' is to avoid charges. You're saying minimum day before, correct? Others seem to think 5 hours is ok.

No one has touched the point - do I ask the carrier to agree that all future business if they cancel under 5 hours before pickup incurs a $150 charge?

Keep well,
Mike
 
So snafu, would you agree with Mike Jr's thoughts about charging the carrier for a " missed pick up"' if they bail out of the load 5 hours before loading? I mean, the shipper is expecting to see a truck at the agreed time. Perhaps they brought in a crew to load. If the charges can go in one direction, they should then be able to go in the opposite direction as well. Personally, if the carrier performing the local pick up is notified in ample time about the cancellation, I do not think there should be a penalty charge applied.
 
If it were me, being as it were a pick today/deliver tomorrow load, I typically would have already had a reload booked, and now I would be scrambling to recover. If I managed to find a load at the same rate or better, I would have let it slide. If I had to to take something cheaper, or run empty, I'd ask for the TONU.
We look for every conceivable way not to cancel loads, even if we have to run to get them, so calling the next customer in line and cancelling is not an option, at least for us any ways.

"No one has touched the point - do I ask the carrier to agree that all future business if they cancel under 5 hours before pickup incurs a $150 charge?"

Interesting concept. Although some might agree to it, I personally would not, at least not without caveats ... i.e. ... the truck had an accident, traffic congestion, previous load rejected, etc.
P&D guys might find it easier to manage. I don't because I'm reloading trucks that are getting unloaded.
 
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What kind of a relationship do you have with this carrier? Do you expect to do work with them in the future? Have they cancelled on you before? Have you cancelled on them before?

If it were us, and we had a good working relationship, I would agree to pay you $150 if we cancelled in under 5 hours before a pickup. Especially if you were willing to pay us $150 if you cancelled in under 5 hours. Works both ways!!!

It drives me nuts when we get a call - "Oops, sorry! The shipment has been cancelled." I am left with the feeling that they have found someone else to do the pickup.
 
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Mike.. the driver(s) may well live 2 or more hours from his/her/their terminal.

So the driver should have to suffer the costs to come to work and then go home without proper compensation because the load cancelled?

I know several drivers who live 4 hours from their yard.. gas isn't cheap.

I know myself that I always leave early to either avoid traffic or prepare for any unexpected delays because one thing this industry hates is.. a driver who shows up late.


My point being that this industry for far too long expects too much for free..
 
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I have never thought of asking a carrier for compensation in the event of them cancelling on us, even at the last minute. Things happen, trucks breakdown, drivers get sick, and yes, sometimes carriers get offered a better paying load (although they would never admit it). Load cancellations are unfortunately somewhat commonplace in this industry. Quality control refuses to sign off on the product, the receiver's cheque for payment doesn't arrive on time, the reasons are endless. If a carrier cancels on us more than 2 or maybe 3 times, we stop calling them. Again, based on all of the details Mike Jr provided, there is no need for a cancellation charge.
 
Mike - I like the way you think and wish we hooked up on more than just the odd one...

Hauling_Ass - I agree, the big picture, the relationship is what's important here. It's not the $150 at all. We offer this carrier on average 4-5 loads a month (hardly any freight) so we are in their eyes a 'small customer', perhaps if we gave them 50-100 loads a month they would be more apt to waive a charge like this? For the record - every carrier is important to me (with exception to Pro Rising), I need every single one of them to want to work with us, to want to haul my customers freight before the next broker, it's part of the strategy to grow the business and boy is it working especially over the last 2 years

Snafu - I could come up with a list of costs that also may or may not apply in this case. In the end, I'm going to inform the carrier that our customer feels they are not liable for this charge as they cancelled 5 hours in advance of loading time and that I'm out of pocket for this charge. I'll ask them to split the $150, 50/50 and hope they say yes. If they chose to make a stink out of this, it's 4-5 more loads a month dispatch has to build a new relationship to cover so I'll give in and pay the full $150. Will I remember this if this same carrier cancels a load on me (within 5 hours of the pickup)? Absolutely. Will I ask them for $150. Absolutely. Afterall, it's been a long time since they have cancelled on us. May 29, 2012 to be exact.

Keep well,
Mike
 
For all you know that driver has been sitting since Friday afternoon with the expectation of doing your load at 3:00pm today. By only giving 5 hrs notice the carrier now has to scramble like mad to try and get the driver another load with no guarantee. So now a driver has lost and entire day of wages, no fault of his own. Why should the driver take the hit when it has nothing to do with him?

This is why we make it very clear to anybody we do business with that a TONU will be charged for anything less than 12 hrs notice of the cancellation.
 
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Robsan,

Perfect - quantified - 12 hours minimum.

It's funny the stories and details people come up with to justify charges (I'm assuming none of them actually work at the carrier I'm dealing with), how do we not know that the carrier found another load @ 10:10AM picking up earlier in the day rather than waiting until 3PM, delivering closer to their return load and for $50 more? :)

Keep well,
Mike
 
Final Update:
The carrier was kind enough to split the charge with me ($75 each) and we've come to an agreement regarding minimum time requirements for cancellations.

Happy endings are always nice,
Mike
 
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MikeJr said:
Final Update:
The carrier was kind enough to split the charge with me ($75 each) and we've come to an agreement regarding minimum time requirements for cancellations.

Happy endings are always nice,
Mike
Click to expand...
I think that's the best scenario. Pre-arrange what each of you expects and will give. We have a customer who we expect 24 hours for a load cancellation but there are some different expectations for service of that particular lane.

On the other hand, if we had regular business from a broker, and understand the complexities of the shipper, we might overlook it should it happen infrequently.
 
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