Baron Finance

htcollections

Suspended Member
10
I paid Baron Finance 3 months ago after receiving an assignment letter from them. Last week, a carrier contacted my client and advised him that they had not been paid for a load. It ends up that the carrier i paid, did not actually complete the delivery. The staff at Baron Finance advised me they can not do anything. I asked to speak to the owner and they hung up on me. Does anyone know if they are responsible to make sure the end carrier was paid? And does anyone know who the owner of Baron Finance is? I do not want the client to be lost, but i can not afford to pay twice. Does Baron Finance brokers also? I thought they would only finance carriers? Help please?
 

Freight Broker

Well-Known Member
30
Payment of the other carrier is completely up to the carrier that you paid unless there's something linking you to that other carrier. If you didn't hire them and there's no mention of them on any of your paperwork then you're clear of being responsible for paying them. If they contact you then tell them that you already paid to have this load delivered and that they should follow-up with the carrier you had hired for payment. I would also assure your client that he/she is in good hands and that you will deal with this situation. This has really got nothing to do with the factoring co. although they shouldn't have hung up on you.
 
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EricG

Site Supporter
20
I'm very surprised that Baron hung up on you! Baron has been a client of ours for years, and we have excellent daily communication with them. As far as factoring companies as clients, Baron is outstanding in our books.

We do not use them for factoring, they utilize us for local courier shipments. To the best of my knowledge Baron Finance doesn't broker freight.
 

htcollections

Suspended Member
10
Yes, I paid Barons client( the client factored with Baron) only for us to find out that this carrier used another carrier. Thanks for the help .
 

loaders

Site Supporter
30
I guess it would be foolish to ask if this first carrier, the one you contracted with and then re-sold the load, was authorized to operate as a freight broker? It certainly emphasizes the importance of checking customs documents on each and every load to ensure the party you contracted with is the carrier who actually moved the freight. The carrier who wasn't paid for handling the shipment, and has proof of that, does have a legitimate claim for payment and could make things difficult for your customer, or whomever was responsible for the freight charges. I would suggest that you direct your efforts towards this first party and find out why they haven't paid the actual carrier. It would be nice if Baron Finance could assist you in some way, but I suppose they have no vested interest in this matter.
 

Freight Broker

Well-Known Member
30
I had this same situation happen to me a couple of times although in my cases there were no factoring companies involved. In the first case I told the delivering carrier point blank that they should go after the carrier that I had hired and had already paid. I guess they did that as I heard nothing further on the matter. In the second case the delivering carrier took me to small claims.. The judge in the case asked the plaintiff to produce a contract showing my obligation to pay him. He obviously couldn't provide that or anything else other than a photocopied delivery receipt with his name scribbled on it. The judge then asked me if I had any supporting documentation. I responded that I had no idea who the plaintiff was or even why I was brought to court. The judge laughed and dismissed the case... the whole proceeding took about five minutes plus the time it took me to drive to the court house.
 

loaders

Site Supporter
30
The unpaid carrier should be using the facts presented on the Bill of Lading, in other words, who was ultimately responsible for the freight charges? I doubt very much that htcollection's company was named as such. More likely it was either a collect or prepaid shipment, and more importantly, who benefited by receipt of the shipment? There have been ample legal cases both in Canada and the US, of receivers having to pay the freight bill twice, once to the freight broker they gave the load to and again to the carrier who hauled the freight and never received payment. It is the party named on the B/L who is ultimately responsible for paying the carrier. Hopefully this problem will get resolved long before there is any discussion of legal action.
 

Freight Broker

Well-Known Member
30
These problems are usually resolved by telling the shipper and receiver who it is that you hired to move the load. If some other carrier comes in with the load then we have them sign a release before the load comes off the truck indemnifying myself, the shipper, and the receiver from having to pay this carrier and any liabilities associated with this carrier. It's generally a nonissue as the delivering carrier is almost always also the guy who picked the load up. And I always make sure that the shipper knows who I'm sending in to pickup his freight.

About the BOL, anyone could put any name on there, but without a signature its pretty much meaningless. I could put Bozo the Clown in for "Carrier".. or anyone else for that matter. Moreover, many loads travel without a BOL.. like port loads. The only BOL there is is the ocean BOL which has nothing to do with the furtherance of the shipment from port to final receiver. And the ports generally do not issue their own Bills of Lading. Instead they provide "delivery orders" which often show nothing more than the contents of the load and receiver destination. And don't ask the carrier to provide a BOL.. most don't have any on hand and will simply accept the port's Delivery Order.
 

lowmiler88

Site Supporter
30
I want to live in your world Freight Broker it seems like a very stress free place. If the load originated or delivered in Ontario the carrier that actually did the load can go after the shipper or receiver and probably win.
 

Freight Broker

Well-Known Member
30
I generally don't get stressed...it's bad for the health. I don't know who can win what in court, I just make sure that I'm on the winning side of any litigation that involves me. Fight hard for what's right even when the law is an ass (as it often is).
 

loaders

Site Supporter
30
It is certainly true that many carriers won't prepare their own Bill of Lading and will nonchalantly sign and accept virtually any type of document when assuming care and control of a shipment. In most cases, providing everything goes smoothly, there is never a problem with that. However, each and every time I have been involved with a situation involving insurance companies or law firms, the first thing they ask is, "where's the Bill of Lading"? As it's other name suggests, Contract Of Carriage, spells out all of the terms and particulars and identifies all of the parties taking part in the shipment. In htcollections case, if the carrier who performed the work is named as the carrier on the B/L, they have a strong case for receiving their rightful compensation. There are lots of things that you could go to court for and "fight the good fight" to prove a point, but most often we don't. It has been my experience though, that when it is a matter of non-payment, everyone goes to court eventually.
 

Igor Galanter

Well-Known Member
20
Have a quick question here, folks!

What role plays Confirmation in cases like that?
Does it help or no matter?
Thank you in advance.
 

loaders

Site Supporter
30
All correspondence between the parties plays a role when a matter like this ends up in court. A Load Confirmation certainly can help to establish the "trail" of how the different parties became involved with each other. It has been my experience that a Bill of Lading, signed by the shipper, the carrier and the receiver, carries much more importance than an e-mailed Load Confirmation. Assuming a carriers position for a moment, if I hauled a load for anyone..... broker, carrier or shipper, and didn't get paid from the party who said they would pay me, I would go after the company named on the B/L as being responsible for the freight charges.
 

htcollections

Suspended Member
10
I'm very surprised that Baron hung up on you! Baron has been a client of ours for years, and we have excellent daily communication with them. As far as factoring companies as clients, Baron is outstanding in our books.

We do not use them for factoring, they utilize us for local courier shipments. To the best of my knowledge Baron Finance doesn't broker freight.
Yes,
 

htcollections

Suspended Member
10
I was told these funds should be held in trust by the entity we pay . And that the final carrier must be paid. In this case, our customer is a manufacturer and not a transport company. Thank you for all the input.
 

loaders

Site Supporter
30
You are correct in saying that the party you paid was supposed to deposit those funds into a trust account for final distribution to the carrier who performed the job. That is what an Ontario based freight broker is supposed to do with the funds they receive as stipulated under the Highway Traffic Act. However, you gave the shipment to a carrier, who then in turn sold the load to another carrier without your knowledge or consent, and it seems, without an Ontario trust account or proper US Broker authority (assuming it was a cross border shipment).
 
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