Having had some time to think this through a little further, I made the conscious decision to mess with some peoples minds a bit. Here goes ...
What the vast majority of the trucking industry, whether you are a carrier or a broker, does not understand is that the Bill of Lading is King. Every essence of the transaction(s) revolve around the Bill of Lading.
Why is that you might ask; because the Bill of Lading is a CONTRACT !!!!!
Let's look at a load example, involving a load broker, that happens quite often.
I book a load through a load broker from Point A to Point B. The load broker sends me the load confirmation, and in that load confirmation is all kinds of good information. Everything from where to pick it up and deliver it to, to where, when, and how I send my invoice to the load broker, to how long I can expect to wait to get paid. There's even a spot where I have to sign it and send it back ... which I do.
I send a driver to pick up the load of 1,000 cases of porcelain widgets, which are stacked on pallets, and shrink wrapped for protection. When loading is complete, the shipper hands three (3) documents to my driver. The first is a customs invoice for crossing into the U.S. The second is a certificate of origin, also used for crossing into the U.S. The third is a single sheet of paper that has a single line at the top of the document that says "Bill of Lading" and denotes the contents of the shipment, where the shipment comes from, and where it goes to. At the shipper's request, my driver signs a copy of the "Bill of Lading" and hands it back to the shipper. We are now free to go.
At the end of the day the load delivers just fine, and the broker pays me on time for my efforts.
But, there are loopholes. Big loopholes. Here are a couple ...
1. Technically there is no contract between the load broker and myself. I don't have a countersigned copy of the load tender. There is no witness to my signature. Hell, I don't even have authority to bind the corporation. I could go directly to the shipper and invoice them for the load without fear of recourse or recrimination from the load broker.
Yes I know there are lots of clauses in numerous load broker confirmations and contracts that say "if you take loads from this customer, you owe me ... yada yada yada". Ya ... See you in court.
2. Technically there is no contract between myself and the shipper. The Bill of Lading, also known by its proper title "The Contract of Carriage" has a couple of faults that render it inadequate;
a) It is not a properly configured bill of lading. Just because it says "Bill of Lading" at the top, does not mean it qualifies as a proper bill of lading.
b) There is no countersigning shipper's signature on my copy of the bill of lading.
What does all that mean?
Well, I could steal the load. Technically I don't have it.
The shipper could decide not to pay me, or the load broker. Technically I don't have the load.
I could charge the load broker ten times what was quoted. After all, we have nothing that is legally binding.
Load broker could decide to pay me half what was quoted. After all, we have nothing that is legally binding.
So, I'm left with a few questions ...
Why is everyone so concerned about dealing with loads that are, in the scammer sense, "double brokered"? First of all, what do you owe these scammers, and why, after you have discovered they are scammers, are you trying to be upstanding, honest, law-abiding citizens? Drop the gloves and meet 'em at center ice