Excuse of the day

MikeJr

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Jan 21, 2010
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Thunder Bay, Ontario
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Hey guys,

Please help me determine if the excuse of the day is valid:

Carrier has a rental truck, is pulled over at a scale in QC who notices that the IFTA sticker is expired. Rental company is couriering the sticker to the scale location as this is not a situation where they issue a fine but rather park the truck until resolved.

True or BS?

I love Friday afternoons! :)
Mike
 
Hi Mike,

I would think that it would be easy to qualify with the rental company? Might be worth the call anyways?
PR
 
Entirely possible Mike; with some of these rental company's we have found that everything needs to be verified before you take the truck. We have had situations with licence plates expired, safety out of date, tires not legal tread etc. and IFTA could certainly be something a driver may overlook when hoping into a rental (temporary) unit to get the job done. All depends how well you know this carrier and how much of an issue this is putting you in to determine if it is a legit delay or not, but yes, entirely possible from our experience. TGIF!
 
I would believe it this were January or even as far into the year as April. But September? Does that mean that the rental truck has not had a proper circle check done on it in over eight months?
 
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Thanks all,

I smelled something here. Now I look and see it's a new carrier, first time load and it's a TL from BC to NB... Here's hoping that the consignee will check the side of the truck for me at the time of delivery (Monday) so I know who's got my freight on their truck..

Huff, the martini will taste good later tonight...
Mike
 
I agree with @PackRat - call the rental company and verify the story. Since IFTA decals need to be ordered every year for each truck in the fleet, does that mean that they had the sticker in their possession and just couldn't be bothered to put it on the truck? You should send them a bill with charges for "laziness".
 
If we deducted every time a carrier was late I may be able to retire someday, of course we can't do that.
Instead my elders will outlive me because they live healthier lifestyles (meaning I'll never have an inheritance) and I'll work until I die...
Maybe that's for another thread...

I've got customer service asking for the rental companies contact info and contract number. Who knows, maybe the story is legit.

Keep well,
Mike
 
I actually believe this is entirely possible. I am assuming that the tractor rental is short term ... a mechanic is not necessarily focused on the IFTA sticker when checking out a truck, and because rental units sometimes transfer locations someone may have dropped the ball. The driver should have seen it before ... but hey, it is what it is.

If the carrier is based in QC, I'd call BS though ... I don't see why a carrier wouldn't just get a trip permit rather than laying over a driver for this.
 
I know it's the creative ones I want to believe.

eg. Driver's wife had a baby so the driver parked the truck and flew home, we are sending a team down so that one driver can hop out and get our truck... BS, maybe, points for creativity for sure!

Happy Friday,
Mike
 
I would believe it this were January or even as far into the year as April. But September? Does that mean that the rental truck has not had a proper circle check done on it in over eight months?
Licencing and paperwork is quite often missed.

I myself have seen companies rent/lease from Ryder or Penske trucks for a month or so in the summer and the trucks still didn't have an updated IFTA because nobody previously had required their use out of province where that would be an issue.
 
Funny you bring that up Snafu,

In this case, it's a BC Penske rental and the scale house in question is in QC. It's like you had a 6th sense about this one.

Keep well,
Mike
 
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Funny you bring that up Snafu,

In this case, it's a BC Penske rental and the scale house in question is in QC. It's like you had a 6th sense about this one.

Keep well,
Mike
LOL, not really a 6th sense Mike, I have a friend whose brother got caught up in this same predicament 2 summers ago. Penske rental out of Ontario and shut down at the Kamploops scale in BC on that occasion though. A lot of the van line agents in the moving industry lease Penske tractors to cover the busy summer moving season.
 
The problem might not be the rental company. If the unit was originally rented without a PRP plate, it would not be registered or allowed to travel outside of the province. I have heard of companies who try or plead ignorance that they didn't know the rental unit had to stay in the home province. This might be the case here in which case the driver/rentee is in a lot of trouble.
 
Thanks Jim for the insight on this one.
I received communication from the Penkse rental agent and the address of the scale house where they were sending the sticker in my case.
The more you know!

Keep well,
Mike