Carrier Agreement

Isn't there a difference between shipping papers which are produced by the shipper and a bill of laden which is produced by the carrier?

 

Well, put it BACK. Because, I can NOT make sense of your name... means 'sploosh' backwards and forwards, haha! I try to figure people out .. and you've JUST out'done me.

I remember the truck... dang, it's been that long? Congrats again, son, LoL~!!!

 

I'm not even an O/O, but... my shipping papers originate (usually) from Int'l Paper, yet my BOL (Bill of Lading) has 'my' company as the shipper, and let's say.. for s & g's.. Campbell's .. as the receiver. 3 different entities. None one in the same.

 

Happens all the time, sometimes they even ask you to sign in as “Landstar” for instance, or whoever they are. When in doubt, I always sigh, date, my company name, truck#, trailer#. Alcohol if allowed. That’s my proof, I took the load.

 

Their referring to cargo claims. If in doubt, watch them load, and count if necessary, not a bad idea whenever possible.

 

Nope, Shipper has a contract with Broker, Broker has a contract with you. If there’s a problem, you can file against their bond. Usually a mention of it, helps get paid. But if they’re really going belly up, better file ASAP. If the go into bankruptcy, you’ll get a portion. Along with everyone else of what’s available.

 

- At first, it was really high. - Who gives a ####? It's gone.

 

Shipping papers must include a legal BOL, any packing slips, manifests or ?, that aren’t a legal BOL, aren’t covered under Federal BOL guidelines. That’s when a blank BOL comes in handy, with all the legal Mumbo jumbo language at the bottom. There are exceptions I’ve been told, that allow hauling with a company manifest only, that lists all the BOLs, similar to a master BOL, but not a legal BOL. We used to do it for auto part consolidation loads. Moving terminal to terminal.But original BOLs existed, at the terminal. I won’t haul a load without a legal BOL. It’s the contract that binds all parties, if there’s a legal problem. LTL Carriers always make their own BOLs, for every load. Some Truckload Carriers have their own delivery receipts, and require they be signed, along with the BOL. But really, Legally what’s needed is a Legal BOL. Without one, You have no right to be in possession of the load.

 

I’ve only been stiffed once, out of 1800+ loads, in 16 yrs. They got Me for $900, I never filed on their Bond. Eventually I got a check for less than $100, from the Bankruptcy Trustee. But yeah, why bother, they owed so many Carriers. Bond money was gone right away. I actually convinced them, I needed fuel money to deliver the load. and got $900, half the money, on advance, once I figured out what was up. The best part, I had already delivered the Load!!! Their own greed, planning on collecting the freight charges, cost them $900!!

 

@Dino soar - I do have similar concerns quite often myself or more...
These things, or similar, are almost on every carrier-broker agreement. That's why I dislike to keep singing up with even more brokers and prefer to stick to the most recognized. That's where I leave money on the table, for the most part, in exchange for the peace of mind and healthy blood pressure.
But even those are not completely easy of how they word their paragraphs but at least there is a less chance that it would be their intention to literally swindle an owner operator in case of some mishaps that are not your fault at all. JB Hunt, Convoy, CHR, Uber, Coyote, XPO do not have in their mission statement "Let's try to screw them, if we can"
I've covered many hundreds of loads so far as a carrier and most of the time these "situational" things never come to realize. Some sign those agreements without giving them much thought and perhaps that's the way to go. In case something comes up, they will worry later. For instance, creating a thread here asking for advise.