A question for Brokers

R

Riley

New Member
Jul 31, 2009
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Outside hamilton
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As a carrier on Loadlink we subscribe to the credit check so that we can get some idea of who we are dealing with.

Does Loadlink give you any information about a carrier's reliability etc so that you know who you are dealing with?

Just curious.
 
No, there are no performance ratings on Link. I tend to use the carrier's credit rating as well (if someone doesn't care enough to pay their bills, they probably don't care enough about their freight either), along with their SafeStat ratings. I have to ask alot of questions to new carriers to get a level of comfort before dispatching a load to them.
 
it will give you a snapshot of the company (will let you know name address, etc). If anything doesn't match up, then we have to ask more questions. There is a link from Safestat that will show insurance history as well, giving you a full background of a carrier (if they have had insurance revoked, etc.). The amount of background checking for a new carrier is just as extensive as it is for using a new broker (should be at least). That is why it is so important to keep the relationships with the carriers/brokers in tact, in my humble opinion.
 
I like to check SafeStat, as well. I also ask for carrier references, as well as check out new carriers I may use on here. If something seems fishy, I will steer clear.
 
I recently learned that in the US, if a carrier only applies for a "contract" authority, he only has to file PL and PD insurance information, not cargo insurance information, though the majority will.
 
Credit......

Having been burnt by a few people, we have had to change the way we do business. The days of trusting people and a "Handshake" are so, so long gone.
Here's what we now have to do and we're still not 100% positive that we will get paid, sad to say.
We have had to subscribe to First Advantage Compunet credit reporting and D&B. They give you good information but it still doesn't gaurantee payment. Great decision tools tho...
We also send our with our packet a credit reference request that has to be signed by a signing member of the company. We fax EVERY reference the following:
CREDIT REFERENCE REQUEST

Date:

To:
Fax #

Att. Accounts Receivable

Re:


Dear Madam/Sir:

The above referenced person has applied for credit with our company and has listed you as a credit reference. To assist us in making our credit decision, please provide us with the below requested information:

High credit limit:

Present balance:

Payment history:

Number of payments more than 30 days late:

Length of time account open:

Other information that we should consider:


Any information received from you will be held confidential.

Please reply by return fax asap.

Sincerely,


You would be surprised how many companies don't update their credit references periodically. And big companies that want you to sign over your first born for the pleasure of doing business with them. (In my case, they can have him, lol).
Anyone coming back with a negative report, we will not deal on credit with them. Prepaid or C.O.D. basis only.
But thats not the end of it. Every 3 months, we have to refax their credit references, pay D&B and First Advantage fees to keep their account as current as possible.
So our costs have gone up cause we've had to pay monthly fees for credit checks and hire an extra person to help with all the extra paperwork (Sigh).
But on the bright side, since we've implemented these changes in credit, not one bad cheque, and our A/R is now down to 28 days.
And btw, who pays for all of these extra costs? We have had to factor it in our rates. We don't have a choice...
Sorry to all the companies and brokers out there that tell me I'm nuts but, don't blame me... Blame all the other brokers and shippers that have forced us to quit our "Handshaking".
Sorry this has been so long but wanted to get this off my chest cause all the brokers are bitching about rates...
 
Thanks to everyone for the info....this is interesting.

I would imagine that there are as many bad carriers out there as there are bad brokers, however, in the end, the real losers are the good carriers who get ripped off by unscrupulous brokers, many of them who are mentioned here regularly.

I feel for other carriers who are not getting paid and keep my fingers crossed every time I take a load from a "new to us" broker.

Thanks for all the interesting reads!
 
I dont depend to loadlink for credit anymore like I used to, it's just not updated frequently enough for us to depend on. Internet truckstop is reliable and compunet is a good service if you deal with a US broker. Like someone else on this website said, you have to go with your gut feeling sometimes and it helps to ask other users on this website.
 
question for brokers

i also have a similar form as "manitoba moose", but i also ask if calls have to be made for payment, and how often. were there any "returned checks" issued. and when that is "checked" off, that noise.... is the door slamming shut. we also subscribe to 1st. advantage. RTS, and D&B, and you are correct, it does not ensure payment, but at least you've saved your money by not using these companies...
 
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