Does broker have legal grounds to proceed with claim?

Yes if you’re still waiting on payment from past loads from a broker and you owe the broker money through a deduction you are not going to see that amount of deduction as income from those previous loads. This is very common. If you do a lot of loads with one broker It is possible to find yourself in this situation as you were probably waiting on quite a few payments.

 

TQL has it in contract. They can withdraw money from your account even year later.

 

I blew a transmission while under a TQL load. Tried to repower but nobody would rent to me. I kept the load on my trailer for about 3 days until I finally delivered. I kept the broker in the loop throughout the entire process. Told them where their freight was and I had no issues. Of course, it hurt my rep (and ego) a little but no drama was involved.

 

That is exactly how its done!

 

communication and honoring your commitment/contracts are paramount in this business regardless if your a driver, dispatcher, broker or customer. Every brokerage out there (prolly except the Glendale Gang scammers) has language in the contract permitting them to offset charges/claims/damages with money on the books for previous loads. The reason for this is insurance often denies claims for lack of proper coverage, etc. We did power only trailer moves, and carriers would routinely forge paperwork to show they had the correct trailer coverage ( Glendale Gang scam MC#s were the worst for this) or cancel the coverage with the agent a day after getting it added to the cert and getting it confirmed with us. Instead of an insurance denial, carrier ghosting us, and us holding the 40,000 bag on a stolen trailer, we use the money on the books to help us getting stroked by a shady carrier.

 

I thought CH Robinson was LMAO.....TQL has gotten me out of some tight areas only they had access to

 

A broken clock is right twice a day. CH is their as well with TQL

 

Hi guys how are you doing?
Very interesting subject you talking about repower claim.
I am in business 10 years but never see from anyone that broker it self can open repower claim to truckers it so unfare and dos not make any sense.
But in this case that guy return product back to shipper I agree you can't do it by your self but if you was in contact with broker and they didn't response to you this is you who have to open claim to broker for not answering phone in such difficult situation.

 

A balanced response could be:
1. You stated that the load was returned. That's where the claim would have originated, by the Shipper, not the Broker. (See below, broker-carrier agreement or another written agreement authorizes it.)
2. Never expect or rely on Brokers for anything beyond your pickup number. Your Carrier package, dates, times, names, employee id, etc.are important pieces of information now.
3. Never use email as a form of communication; it's not a legally binding or supported form of "notice".Broker agreements most certainly have this agreement written into their contract. Non-delivery events are a normal occurrence.
4. Cell phone records, text messages, which is all stored on the cloud is, currently, you're only proof, beyond "your word against theirs". Most states won't allow verbal agreements to stand in court. $2500 is well within the amount allowed in small claims.
5. As long as you have a record of and SEAL (number) unbroken, Photo, with cell phone, make sure the Shipper is the one who signs for the return freight, and records the SEAL intact. Then the Shipper would have the burden of proof for damages. Not the broker. That would fall clearly on the Shipper filing an insurance claim.
6. Any attempts you made to notify the broker, verbal or voicemail, would be recorded on the broker's server / cellular network. A Court Order by a Judge, would have to be ordered, and that would require you to request, in writing, the release of those digital records.
7. If the Shipper accepts the load back, and doesn't file a claim (non-delivery, under the broker's agreement).
8. Go ONLINE and join a Legal Group for Truckers and pay the monthly fee, and let them represent you. Well worth it.
9. You have the Shop records of the repair. Date / timestamped, with signatures.
10. Also, it sounds like a DISPATCHER dropped the ball and could be labeled as negligent in your counterclaim.

If the facts are exactly as you've described, there are a couple of separate issues here.

First, a broker generally cannot simply deduct money from unrelated completed loads unless your broker-carrier agreement or another written agreement authorizes it. Whether the deduction is legal depends on the contract you signed with TQL and any applicable state law. Many broker agreements include offset or setoff provisions that allow deductions for claims, while others do not.

Second, the $2,500 "repower" charge would need to be supported by the contract and by the broker's actual damages. If you notified the broker promptly, kept them informed, and they did not respond after you advised that the load would be returned, those facts could be important if the charge is disputed.

Before accepting the deduction, review:

• The broker-carrier agreement for any offset/setoff or cargo claim language.
• The rate confirmation for any late delivery or repower provisions.
• Your email trail showing when you notified the broker and that you received no response.

If TQL deducts the amount from unrelated invoices and you believe the contract doesn't allow it, you may have grounds to dispute the deduction. It may also be worth consulting a transportation attorney or a factoring company (if one is involved) before agreeing to the charge.

The key question is what your broker-carrier agreement says—that usually determines whether deductions from other freight bills are permitted.
NOTE: "This is NOT legal advice, just experienced recommendations."

 

Good advice above with two exceptions, email and verbal agreements.

we use email as the main form of communications with blind copies going to others in the office when there are issues with a load or brokers, they also can have receipt tags added to them. When one is sent out, it is usually followed up with a phone call if there is no response within 4 hours, that is also time stamped, and documented.

ALL STATES recognize verbal agreements that meet a specific set of requirements, the courts will decide if an agreement meets those requirements, and whether the state limitations apply or not. We have used verbal agreements in court in a few jurisdictions and never had an issue with not winning the argument.