load brokers, bonds, and business
In every industry there are good and bad.
If a broker is double brokering a load he should be cut off. The Link site is a fraud facilitator in it's current state. Letting load brokers act as trucking companies with no trucks invites fraudulent activity. The carrier ends up in court or playing "hunt the cheque" and the carrier is the one with the fuel bill, truck bill, drivers wages, and repairs all of which are at a much higher $ value than that of the telephone lines etc. than the load broker is paying for. There's no comparison. Look at Rockman, I haven't had a load from them yet that wasn't double brokered... and as soon as I find out a load is double brokered I call the Link and what happens... nothing. It's as simple as them asking for the US border crossing decal registration for a company's fleet of trucks when they are registering as a US/CND carrier. This will ensure that the "broker/carrier" actually has equiment that goes to the US. These types of slimey load brokers give the good guys a bad name and bad taste is left in the mouth of the carrier who was defrauded.
Hey, we'll just "post a truck we don't have" and then we'll find someone who actually has equipment and take $ off the load and give ourselves some really good profit for picking up the phone and ripping off a carrier...the unsuspecting carrier then waits... they mail the bill to the broker the broker mails the bill to the real broker and then the customer pays the real broker and then the real broker pays the double broker and then if you're really lucky the carrier gets paid... if you get paid. The carrier is out of pocket thousands in expenses, but hey that's ok, they can wait for their money... again, if they actually get paid. You have to try collecting that debt to truly appreciate how difficult it becomes.
Trinity in Vancouver isn't even Trinity Transport.... they're just sort of "using their name"... it's a vacant unit in a government housing complex... sent the RCMP to that door.... funny we got a cheque via purolator after only 98 days... and a visit from the RCMP to the complex manager... The "fake" Trinity was actually paying up more than they were getting paid for the load from the broker in the US.... they never intended to pay up they intended to defraud us.
And there are some really good guys out there also who take responsibility for their actions and those of the clients and their clients customs brokers. Those guys are who we all need to do business with. If you going to use a load broker, use just 1 and make sure your carriers are getting paid. Don't ignor those phone calls from carriers saying they haven't been paid. You're a shipper paying the bill and untimately the guy who's responsible for the bill. If it states you are responsible on that BOL you are still responsible even if your agent the "load broker" doesn't pay the carrier. If the people in AP don't pay your bills it doesn't mean you don't have to still pay them. If your wife uses your VISA card to buy the BBQ you asker her to pick up you still have to pay VISA - you can't say, Oh my wife did that - it doesn't exclude you from being responsible for paying bills you created just because your agent didn't pay it....
It's a legal battle, but it's the law and for those carriers with enough fortitude and finance to make the court date happen they will get paid. Don't let it slide, if it's only $300.00 file the small claims action - make noise, because if you don't, those slimey guys will continue in this industry and they will continue to profit and carriers will continue to loose money. Having a bond doesn't mean much if it's only $10K. National Traffic had a bond and we had a court judgement - never saw a dime. The bond was long gone before the court date to some of other people he didn't pay. Link didn't even cut him off til her was 1/4 million in judgements and then they cut him off because he hadn't paid them either. 1 Deck load out west and back and boom there goes the entire bond. How much money does a broker do in 90 days as a gross number? That should be the minimum bond amount.
