Late Penalties & Fines

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Twopoints

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Aug 14, 2008
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I would like enlighten everyone on an experience I had with this company. Booked a load with this company over a week ago. Explained verbally the details and requirements of the load, then sent an order with the same information written on it and had them sign and return to me.

Day 1, we called 2 days prior to pick up and was told the equipment would be available and load was good to go.
Day 2, we called and was told everything was fine.
Day 3, we were told it was fine and a trailer would be dropped in the afternoon.
6pm - 10 pm - called dispatch several times to get confirmation and trailer number. No Answer. E-mailed and received a response of what was I talking about. At 10:30, I called again and spoke with the owner. I was told they were still at their delivery, but it would be there in the morning.
Day 4 - told that the trailer was dropped and driver would be heading to pick up trailer.
1 pm - told the trailer was empty - driver waiting for paperwork.
3 pm - called for confirmation and was told driver should be on his way.
5 pm - called to find out driver still there, don't know when he will be out. After finding another carrier that would let me use his trailer, I called and told them. They asked why that type of equipment (dry van) as they were sending in a reefer - (order specifically had written vented dry van only). I explained they could not use a reefer and was told that they could no longer handle the load.

I have stated to them that I would never use a company again which blames its other employees for not reading an order and signing their name on the order, plus after 2 days, bailing on the load and saying they weren't responsible and there was nothing more than they could do....

My two cents!

If anyone has advice on the best way to pursue legal action, please let me know. I have a signed order agreeing to pay any fines and/or charges related to missed pick up and delivery, plus agreeing to a $1050 fine for missing the delivery appt.

While most of the time, I let these things go, enough is enough, all the t's were dotted and ..... well you know.... and I still get screwed and will probably lose several hundred dollars booking last minute, not to mention possibly losing a client.

Another Brampton company can't do what it says !....
 
Twocents I hope you feel better after that post because it's about all the satisfaction you will be getting. Welcome to trucking.
 
I agree with lowmiler. You or your company picked them so you are responsible to your customer. Your only option is to place them on your DNU list and post here to inform others. Unfortunately with the entry requirements into the trucking industry as lax as they are you must establish better relationships with your vendors.

Sorry for your luck. I hope you can keep your customer.
 
Legal Action

Twopoints,
since they've signed back your confirmation, if it was worded properly, you could sue them in small claims court for repudiation of your contract. You can download the forms online and serve them upon the defendant personally. The cost is about $150 by the time your done.
 
General Rule

If I do not get a bonus equivalent to the fine for appointments that are met , I will not take the load.

Why should a carrier pay a fine because someone else along the supply chain made a mistake.

What percentage of the rate of the load does the fine represent?

Was the carrier going to get an extra $1500 if he was on time?
 
I did keep the client and ended up getting someone else to take it. They are on our DNU list. I appreciate the information about taking them to small claims court as they did sign off on all of the paperwork and everything was worded correctly.

As for the comments about a bonus for making it on time... seriously...that's the same attitude that is sinking this industry....That's actually the same attitude that gets you paid in 60 days. If you take a load with a pick up appt and a delivery appt, knowing there is a fine involved... end of story...If you can't do the job and there is no plausable reason as to why you coudn't make it... then you are just saying what you need to, to get the business...well....I know I've dealt with enough of those lot already and I don't deal with them anymore.
 
Your right, friendlybroker. I have much more respect for a carrier that tells me "no, I can't do that", than one who says "oh yeah, we'll do it, fax it over" and then proceeds to not do what he said he would. Fine or no fine, if you agree to do the job and all that it entails, be a pro and do it!
 
alx said:
If I do not get a bonus equivalent to the fine for appointments that are met , I will not take the load.

Why should a carrier pay a fine because someone else along the supply chain made a mistake.

What percentage of the rate of the load does the fine represent?

Was the carrier going to get an extra $1500 if he was on time?
Click to expand...

How many bonuses have you collected so far, if you don't mind me asking? I'm curious to know who would pay you more than the agreed upon rate for doing exactly what they requested you do? I have a customer that charges a fine if you are late and don't notify them immediately upon having the delay. In these times, the freight in the trailer is more than likely the customer's inventory. It's not like it was years ago when companies carried large amounts of inventory. If the customer loses a sale because you were late and didn't tell them, it doesn't sound unreasonable to me as long as the rate deduction isn't out of this world! The late charge is there as a deterrent, not a way to make money. Keep in touch with your contact and keep them informed.

My 2 cents (until we lose the penny, then I'm giving out nickels!)
 
