Picked up a trouble partial load

You did the right thing then...I would probably do it too. There have to be some compromise on both ends..You offered help already. I would worry about the payment later and delivered the partial as is. Hopefully, they would take it like that ...incomplete, so that you are not stuck with it.

 

It's not incomplete though. If anything it's extra. The original deal was 2 pieces. Of course, I'm assuming that was in the rate con. He already compromised by improvising frame space for added freight AFTER the original details. He didn't have to do that but he did. I see this entire situation as a classic, "give someone an inch and they'll take you a mile" deal. OP was so nice they decided to push for more instead of being grateful for what he already gave them.

 

As stated above.
You are providing service according to the contract, plus an extra piece.
With the ELD reality, tell them you can't return.
You offered to cross dock.
Deliver as scheduled and have the BOL signed, delivered no damage..
Broker doesn't pay, file on his bond.
You completed your contractual obligations.

How many more pieces were they going to find. That extra piece might have put you overweight. Which would be a no-no
Good luck.

 

Im still a newbie but ive done quite some time of reading on here so there are a couple things OP could do... if im wrong tell me lol...
1. They are legally supposed to pay you on the load you agreed to, whether its original or added pieces BUT SIGNED & AGREED UPON BY BOTH PARTIES. "X amount of pieces for X amount of money from point A to point B or more stops". So anything you didnt agree to haul upon time of contract is not your responsibility, especially if it means going back.
2. Broker/shipper refuse to pay you use a little persuasion and tell them you dont have time for games as youre a business man and not a child. So you look up a storage facility, call them & tell them if you can put the load there for a while, call broker/dispatch & tell him/her they have "X" amount of time before you put their goods on hold & send broker/dispatch the address for the facility to know youre being serious. Again, theyre legally supposed to pay you for work done so i dont think its illegal what youre doing... i think haha.

 

Yeah... they loaded your truck and gave you a signed BOL. They can claim they aren't going to pay you all they want. File on their bond as soon as the load delivers since they threatened non-payment. If they stand their ground sell it to debt collectors and move on. Obviously never work for them again.

As a rule of thumb Ridgeline is right though. There were all kinds of warning signs here. Nothing was as the broker said it would be, which is a good sign you're dealing with a scumbag. There really isn't room for working for scumbags in this market environment... There's just too much work available with people who don't suck.

I'll seriously never understand brokers that pull stuff like this. The sheer amount of time this nonsense will consume, all to trick a truck into taking a load maybe 2-300 dollars cheaper than he otherwise would have... and then being willing to fight over payments when they are very unlikely to win, potentially damaging their credit. You should all be gratified to know that nothing about this is good business unless you're going full scam and never plan to pay anyone... Which is why I'd argue for filing on the bond as fast as legally possible.

 

I wouldn't put the freight in storage.just more expense the op has to pay.
Deliver freight as agreed and file on bond.
I have loaded partials with the piece count wrong. Doesn't make the broker a scumbag.
Communication is very important.
Good luck.

 

Saying the product would fit on the upper deck when it wouldn't is lying about what not lying about why. Not ok.

Misstating the piece count is lying about what not lying about why. Not ok.

Telling the truck to go back to the shipper 2+ hours after the load picked up because the shipper made an error is pretty crappy. Not really ok, although this is the one that is the least crummy probably.

Attempting to not pay for work done because of a problem that originated with the shipper and broker is a major violation of the basic rules of the game. Not OK doesn't really cover this completely. This is where the line between legitimate business and illegitimate business got crossed.

I'm sorry but there are way too many red flags here. This broker is a bad actor and should be treated as such. Bad actors get TOTALLY different treatment than any other kind of broker, trucking company, or shipper. You treat them like they are actively trying to screw you, because they are, and then you cut them off forever as soon as the transaction they scammed you into is completed.

The more I think about this the more I think it's wise to call the customer and tell them exactly what they owe you and where to wire it. The load will not be delivered until you are paid, and contract between you and the broker was void when he told you he wasn't going to pay you. There are excellent reasons why this brokers approach is completely terrible even for a bad actor. If they don't want to pay you by the time you would be delivering you can drop it at a bonded warehouse that will release the freight to them when you get paid, and not before.

Yes that will make the broker look awful and cost them a customer. That's exactly how it's supposed to work. #### them.

 

Guys, I get you all like to spend your time chasing pennies but there is an issue here that no one seems to get.

The outcome for the OP being a nice guy is being screwed with by the shipper and broker when he should have known not to take the load.

If I got a call about a distressed load from a broker about a two piece load which is a couple pallets of machinery and other junk which requires only ten feet and I have ten feet of real estate and tarps to handle the job AND agree to using that ten feet for this load BUT then I get there and they need more space and more stuff that needs to go, I would not even waste my time for any of it, let alone play games with the broker and the carrier.

See here is what gets me about the OP -

When I arrived for pick up, they said that there is an extra 16ft long bar. I didn’t have space for it on my trailer, but upon agreeing with the broker and the shipper I strapped it to the trailer frame just to take this load. Of course they also loaded 2 pieces (machines) on the deck.

That bar would have been left if they wanted the others things to go, but what seems to bother me is this is a business, not a taxi service where we are dictated to by a shipper and we all need to treat it as a business. The shipper would be SOL, the broker would have to find another truck and pay for the time I spent with this crap, but it would not have been loaded, let alone strapped to my trailer's frame for any reason.

The OP should just deliver what he can, send a bill to the broker, and then file on the bond, and be ready to take him to court if the bond doesn't pay.