Lumpers - are they needed

Lumper's and lumping has been a thorn in the side of trucking for my entire 26 years. Not only will you in some cases have to hire them but there are some places you have to hire what they call "in house lumper's" which are normally employees of the company or a company that has contracted with that warehouse to handle all freight. In some cases you are given a choice hire the lumper or do it yourself. MBM, Winn Dixie, and Walmart are some of the main ones.
Most O/O and even some company drivers do NOT get reimburshed for lumpers unless it is previously negotiated prior to loading the load.

The law/ regulation regarding forcing a driver to load/unload has been on the books for as long as I can remember. This law has been ignored for as many years as it's been on the books by all the parties involved with the exception of a few drivers.
It's actually illegal to force a driver to unload or load. Yet in ALL cases the trucking company or the shipper/receiving companies either force you to load/unload or pay for it to be done.
If you refuse for what ever reason it opens a whole new can of worms. If you refuse they can refuse the load for what ever reason they see fit, make you wait, henceforth losing revenue, or in some extreme cases having your lease terminated or being fired if you are a company driver.

I was subject to this situation many years ago at a warehouse in KY they said I had to unload it or pay for it to be unloaded. As I was told that the receiver was to unload the load no unloading fees were negotiated prior to me accepting the load. So any fees would have come out of my pocket period. I refused to unload it to start with, they said that they would refuse the load and ban the carrier from the facility permanently. Me being new at the time, had little recourse but to attempt to unload the load. I had no experience nor did I desire any with a pallet jack, forklift or other devices that are used for that purpose. I explained this to the receiver as well as the company. I was not backed up at all by the company and left to my own devices.
So I wrote a statement/agreement up that stated the receiver as well as the company were aware that I had NO training or skills in the use of a pallet jack and that I was not going to be responsible for any damages to any property, product, trailer or persons. I also put in it that if I was hurt that I would seek damages not only from Workman's Comp but would sue the trucking company and the receiver for my injuries. I took this statement/agreement to the receiver and of course they refused to sign it, the company refused to sign it and of course I was terminated upon my return to the terminal. BUT the receiver DID in fact unload the load after they saw that I was going to damage everything and anything with the pallet jack.
The moral of the story here is make sure that you will indeed be reimbursed for unloading, and that there are lumpers at the facility to do that which are accepted by the receiver/ shipper. Not ALL outside lumpers are allowed on to some receivers and shippers property. Another words CYA

 

So for every 10 deliveries you make how often do you have to use lumpers?

thanks!

 

i don't know..............no one knows.............its dependant on your freight.........you'll find out when you start driving...........

 

What he said

 

don't deal with a lumper until you check with the receiver first to be sure you need one,don't hire one until you tell your company the situation first,that the receiver tells you.if your company says okay after you have already told your company the price,be sure to find out cash or com chk or t chek before you hire one. do not prepay the lumper,he may take the money or comchek and leave before he finishes unloading you or he may steal your money and you won't see him anymore. Be sure to talk to receiver before any deals are made and you probably will be ok,when the load is unloaded get the comck if you haven't already got the authorization from your company. if you have a broker load call the broker and be sure he okays reinbursing you,be sure to get a legal signed lumper receipt with lumper srevice name or individual name that does the work,and his ssi number,he maynot give you his real number,but be sure it has the proper numbers in it,or your company might think you have put a fake slip in for more money. you can get fired quicker than a bullet this way.just remember,don't pay until the lumper is finished and you have your load all checked out and the lumper and or receiver has your signed bills ready for you.most times everything goes fine,just be aware,I have seen it all in my years.

 

some lumpers i had dealings with will not take comchecks or any kind of OTR checks. they want cash money, so be aware of that too. AND IF ITS REQUIRED to hire a lumper, you'll be the one trying to find a bank to cash any OTR check we drivers use. believe it or not, some banks never even heard of some of the checks we use while on the road. the reason why some lumpers want cash is because they might not have accounts at the local banks either, or of course, they don't want to be bothered with any tax liabilities.

 

It is my understanding (and PLEASE feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.) That Wal-Mart figures in the lumper fee when they have something shipped. In other words they pay the Trucking Co. x amount o dollars and that includes the lumper fee.

 

I wish they had lumpers at these furiture places. Cause an OLD man like me with a SORE clutch knee shouldnt have to break them down to tailgate. :smt022

I would gladly pay my $50 dollars to have them unload me in a hr