Freight Claims

Aceofspades

Member
Jul 21, 2008
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When a reciever/customer signs your bill of lading clear, how long do they have to make a claim? Can anybody give me some insight into this? Where do I find out what Laws govern this situation.
 
http://www.canlii.org/on/laws/regu/2005r.643/20080716/whole.html

ONT REG 643/05

12. Notice of Claim

i. No carrier is liable for loss, damage or delay to any goods carried under the contract of carriage unless notice of the loss, damage or delay setting out particulars of the origin, destination and date of shipment of the goods and the estimated amount claimed in respect of such loss, damage or delay is given in writing to the originating carrier or the delivering carrier within 60 days after delivery of the goods or, in the case of failure to make delivery, within nine months after the date of shipment.



ii. The final statement of the claim must be filed within nine months after the date of shipment, together with a copy of the paid freight bill.


However, in the case of a clear signature, it becomes a little "greyer". Is it a shortage or a damage.
Did you physically inspect the goods when the customer advised you of the exception? Was there damage to the cartons to such an extent that it should have been noticed at time of delivery?
Was there any other damage in the trailer (assuming it was delivered on the same trailer as the pickup)?
 
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Frieght Claims

Thank you for the help. We delivered a load of steel on March 23. No problem. Load was checked. Bill of lading was signed. Have a nice day. On June 17 got a phone call saying that the load got wet in transit. I showed photos to driver. he says no way. I seen the load in the yard and it was tarped well. Something seems fishy to me.
 
Inherent Vice

Don't know if you've resolved this one yet, but steel rusts when exposed to air. No doubt about it. It's a classic example of inherent vice. You are excused from liability based on the inherent vice of the goods transported. Steel rusts, water evaporates, etc.

Also, since it was signed clear, the onus is now on your shipper to prove it was damaged upon delivery and in no way could have been damaged in their care. Not impossible, but highly unlikely. You are are good grounds to deny this one.
 
Ace of Spades, I have moved many, many loads of steel over the years and I have dealt with this same issue. As they had signed the BOL as received in apparent good condition and 86 days have elapsed since then, I can't help but think that their just trying you on for size. If they seem to be absolutely serious about this, then you may rightly conclude that they might be in financial trouble and will try this with every load they've received since June. It may cause you do update your credit report on them to look for signs of longer and longer payment times. I have only one raw steel customer left and like every other steel business, they're seriously hurting right now. Even though they generally pay within selling terms, because of market conditions, I have them on COD only and they are mad as hell - better them than us.

About credit reports - my issue with the reporting agencies is that they do not differentiate payment histories to tangible goods suppliers and service providers. If you discover a variance in the report of some being paid on time and some not, you may conclude that service providers get paid slower than goods suppliers, and recosider doing any more work for them.