Breakdown Middle of run

It's not about bullying on my part Chris, it's about the bad practice on the part of the broker. I honored all obligations when I was trucking, never had a problem with brokers big or small because I checked them out thoroughly first. I had three issues, the two consignees mentioned earlier and one of the mach'y dealers that got a little too far in arrears.

File a claim for what? No theft has occurred in the scenario I mention, if it is a theft claim my ins. agent stated she knows of no ins. co. that would pay on a dispute like this. There's no crime committed so long as everyone knows where it is. If I were the receiver I wouldn't pay either, I'd tell the broker to cut the truck a comcheck so I could get my product then I'd find out who was at fault in the mess and determine who would or would not get my future business.

This has been a good debate, it shows there are avenues a carrier can take provided their I's are dotted and their T's are crossed, the problem is there are too many out there that may know how to drive but have no clue how to run a business. WiChris if you are who I think you are does know, I believe I spoke with you recently, When the dust settles in my personal life I hope to speak with you again.

 

Kind of funny. Thought you were someone a little more to the NW. Runs loads for us every week. Kept telling them in the office that i thought you sold your truck,how were you still loading? Now that i read the auto parts i know. Oh well,don't think i'll tell them i was wrong. Take care.

 

Just because someone knows where an item is does not mean it is not theft. I loan my someone my lawn mower and they refuse to give it back. I can file a report with the police for theft.

In what is being described here, the first level will be a tort action. And for that to be successful the broker or receiver will need to be able to show damages.

Now if the applicable law enforcement agency decides to get involved they could decide to charge the carrier with extortion and theft (if you are holding the property past the agreed delivery time). Now this is not such a reach if you have a half-way decent relationship with your police agency.

And no, your insurance company is not going to pay this claim. You are not insured against willful actions. You deciding to hold the cargo is a decision that you made. You will be held liable for damages.

As a broker I carry contingent cargo (and liability) insurance. That insurance covers me against theft. Because of this thread I called my company (not my agent, the company that would handle the claim). Here are the steps they told me to take.

1. Stop all contact with carrier.
2. File a police report.
3. Contact them and explain what is happening.
4. They will have the loss prevention depart make a call to the carrier and explain if they deliver as soon as possible all charges will be dropped and no additional actions will be taken. If that does not work, and almost always works, then we begin steps to replace the load.
5. Contact shipper and inform them the load has been stolen and determine how long it will take to have replacement load ready.
6. Coordinate for new carrier.

Once these final steps are in place the receiver is informed to refuse the load and a replacement load is coming.

About the only way you can get away with extorting a broker this way is if they are not aware of what steps to take, do not have contingent insurance or don't wan the hassle.

Your legal remedy is the courts if the broker breaches a contract.

 

sometimes though a fellow has to do what he has to do, especially if someone thats owes you is going belly up and bankrupt.

you can get all the legal judgements you want, you are more than likely screwed in that case.

i was owed back in 08 18,000 by one modular manufacturer and 13000 by another.

i had pulled and set a 4 piece unit near turner field in atlanta and taken apart and moved a model unit from augusta, ga to a customer lot in savannah.

when i went to collect money from the first one in cordele ,ga (they were up the street further from where the pilot is)

they were padlocked , cars there but no one answered the phone, this went on a week. i went back the following week and had my driver follow me with a flatbed.

we came in a different way, cut the lock on the gate and came in the back. i walked thru the plant to the office , they were packing up things. i told them that for 4 years i had held my end, and this was a crappy thing to not answer the phone.

i offered for them to pull invoices and trade me out building materials for the 18,000. see what they paid for stuff and load it til i was paid.

they agreed, i did that before all that was gone. no paperwork and no trail for anyone else to follow.

the other guy i called made the same offer , and he agreed and we did the same thing and saved a good lock.

if i had went to court i would have been left holding the bag. i used the materials and built my son a house with about all of it(plus more, lol), i recouped my cash that way.

now this may not have worked in some parts of the country, but in south ga it worked. was it a risk, but no more risk than losing 31,000 bucks.

sometimes when ya know you are screwed you have to call someones bluff or else take a big hit.

let me ask this, how many of you have faced losing a chunk of money like that?

if you do this long enough someone will try to take you for money, if you say no, i do this or that, it wont happen to me. you aint been doing it long enough.

and bill the reason most brokers get away with it is because most people dont want the hassle of getting their money, you just got to outhassle them.

you want to know how to get to a guy in a gated community? easiest way is load some plumbing supplies in a pick-up , tell the gate guard the guy you are after has a huge plumbing leak and you are there to fix it, know his name, house number etc, and you would be surprised how it will get you in. at least it worked in hilton head,sc legal , no way. do guys like that want neighbors to see his doesnt pay people, no way.

 

Bill,you can't make a criminal case out of a civil contract dispute,unless you can prove intent. If the carrier is demanding more money than agreed on,then you have a shot. If they are just demanding what is owed you can't. You sell your lawnmower and agree to have it tuned up by a certain date for the buyer. Make arangement with the repair shop to pay by credit card or mail an invoice when it's done by that date. The buyer goes to pick it up and the shop demands cash. What you're saying is you could then file criminal charges for not giving up the lawnmower. Wouldn't work.

 

I don't know how many of you pay attention to your bol's, I did for years. It amazed me the amount of bol's that were not properly marked when it came to section 7 and which boxes were or weren't checked, in fact they were usually left blank. By leaving the most important part of the contract unattended (section 7) it really opens up the whole who is going to pay and when thing in the carriers favor. I preferred an open bol as it offered me a broader opportunity when it came to making someone pay if it ever came to that, thankfully it never did.