Question about Layovers as a Lease Op

Just wondering, as a lease op you're considered an independent operator and not an employee. You are running your own business.

Since you are a business, don't you have the right to charge shippers independently for things that the company you're leased onto won't pay?

Example: You are dispatched to pick up a load. You're appt time is 9 am. You get there at 8 am. They tell you that something went wrong and the load won't be ready until tomorrow at 9 am. Company won't pay you anything for the wait. Can't you bill the shipper yourself? After all, you are a business just like they are and the company you are leased on with. Don't you have the right to charge the shipper for the delay? Couldn't you draw up a bill under your own company's name and give it to the shipper for payment?

 

Seems like then you don't have the right to run your own business then. If the company you're leased onto retaliates against you for billing a shipper for a delay that was not your fault, couldn't you report them to a labor board, even take them to court and sue them for damages?

They way I see it, I am partnering with the company I'm leased onto. It's not "their" customer its "our" customer. If I were a company driver, it would be "their" customer.

How do you, as a buisness owner, protect yourself from loss if the company you're leased onto won't pay for the delay? Do you just eat it? What if it happens several times a month to you? What if you count how many times its happened to you in a year and comes out to about 50 days? That would be almost 2 months of lost revenue.

I know what immediately comes to mind, find a new company to lease with. But that still doesn't account for the lost revenue.

By the way, this is not currently happening to me, I'm just wondering what rights you have as a business owner lease op.

 

Roger that. That's the info I was looking for. Your answer explains WHY you wouldn't be able to bill directly.

If I do decide to lease, I'll be looking at the layover/detention part of the lease contract very carefully.

Thanks for all the input. You guys are great!

May your miles be many and your weight be light.