Question Regarding Fines against carriers

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Thefriendlybroker1

Active Member
Jan 31, 2013
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Hey everyone. wasn't sure if this was the right section, but being related to a carrier, I thought i'd throw it up and get some of your opinions.

When a carrier blatantly misses a number of delivery appointments ( lets say 2 or 3 over the course of 5 days ) and you are forced to hire another carrier to complete the job, what rights do companies/ brokers have in this.

We have a situation with a carrier which missed 3 appts and after the 5th day ( after the original due date, they told us another 4 days... we had them drop it at another carrier and paid that carrier to bring it to delivery )

we've discussed with the carrier that they would need to cover this cost and they are outright refusing too along with the typical threatening to call everyone on the BOL. This co. per say is not the hauling co ,but the dispatch service which finds loads for the carrier. Do they even have the right to get involved as they are not the co. which the order was made out too.

I am not looking to get anything extra out of the load, but also will not lose money and want to deduct from their invoice for the additional costs we incurred ( our order does state that we are allowed to deduct from invoice any charges occurred by them missing an appt )

Would appreciate some opinions from the various professionals on here.
 
We had a similar situation just recently. In our case the carrier who had missed the delivery time and couldn't make it even the next day, agreed to absorb the costs we incurred to get the shipment delivered close to on-time. Without knowing the details of your situation and the dollar values involved, I would deduct your additional costs from the carrier's total bill. This is of course, after trying everything possible to come to a settlement. So what if they call all of the parties on the BOL? It's not like you're refusing to pay them for a delivery they did do! It has always been my belief that you are obliged to pay for services rendered. If you did not receive that service, you are under no obligation to pay.
The whole "dispatch service" thing is troubling to me. How do they get paid? A flat monthly fee, a percentage of the gross monthly revenue, or a percentage of each individual load? Depending on the form of their remuneration, they could be construed as a freight broker themselves, re-brokering freight they obtained from whatever sources. Who presents the freight invoice to you, the actual carrier, or the 'dispatch service"? The answers to these questions could determine why they want to get themselves involved in this failure to deliver scenario. Please, keep us informed as to the outcome.
 
Why did the carrier miss his delivery appointments? I would go easy on him if its weather related or somehow due to circumstances beyond his control. Was the delivery time frame discussed at the outset?
 
the dispatch co. ( did not identify themselves as that at this point - said they were carrier ) agreed to a delivery on a wed. on the wed, they changed it to fri, then to monday, then to tues. On the friday afternoon, after being informed of the tues not being possible - but thursday likely, we had it dropped at a dock ( 10 hrs away ) and had another carrier pick it up for 700.00 and del as soon as possible.

I was able to get the driver's number and he was the one who told me they never told him a due date ( recorded on text ) and that they had him doing pick ups all over the US on his way back. I'm not sure how they get paid. I haven't gotten a freight invoice yet, so I'm not sure who will be billing me, but after doing more research, they have 2 other co. they are associated with, and one of them was one of the references they provided me when i set up with them. I honestly don't believe the driver has a clue whats going and is trying to make an honest buck, but the co.'s straight out refusal to accept any responsibility has irked me and i'm not going to back down. I've asked for a contract stating they have power of attorney to act on his behalf as well as their MC # and insurance and surety. I believe with them getting the loads from Link ( By using their other co. set up which is a link client - already not allowed by link ) and giving it to a transport co, they may not be considered double brokering as they dispatch for him, but they would be considered a transport co. in some manner/ form.
 
I'd short pay their invoice and include a letter with your payment clearly explaining why the invoice was short paid. Unless its a huge amount they'll have no choice but to accept it or take you to small claims..
 
I think thats how i will play it out as well..... at this point, I'm waiting for a call back from the owner of the trucking co ( i probably won't even have to deal with this dispatch serv. co )

I would prefer not to go to small claims seeing as they are out in BC and I'm in toronto and load ended in AB.. but if i have to , i will have to go and counter-sue for costs
 
Unless you have a signed agreement stating the service parameters expected and the penalties for not meeting them, you really do not have any recourse against the carrier regardless of the reason(s) why they dropped the ball and the additional charges you incurred by trying to fix the problem.
Yes, you are paying for service and expect it to be good. Morally the carrier should try to help if they truly screwed up, legally they are under no obligation to.
 
They didn't fulfill their end of the bargain. The original rate was for completing the load, from shipper to receiver(s). They ran into trouble and agreed to drop the load at some other carrier for completion. And they expect the same rate as if they'd completed the load?
 
Deduct and send the payment with the letter registered mail so you can prove they got it. Also pretty sure the people on the BOL know they screwed up so they will tell them to go pound salt also.
 
well..my orders state that by picking up the load, they agree to the terms which include the carrier being responsible for any charges caused by missed pick up and / or delivery and that those charges will be deducted from the invoice. There was no weather issues - just a dispatch co. which lied to the carrier and didn't tell him when it was due. The BOL has the crossdock name on it where it was dropped as well.

I will be sending a letter/ and email with copy of the invoice from the other carrier and the cheque I paid them as well as the explanation for deduction.
 
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Freight Broker said:
They didn't fulfill their end of the bargain. The original rate was for completing the load, from shipper to receiver(s). They ran into trouble and agreed to drop the load at some other carrier for completion. And they expect the same rate as if they'd completed the load?
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Yes, that is different since they did not deliver the load. I should have read the post closer, I thought they were late delivering the load.
 
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thats what i'm planning on doing... they are saying because the order was resent with the new addy and the rate wasn't changed, we can't deduct ( but the order clearly has address and states due to driver not being able to make delivery on time ) ...

I've left messages for the true owner of the transport co. and he's not even called back, so i'm sure this will continue for some time. I will keep you all posted on how this plays out. the Disp. service co. has went very quiet since yesterday when i advised them i needed the letter giving them power of attorney to act on the carrier's behalf, along with their MC and surety info.
 
Without reading all posts below - please refresh my memory on the name of this particular dispatch co. I'd like to prevent offering this level of service and accountability to our clients. Thanks!

Mike
 
What is the name of this operation? This is the place to warn us all of this terrible service.
 
Just to give everyone an update. I was able to get in touch with the owner of the trucking co. and explained the situation. They were appalled by the actions of the disp. co. and have agreed to cover the costs we incurred.. so it all worked out in the end.. for us. I don't think they will continue to use this dispatch co. in the future.
 
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Can you still please post the name of this 'dispatch company'. I am very concerned that people can act as a broker calling brokers to give loads to carriers. I don't want to be a part of that.
 
Not so.. the dispatch service is simply hooking up carriers with brokers/shippers. The dispatch service doesn't bill the shipper and pay the carrier.. i.e. does not require a license or a bond in the US.. Instead, the carrier pays the dispatch service a finders fee, general $25 .00 to $50.00 per load.
 
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Freight Broker said:
Not so.. the dispatch service is simply hooking up carriers with brokers/shippers. The dispatch service doesn't bill the shipper and pay the carrier.. i.e. does not require a license or a bond in the US.. Instead, the carrier pays the dispatch service a finders fee, general $25 .00 to $50.00 per load.
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Sounds like the same defense that "escort services" use in court. Not that I'm making any connection between the two.........................
 
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