How to hijack freight and get paid

Hey-I think i'd rather conduct my business and do business with someone like BigBadBill.There's a reason he's up for "Best Fleet to drive for".My life would be a lot easier and a whole lot less stressful.Take care.Brian

Integrity is what happens when no one is watching.

 

Only had to secure payment upon delivery one time due to a brokers misrepresentation. Typically if there are additional charges due we get a revised rate confirmation before delivery. If they don't pay the extra on the rc then we just file a non payment complaint with ITS. We had a broker not pay a TONU a few years ago. We filed the complaint in 2009. Sometime in 2010 they called wanting to know how we could take care of it. It seems that ITS wouldn't let them renew their subscription without clearing that non payment issue up. So in the end they paid. Might have been six months, but they paid.

Now as for consigning for costs. First off a broker by definition can not declare an interest in cargo. They just arrange for the transportation of cargo for compensation. To delcare an interest in cargo would make them liable for the actions of the motor carrier. Quite a few of them do things that bring upon liability, like the broker name being on the BOL, controlling the actions of the driver, demanding additional insured, etc. A BOL is a contract between the consignor and the motor carrier. The consignee is not a party to the BOL, they execute the BOL upon delivery. The BOL serves as the receipt for the goods and title while in transit. A carrier can hold the goods or consign for costs (sell) if they believe payment will not be made. We did it often in the LTL business.

I'll give you an example of how this can work.

True story

My friend has a 1 truck motor carrier. His driver picked up a load of baled paper going to some reclamation facility. Once the driver got to the consignee he was told they couldn't unload him that day (Thursday). No big deal, the driver didn't live too far away so he just took the load home and would return the next day. The broker was called regarding this problem but didn't return the call. Driver returns on Friday, was told they can't unload and don't know when they will. Called broker again but still can't get ahold of them. My friend learns that this paper place will not unload a shipment until they have a buyer for it. They intend to use his truck as a storage facility. Apparently when they take delivery they then have to pay the shipper. My friend had never hauled scrap paper so this was news to him. Well my friend called around and found another paper buyer/seller. He continued to attempt to reach the broker via all avenues throughout the weekend. I assume the broker knew that this was going to happen so they made themselves unavailable. When Monday came he had his driver take the load to this other buyer and consigned the load for costs, the original transit and the 4 days holding the load. The broker finally called the next day and asked if the load had been delivered. I wish I could have been there to hear him say "your load? Oh yeah I sold it!

 

I'd like to hear the LS agent's opinion on this topic....what's his name LSAgentOSR? There must have been some agent orientation or something on this issue. I simply cannot believe that the shipper/consignee/brokers can allow a shipment to sit on a truck literally for days on end and there be no recourse for the trucking company.

 

So it's not illegal to hold freight hostage...someone was telling me this recently...

 

The more time I spend with counselors and judges and prosecutors trying to defend what I perceive to be my rights, the more I realize that terms like "legal" and "illegal" are just meaningless words. All that matters is who blinks first. If neither blinks, then all that matters is what the judge says on that given day.

You are either the hammer or the nail.

 

It would be an interesting study to see what income could be gained by taking the action of off loading freight without permission or hold freight hostage vs the risk. The cost of defending your actions could bankrupt most O/O's. By taking the actions suggested here without the contractual ability to do so changes your small claims action to a 5 figure damages claim against you. Even if you win (a big IF) you still have to take all the time to defend yourself.

And if you aren't forced to settle because of the legal retainer you have to pay, the court will likely look for a bond that will force you to settle.

So hardball is one thing. But can't see the reward comes even close to the risk.

If you want the freight off then let the broker coordinate it. Get that in writing. At a certain stage stop communicating via a phone so that you have a paper trail for when you go to small claims because you sat on a load for a weekend and the broker wouldn't coordinate getting it off loaded.

 

It's never worth the time you spend and the potential liability. Heck trucking isn't even worth the potential liability. But how much theft of time is a guy supposed to put up with? You pick up a load that is supposed to move 50 miles and it winds up taking two days and they try to get away without detention? Come on.