I assume most of us have been there, load gets partially or fully rejected. I wanted to see what recourse we had/have and what people's experiences have been. We hauled vegetables on a multi-drop, one of the receivers rejected a portion of the product claiming quality, it looked fine maybe not fully ripened but for whatever reason they did not want it. We informed the relevant parties right away, provided pictures of the product, BOL, etc. and gave them until we're done with the final delivery to figure it out, about 4 hours, as the truck was on a tight schedule. We were informed that the client wants to wait until delivery was fully finished before making a decision. Truck gets empty, still waiting on a decision. Mind you, this is a very small portion of the total load and considering the delivery costs I can't understand the economics in terms of profit. We were eventually informed that they're trying to re-sell meanwhile the truck is just sitting there, missed a reload, without any clue what's going on. We were threatened that if we donated or disposed of the product we'd get a claim. Eventually they find a buyer, more than 10 hours after the original rejection was reported, and 5 hours of the truck just sitting there and losing his load back. We tried to negotiate a rate for the re-delivery which included the detention time, costs, etc. but were told that the customer had gone home and that we can either deliver the product that night or wait for the customer to agree on a rate the next morning. So its a choice of getting the truck empty sooner while not knowing what/if we'd be paid for the extra delivery, or throw the week in the trash waiting on a decision. How do people handle these situations? Feels borderline illegal to hold the truck hostage like this and my understanding is that each party needs to make a reasonable effort to mitigate the other's losses. It seems that in this situation the customer's math when it comes to whether this product was worth re-selling depended on having a free truck for 10+ hours. Can a legitimate claim be made against a carrier if they decided to dispose of the rejected product when the other parties are dragging their feet and postponing agreeing on terms, escalating the carrier's losses?
Rejections
- Thread starter Amilio
- Start date
Nice to see a post with lots of detail. Can't speak to produce loads, but I agree that "my understanding is that each party needs to make a reasonable effort to mitigate the other's losses" We always work with all parties involved on refused shipments to ensure a timely and economic resolution for everyone.
10 hrs in the produce world is extremely standard unfortunately. Takes time to find a buyer.
And you would 100% get a claim filed against you if you disposed of the product without being told.
Produce is the absolute Wild West of trucking. There's a reason the loads pay better.
30
Never understood you produce guys pay to get loaded pay to get empty wait wait wait for free then run like an idiot to get to delivery to wait some more. Pays better? In the long run I would bet it dont.
I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt on finding a buyer and the time that takes. What I'm more suspicious of is whether the cost of re-delivery was even considered in going that route.
While our costs are rising (including opportunity costs) the seller's costs are falling, or at least greatly mitigated by the fact that they have a carrier who they are squeezing on the other end. Had we been asked how much re-delivery would cost or had a new contract negotiated, I'd at least entertained the idea that this was done in good faith. Whether a product is worth re-selling should partially depend to the costs of transportation, no? Not producing a new carrier contract while giving them the options of a claim, an unending detention (miss more loads, time, money) until the client agrees on price, or delivery without a confirmation of rate, cannot be the standard operating procedure.
What would people do here?
20
"The receiver rejected xyz, we can't pick up the load" is also such a massively overused excuse that I feel nobody believes it when it actually happens. Just to top it all up. Had to ask drivers to record a video of the rejected items stating date, time and next reload broker's name a couple of times just to be trusted.
On the bright side got a pallet of pistachios once; they rejected 2 (PO labels missing) and told us to just have at it. One went to the driver and another one he shared. They were damn good but I would trade a whole more free pistachios for a fair treatment of carriers to be a standard in the industry.
On the bright side got a pallet of pistachios once; they rejected 2 (PO labels missing) and told us to just have at it. One went to the driver and another one he shared. They were damn good but I would trade a whole more free pistachios for a fair treatment of carriers to be a standard in the industry.
Shakey
Site Supporter
30
Did you advise the load broker of your fees on redelivery or waiting time for when there are delivery issues?
If you don't, you are stuck with what they offer you.
I love it when a carrier sends me their assessorial charges when we get set up with them.
The more you do on the front end, the better!
Believe it or not. It is just another part of the Trucking business!! You just have to do anything possible to avoid claims to stay in a Good book. I learned a new thing lately NOT AT FAULT accidents also count against you and it goes on your Loss and Run report and then every time you go to market to shop around for insurance, you need to explain in detail on each case like you were at fault. Also funny part is your insurance has to pay for damages NOT the other party's insurance and another funny part is this only applies if the incident takes place in Canada.
The problem is that mitigating the other's losses is very subjective. The customer may say that you rushing them to find a buyer is not helping them minimize their losses. In the end, the freight broker has to decide if he wants to continue to work with that shipper who shipped sub-par product and left you and him in the lurch, and you have to decide if you want to work with that broker after all is said and done.
Your choice would have been if you want to manage a freight claim - would it have been cheaper for you to buy the sub-par produce and give it to all your friends?
I think that question has been answered for us, we've yet to get an answer on how much they're paying for detention and re-delivery. Meanwhile, their rejected product has been re-sold and re-delivered all because we had to make the choice of managing a freight claim, having a truck sit loosing money, or deliver without a new confirmation. At this point, I doubt we'll ever see a dime for the time wasted, bridge/entry fees on the additional delivery, and the mileage/expenses in keeping the product in good condition. Offering to buy the product ourselves is an interesting idea, wish I came up with that at the time. A sad state of affairs, that paying ransom is the best solution here.
