Fun Accessorial Situation

MikeJr

MikeJr

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Jan 21, 2010
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Thunder Bay, Ontario
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What would you do?

I had a carrier pick up a shipment in PA destined for ON (truckload). Truck is given a door and loaded near the end of the day (4:30PM). The next morning, we receive a call from the carrier asking for the CI so they can get across the border as one was not provided at the time of pickup.

Turns out the truck was loaded with a load destined for GA!!

Driver is asked to return to the shipper (200 miles) to get offloaded and reloaded with the correct freight and is given a correct BOL and CI at the time of reload.

Other details:
Driver was given a pickup number to present to the shipper
BOL indicating GA was given to the driver and signed at the original loading time

Who is liable for the layover and return to get reloaded costs? I'm open to any questions or details that people want answered.

Happy Monday!
Mike
 
I would say to charge back shipper for extra miles, but driver and his dispatch should have noticed the paperwork had wrong location on it before driving 200 miles
 
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As a carrier, I regrettably believe that the driver is in the wrong here. As soon as the driver signs the BOL he is accepting that load.
I'm also not sure why the driver would wait until the next day to tell dispatch that there was no customs docs.
Carrier needs to eat the charges and accept responsibility and reprimand the driver accordingly.

Maybe they need to hire better drivers as well....
 
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Thanks guys,
If it were a simple oh it's been caught just after the truck left and was rectified quickly, it would be one thing but now that the driver drove 200 miles it's a little stickier.

Also, I'd agree that the shipper did in fact load the wrong freight, but had the driver read the BOL before signing it perhaps it could have been prevented.

I hope Randy isn't super pissed when I let him know the customer has rejected the extra charges we were asking for. I''m stuck in the middle as always...

Thanks all,
Mike
 
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Yaya, that shipper is a doozie in York... Huff.
In this case it's the other shipper you probably also know in Lebanon PA.
People make mistakes, I get it, but lets work together to prevent them.

Keep well,
Mike
 
Time for a refresher course for that carriers drivers, on the importance of the Bill of Lading. Shippers can load the wrong freight on the trailer and even give the driver an incorrect Bill of Lading, but if Mr/Ms Driver would take a few minutes to read it before scratching his “John Henry” at the bottom, mistakes like this can be avoided long before the dreaded “extra charges” make an appearance.
 
If only he were a member here and could see the responses provided by other carriers...
I think he's pretty mad...

Update: He's pretty angry. I sent him the link to this thread and mentioned I've not posted his company name yet.

Amazing how someone else makes a mistake then I'm stuck losing a customer or a carrier over it. Sad really.

Good times.
Mike
 
MikeJr said:
If only he were a member here and could see the responses provided by other carriers...
I think he's pretty mad...

Update: He's pretty angry. I sent him the link to this thread and mentioned I've not posted his company name yet.

Amazing how someone else makes a mistake then I'm stuck losing a customer or a carrier over it. Sad really.

Good times.
Mike
Click to expand...

Sounds like a situation where a compromise needs to be worked out with the Shipper and the Carrier. Depending on how much you value one over the other.
 
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loaders said:
Time for a refresher course for that carriers drivers, on the importance of the Bill of Lading. Shippers can load the wrong freight on the trailer and even give the driver an incorrect Bill of Lading, but if Mr/Ms Driver would take a few minutes to read it before scratching his “John Henry” at the bottom, mistakes like this can be avoided long before the dreaded “extra charges” make an appearance.
Click to expand...

In defense of the driver, how often do carriers and brokers ask them to make blind pickups? How many importers to Canada give the driver documentation showing sold to a US head office but ship to canada with customs invoices sent directly to broker and never provided to the driver.
 
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All true thebluffs1. However, drivers should remember that if a shipper offers them something other than what their dispatch told them, call the office. If the Bill of Lading looks different or is wrong, call the office. If the shipper does not provide customs docs, call the office. Shippers and drivers are all human and make mistakes, but if one party is checking the other, most of the mistakes can be caught before they become a big expensive problem.
 
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I value both relationships as I need customers and carriers both.

We went to bat and approached the shipper several times about this and hoped they would assist in the charges, all the while they continue to give us more business (daily).

On the carrier side, I was advised "I should have dumped your freight in NY when it was discovered the wrong load was on my truck..."

I know who values the relationship with us and who does not. Too bad really, wouldn't it be better to discuss the lane, maybe this carrier would like several more of these shipments in which case their costs to fix this shipment are diluted among many other loads. This shipper ships all year long so why not try and find a win-win out of the situation?

Keep well,
Mike
 
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loaders said:
All true thebluffs1. However, drivers should remember that if a shipper offers them something other than what their dispatch told them, call the office. If the Bill of Lading looks different or is wrong, call the office. If the shipper does not provide customs docs, call the office. Shippers and drivers are all human and make mistakes, but if one party is checking the other, most of the mistakes can be caught before they become a big expensive problem.
Click to expand...

Exactly,
Sometimes regretfully, our dispatch sheet could have an inaccurate customs broker on it (say the client changed without letting us know), but the driver notices on the CI that it lists someone other than who we specified... We get a call pretty quickly asking us to verify so they send the paperwork to the right broker. How is this any different? It's why my cell number appears on each and every carrier confirmation sheet - I want to help keep trucks rolling any time of the day. Albert's cell is there too, just saying.

Thanks all for your comments, it appears as though I may have lost a carrier unfortunately. Time will tell.

Keep well,
Mike
 
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thebluffs1 said:
In defense of the driver, how often do carriers and brokers ask them to make blind pickups? How many importers to Canada give the driver documentation showing sold to a US head office but ship to canada with customs invoices sent directly to broker and never provided to the driver.
Click to expand...
I agree with this, also we have had some really good drivers over the years, ones with meticulous paperwork, but have great difficulty reading english, let alone reading their own language. Not an excuse just reality.
 
Jennifer R said:
I agree with this, also we have had some really good drivers over the years, ones with meticulous paperwork, but have great difficulty reading english, let alone reading their own language. Not an excuse just reality.
Click to expand...

For sure,
As thebluffs1 said, blind and even double blind shipments happen. When they do, we must notify the carrier that they are such and provide the documentation that the importer would like used for pickup/deliver/both. There are quite a few carriers out there that can not accommodate blind shipments, they just aren't set up to do them and they refuse blind shipments when you try and tender them.

Whtiship said it best: Communication, communication, communication. All parties, all the time, any time of day. It's the only way in this industry to get the job done.

Keep well,
Mike
 
Update:

The shipper has agreed to take 50% responsibility, I'm going to offer the carrier 50% of what they originally asked for as is the ethical thing to do.

Time will tell if they cut us off or appreciate the collection effort.

Keep well,
Mike
 
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