Question about prime dealing with lumpers

So if I understand this right about 1/4 of our loads we have to pay a "lumper" to unload? And it can cost up to 400.00. So we have to carry an fairly large amount of cash on us but if the contract allows we could get some of the unloading expenses back... that about right?

 

You don't pay cash. If you are a company driver, you call and get a PO# for a Comchek in the amount of the lumper; register the check on the phone, write it out for the amount due payable to the lumper. Save your receipt and you will be reimbursed 100%. If you lease, the same process applies but your lumper reimbursement is included in the linehaul of the load you are delivering. Either way, you don't have to have cash-I would not ever pay cash for a lumper anyway. Hope that helps. Comdata is the network Prime and most big OTR companies use for fuel and lumpers, also your paycheck can be loaded on your Comcard if you want. Oh, and yes I would say more than 1/2 of loads use lumpers, maybe more-especially with the shippers Prime is contracted to. Walmart is usually 50 bucks but AWG in Oklahoma City charged us 400.00 to unload a trailer of yogurt. Ouch.

 

Alright Billsgirl, I know you had a bad expirence with Prime, but stick to the truth. I've replied to you before saying that lumpers are included with the linehaul for lease operators, and it is 100% NOT TRUE. i have been here over 3 years and only once was I not fully reimbursed for a lumper on a load, that load when dispatched said that reimbursement would only be $120 regardless. I have NEVER in the 3 years I have been here had my lumper included with my linehaul, or had my lumper reimbursement removed from my linehaul, and have yet to hear anyone other than yourself claim that this is the case.

 

One thing I do NOT!!!!! do on this forum is LIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The way I described the lumpers for lease ops is the way it was explained to us in Pittston by Jim McIntyre at the ACE class. It is also the way the lumpers were broken down on QC and the way it was reimbursed on our settlements. DO NOT accuse me of lying. EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I've asked the question elsewhere, and I got the same answer as Sazook... unless you screw up something like a Smithfield or Perdue load, lumpers fees are reimbursed 100% to lease ops as well... it's not part of the linehaul revenue. Perhaps you misunderstood, or they explained it wrong...

 

I'm assuming you mean on the pay page of the dispatch, on the pay line OULU. This is just a line that say that lumpers will be reimbursed on the load, it's not broken out of the linehaul at all. I'm not even sure why that comes over on the settlement page of the dispatch, I've actually learned to ignore it. I've had loads that came across with an OULU of $56.32, turned in a $350 lumper receipt, and gotten the full $350 reimbursed, and not had a penny in difference on the actual linehaul paid from what was on the dispatch. Also, on loads without an OULU line, I still have been fully reimbursed without my linehaul being different. From what it sounds like your saying when it was explained to you, someone said it would be broken out from the linehaul, and you took that to mean that they were taking the pay out from the linehaul, and what they actually meant was that it was a separate line item on the invoice and on your settlement?

Also understand that there are people on this board and on other boards that have had bad experiences with Prime that come on here and do lie to make it seem like it wasn't their fault, or to make it worse than it really was. If what you said in the last post is true, you have my apologies.

As far as some of the loads go, Wal-Mart usually is $50, I read a memo when they were changing it to be $50 a load, that it was the first step to eliminating lumoer fees at all Wal-Marts and direct billing the customers for them. Also with the yogurt loads, and all General Mills loads in general, they have a tendency to load a lot of mixed product on the trailer that has a rather large breakdown. I took a GM load to a warehouse in Buffalo once, had a 9PM appt, they started working on me right away and took till 7AM to finish me, the load broke down from 22 to over 300 pallets. I didn't complain a bit even though the fee was over $300 bucks. I got my 10 hour in the dock in Buffalo, not having to try and find a parking spot at midnight; the $300+ was fully reimbursed; and I got 8 hours of detention to sit in that dock and take my 10 hr break, which was over $300 if I remember it right.

 

Oh yeah I had one of those G.Mills loads yesterday... 420.00 lumper fee. 22 pallet load... the guy showed me the breakdown sheet.... sheets actually... each line was the product breakdown, which represented a pallet... there were over 4 pages... my guess would have been over 200 pallets.

My appointment was at 0600... Lumper told me it would be 1100 by the time he was done...

Had 13 damaged cases... mostly Grands Biscuits where one can explodes and thus the shipper rejects the whole case. Gave those away to a much appreciative trucker, who said his wife better get to baking...

I ate a few containers of yogurt and pitched the rest because no one wanted it....

Anyway... that lumper reciept is very valuable. It has to have all the required info or no re-imbursement. Basically we are loaned the money for the lumper and if no reciept is scanned it, that amount goes against your check.