Easy Way to prevent double brokering

Jim L

Jim L

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Mar 2, 2009
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Double brokering is on the rise now a days and I feel I have a solution to the problem. If all load brokers use this system for cross border loads it will become a part of the normal procedure and the carriers who take the loads will not have a problem complying if they are not double brokering.

1st. Ask for their receipt from the NMFTA regarding their SCAC renewal. This must be renewed every year in June.
2nd. Ask for their confirmation from CBSA regarding their carrier code number. This is provided to the carrier and stays with the carrier. It does not need to be renewed unless they are Canada Customs bonded which a bond needs to be updated yearly.
3rd. Every shipment ask for the PAPS or PARS number. This number can be confirmed on line that it has indeed been entered and crossed. The first 4 digits of both these numbers will coincide with the carrier SCAC code or CBSA carrier code.

If you follow this procedure, you will know right away who double brokers and who should be paid for the freight. It is a bit of work and requires another process but it can be easily done with a bit of extra time or you may just decide to do it as an auditing routine (the first and every 10th load for each carrier)

Let me know what you think.
 
We have just started getting all of our carriers codes and entering them in our system, we are comparing all customs paperwork to this number as a check before paying. Same idea, we think it will work for us, every order we book we are saying we are comparing this number to their customs clearance and to make sure it is picking up with a truck with the company name on it.
What is the website you check? Is there a general website you can plug the carrier code into and get the name of the carrier?
 
You can also check the SAFESTAT site by FMCSA if you have there name or DOT# or MC#. It tells you very quickly if they are legit, have trucks, it will tell you if they have had issues and been revoked. It is a very helpfull site it has saved me from making a few mistakes.

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/safestat/SafeStatMain.asp

oh and it's free!
 
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All Brokers/Carriers utilizing equipment other than their own should obtain (at a minimum) the following prior to releasing shipment info to a Carrier.

Obtain Carrier MC# and CVOR#
Check (CDA) CVOR Safety Rating
Check (USA) Safersys online
Check C-TPAT, PIP, and FAST registrations
Obtain Insurance Certificate naming your company as "holder"
Have an agreement for accessorial charges

You may never eliminate double brokering but you can certainly use due diligence. Ensure you pay the carrier that performed the service or you may find yourself liable again.

All the above is free and can be available within minutes.
 
These checks and balances are obviously far more difficult on domestic loads. This explains why the true double brokering crooks are concentrating more on the full loads between Western Canada and here.
 
Does anyone have an idea how to prevent double brokerage moving loads between Western Canada and here.
 
West Can loads

These are the ones that always seem to get double brokered, or a high occurance of DB.
OUR RULES
No new carriers. Only people we have used before and had success with.

Along with your standard stuff like, WSIB, CVOR, etc. All these carriers must have an ICC, so we can check out if ever inspected. What are the chances the carrier runs no USA and only Canada? Slim to none.

If you have a good relationship with your customer, advise the shipper to only load this truck, and advise the consignee this is the carrier delivering. Any differences call immediately.

It's a hard line but we don't seem to be getting burnt anymore. If you can't find a descent carrier, sometimes its better to say no I can only offer you "this", and give them a different option.
 
Double Brokering

I make it a point to educate all my customers regarding exercising due diligence and know who's truck they or their vendor are actually loading, confirm identity and credentials of drivers, and copying license numbers both tractor and trailer. This helps them from assisting a potential thief to steal a truckload of their product. If it's not the carrier we tell them, then it doesn't get loaded. Protects all legitimate parties involved.
 
Knowing license plates you can not prevent double brokerage. How can you find out who these licence plates belong to?
 
Double Brokering

AGIAZ

You can't know who the plates belong to, but the police can. With these troubling times, double brokering, theft, and fraud are becoming more frequent. The point of making note of license plate numbers, along with all other identification/information about the carrier and driver who show up to load, makes it a part of a general security protocol. It's a little more work for the shipper, but exercising due diligence is everyone's responsibility, and just good business practice.

