Breakdown Middle of run

Pretty basic contract law. If there is a written contract,nothing outside of that contract exists. A broker saying he will not pay does not constitute a breach. If you have a written contract and he doesn't pay within the terms that is a breach,oral is not. Oral and written do not exist together. Not arguing whether someone else may be responsible for the payment at some time,just that they are not untill the agreed payment terms are not satisfied.

 

True, but if the broker in the heat of the arguement threatens the carrier over the phone the carrier can demand payment, afterall the carrier holds the freight. It would be messy but it is doable provided you fulfilled your end of the bargain, ie. arrived at the consignee but not off loaded.

 

I have yet to see a written contract that allows an oral addendum.

 

So you've never tested your theory out but you're pretty sure it'll work?

 

Parole evidence rule allows the change of a contract(written)for clarification of written ambiguities in a contract but does not allow for oral changes.

 

Written addendum I used one when I was an indie.

 

Not to the extreme but I used to do a lot of ltl cod work (tool mach'y) years ago and got into a couple standoffs where the consignee (who was informed of their obligation) didn't want to pay when I arrived, both times I left with cash instead of a check. Both tried the "you'll have to wait" business, I informed them after ninety minutes the clock started and I would add the hours to the money owed, they paid.

I suppose it would get a little tougher if it were a load of toilet paper but when it comes down to it it's who blinks first.

 

COD is a whole different ballgame. No pay no unload. I've had my share of contract disputes over the years so i'm fairly familiar with the laws governing them.

 

It will work with prepaid as well. The majority of trucking and business is small in scope, if a trucker gets into a spat with the broker do you think the receiving co. is going to want to get involved or is the broker going to want the payor to know? I think not. It would be in the best interest of the broker to pay the bill on demand and let the receiver have their freight than to duke it out over a civil matter. As long as the trucker does not commit a crime and feels that the responsible party is going to skip or withhold payment then the trucker holds the power. Has civil law been breached? maybe, maybe not, the bottom line is, if the trucker sticks to his/her guns they will get paid.

 

May be able to bully a small broker into it,myself the few times it has happened we quit talking to the truck and file a claim. I don't have a customer who would even think about paying themselves,they would file against the carrier themselves as they always put the actual carrier that picks up the load on the BOL. If you are who i think you are there was a carrier over in your area a few years ago that had his authority revoked for doing just what you describe. We were hired to reload onto our trailer 42K of dairy product and get a certificate of destruction,as it was a branded product. Shipper had no problem getting a judgement on the whole load.