How much do you have in it ?

I'm curious from brokers how do you interpret this ? http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/371.3 ?

backstory - today I booked a load, the broker told me he could only bill the customer 3970.00. We agreed on a rate to me of 3800.00. It was a little slim for me, 1.95/mile, but what are you gonna do ? I was in a spot to make a deal.

Anyway, the rate confirmation came and I noticed who the customer was. One whom is known for paying well. I just could not believe they would be paying less than 2.50/mile on this shipment and probably closer to 3.00. So I sent the broker an email requesting proof of the amount they were receiving and supplied the link to this FMCSA code. He called back stuttering and stammering that in his 3 years experience had never been asked and would have to consult his manager. No problem, take your time, it's the law.

A little more back and forth with phone calls and emails, I remained composed and professional. I got him to put in an email at least that 3970 was all they were getting. I said I just wanted to make sure he hadn't made a mistake, that it would be easy to get confused if one load was paying 3970 and another was paying 5270 or something. I guess I was hoping that he would say, "Oh, you know what, I did make a mistake. This load is actually paying $4970. And I would have been happy to haul it for an adjusted rate of course." Didn't think there was a great chance of this happening, but that's what I was going for. But I told him I honor my rate confirmations and was ready to give him good service on this load, but that I would be following up and asking to review their record as required by the FMCSA code.

Wouldn't you know it, the load cancelled ? I expected this to happen, I figured I was at risk of losing the load all along. I was just curious enough to try it. I guess I have to realize if I demand brokers don't lie to me I will not get many loads from brokers. I was just curious how some of you would handle that ?

 

Thanks for the kudos guys. There is a little quick gratification in "sticking it to them". I really do get tired of being lied to all the time, it's kind of a pet peave.

But in practical terms I don't feel as if I accomplished anything by doing this. I got a $100 TONU, but that barely covers the time I put into this.

I'm also not certain how the reg's are written if the broker is required to show it until after the load is completed. As a matter of principle I do feel that if a broker is going to say what they have in it, then they should back that up. Trust is bad business, why trust when you can provide a document as proof ?