When the shipper has all the information of whom to expect to come in to get loaded, and there's any discrepancies, the shipper doesn't load the truck - period! Double brokering and/or attempted theft gets nipped in the bud so to speak.

Same thing with checking out the delivering carrier. If it's not the truck you expect to deliver, then it's evidence of double brokering and helps determine who is to get paid. In my humble opinion, if a shipper loads anyone who just shows up asking for a particular load without checking credentials, then they are guilty of contributory negligence, in the case of theft, and that could affect the outcome of an insurance claim.
 
AGIAZ,

Plates aren't the absolute determining factor here. I think the main point being made is that if the company name on the side of the truck does not match the carrier name provided to the customer (shipper AND receiver), that is a big enough red flag that tells them something isn't right.........
The majority of our customers ask for the name of the driver making the pickup/delivery, truck number, and trailer number.
"No Name" trucks, rentals, hand-written name on a ratty piece of cardboard taped to the side of the truck, etc. is pretty clear indication that something fishy is going on.
 
For the Carriers out there, what do you do if you receive a load and find out that it was double brokered? Do you confront the broker you got it from?
 
double-brokered loads

We ended up hauling double-brokered loads two times. The first time was for Kode Transport who ended up closing and ran away with everyone's money. We eventually got paid from their customer who had to pay twice for the same load. The second time was a load from Ram Western Express (they have a whole thread of their own on this site.....). We still haven't been paid for that invoice yet.
As carriers, we have to confront the broker because we are the ones who get the shaft when things go wrong.
 
As a carrier, how do we make sure that the load we haul for a broker is not double-brokered?
Do we call the shipper and ask them who they gave their freight to? Do we create "mass panic" and suspicion?
Just curious how other carriers handle this issue.
 
I think to try and figure out whether or not the loads we receive have been double brokered would take a lot of time and just be a headache. I think it should be the original brokers responsibilty to see if their load has been double brokered.

The few times we have discovered that we are hauling double brokered loads it has been beacause the customs or bill of lading has the original brokers name on them.
 
I can only suggest you perform a thorough and complete credit check before agreeing to deliver the goods. If you have satisfied yourself by doing this then it really does not matter whether or not the load has been double or tripple brokered. It is primarily upto the owner of the goods to source out reputable suppliers. If they utilize a scammer or a broker that goes bankrupt they can and have been held liable to the delivering carrier irregardless of any prior freight payment. The practice of double brokering maybe unethical in the industry, but if you think about it from a carrier perspective who cares as long as you get paid the rate you agreed to when you expect it.
 
Double brokering prevention

This is a great discussion. Our company too has been burned by double brokering and they have all been loads between the GTA and Western Canada.
We are super careful now.
We do a complete reference check on the carrier if they have not hauled for us before. We ask for three references and ask that the references are from brokers they have hauled for in the last 3 months. We also check owners -- first and last name! We get named as a certificate holder on the insurance, we check ICC MC number, we even go as far as pulling up the trucking company's address on Google Earth (satellite image) -- if it is a house -- we at least talk to the carrier about why they operate from a house.
Most scammers will run away once you start asking for all of this information. If we all do this -- these criminals will be out of business!
Also, we have actually driven to the customers while the freight is loading to talk to the driver and find out who he works for etc.
Another trick is to ask for ORIGINAL POD's --
Good luck to everyone in stopping this crime in our industry!
 
Salma said:
We ended up hauling double-brokered loads two times....

......We eventually got paid from their customer who had to pay twice for the same load.....
Click to expand...

We are having a problem collecting from a Burlington carrier who we discovered double brokered LTL shipments to us on a trip we made back in September. This company also does not have broker authority.

Can anyone give me any suggestions on how to go about collecting from the brokers he got the loads from, or from the shippers themselves?

Also, how does one go about reporting brokering cross-border loads without US broker authorities?

We are new to this underworld activity and would appreciate any advice from you seasoned veterans. We have confirmed with the original brokers that this carrier was in fact paid months ago for all 5 shipments which we carried and have not been paid for. We have also given the carrier the opportunity to make good on his obligations to us.

Thanks for any suggestions!
 
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