RK

I guess you must not work with your own equipment!

Again I will repeat myself. We are in trucking and are affected by many factors out of our control; ie such as weather, traffic , accidents, and the worst problem being incompetence up the supply chain.

If I am to be fined when late, I expect a bonus if we are on time; business is a give and take, not a give, give.

Any supply chain analyst worth his salt will not allow for a supply line to go down because one truck is late!

Now if you are payng 50% above market rate for this freight because it is so time sensitive, the carrier bonus is included with the FSC in the rate.

Otherwise, why should the carrier be expected to pay for a supply chain miss calculation!!
 
alx, I work with our own equipment as well as broker freight. The fine is not for being late, it is for being late and not advising anyone of the delay. If a truck is going to be late, the customer can make changes to their production. How many times have we heard that there are 8 guys standing around the dock waiting for a truck? As long as you keep people advised you shouldn't get fined. I've had more than a dozen trucks delayed going to my customer with the fine policy and not one of them has been fined. Why? Because they told me and I in turn told my customer and rescheduled the delivery. There is a difference between rush freight and freight that is rolling inventory. Don't confuse the two. Rush freight should be booked at a premium because there is a short amount of time for delivery. Rolling inventory gives the driver enough time to arrive for his appointment. It is when he doesn't make that appointment time with no advance notice of the delay that the fine comes into play. The type of freight may be the difference in what you and I are saying.

I understand your point alx, but I can't see it happening with rolling inventory. I wish it would work that way, but it never does. Communication is all too important in our business as is good service. Some would suggest that you can't have one without the other.
 
RK

I understand your point, although I still disagree with the whole concept.

May I add, that we are talking about a reputable carrier. I have ruled out the possibility of arriving late without having advised the upper echelons of the supply chain about the delay. That is unprofessional and inexcusable.

With the proliferation of all sorts of communication alternatives , there is no valid reason for not having advised of the delay.

Now here is my stand on the rolling inventory: The analysts have decided that they will use this form of supply chain, and thus save their company many millions in warehousing costs.
They are now heroes and have saved their company lots of money. Why not make some more by levying fines on those that are tardy, it adds to the pot.

When the analysts chose this route among many others , they knew the inherent problems with it, one being tardy deliveries. They can take from the millions saved from warehousing and pay their 4 warehousing staff.

Why the trucking industry always allows the customer to walk all over them , I have yet to understand.

Again this rant is not because we tend to be late. We are an LTL carrier and therefore understand co ordination very well. We live off of repeat business, and we have this because we are in constant communication with our customers.

Just like to see fair play in the industry!
 
alx

I agree with your points. The trucking industry is a service industry. We can't tell our customers that we won't take their freight because it is rolling inventory and expect them to agree with us. If you or I won't do it, someone else will. That's just the nature of this industry. You say that you already communicate well with your customers. I suggest then that you don't need to worry about being fined for being late. As I said before, the fine is not to make more money it is to make sure that the customer knows where their freight is. Don't be afraid of the fine if you do everything you need to to keep your customer informed.
It's unfair to assume that the customer is using the fine idea as a way to make extra profit. It's to make sure they know where their freight is and when to expect it on their dock. LTL and TL loads are also different so I'm not speaking about LTL, only TL.

Cheers
 
RK

I see what you are saying.

You cannot tell your customer what to do.

You can always use the argument that someone else will do it, because it is true.

What you have to worry about is what you will do, leave the others out of the equation.

If the freight is valuable enough to warrant a fine for the late delivery, be it for whatever reason your client seems to need to justify it. The freight then has a value added and should not be sold as regular freight: i.e no penalties for late delivery.

Hopefully you are charging a premium for this value added service and passing it on to the carriers.

Although you cannot tell the client what to do , you can choose not to do it.

As you can see from my train of thought, that is what I would choose to do.

In an earlier post , one of our valued colleagues compared our industry to construction. I will do the same and mention that contractors often sign contracts with heavy fines for late delivery. These contracts always come with a substantial bonus if the work is carried out on time or earlier.

Again nothing for nothing.
 
alx

I guess we have to agree to disagree on this one. The product doesn't have the value, the piece of mind does but there is no dollar amount associated with it. The construction industry isn't the best for comparison in this case. I have yet to get or give a bonus for being early. If that happened, who would ever deliver as requested or late?
 
Two Points

I am assuming this thread was started by Two Points Logistics in Stoney Creek Ontario.

1/18/2011 @ 5:11pm posted on loadlink Brampton ON -> Riverside CA, 23ft, $1500

...you get what you pay for.
 
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