Southeastern Freight Lines ripped me off.

Did the weight quoted include the packing materials (the skid was probably 50 lb before you stacked anything on it).

I've tried to call on FQ loads years ago. Nothing but a big run-around with their load numbers that either don't exist, weren't updated, or some other lie they made up on the spot. So I never called them again. Later, I found my Dad had used them for a few shipments and liked them ok. He also thinks dry freight over a dollar a mile is a princely rate, then complains about poor service. Customers like him are another reason I don't call FQ.

 

You need to be really careful with FQ. They often neglect to notify their customers of non-residential and liftgate fees. Also, if you shipped something on a skid and it was marked at a total of 50 lbs then that was an incorrect weight. A standard sized skid is usually 40 lbs on its own before it even has the actual freight loaded on to it. Reweighing and class inspection are standard procedures. If the weight and class of the freight are not correct, they will make a correction and have every right to. The company hauling the freight is due the correct amount of money for the work they are doing, regardless of what FQ or any other 3PL promised the customer. Many times customers have no clue what the actual class of their freight is. I can't tell you how many times I have had to deal with FQ and other Third Party companies acting completely clueless when it comes to the important details of the freight they are quoting customers for.

 

Your problem is with freightquote not the carrier. They quoted you an incorrect price for the service. It's a lot easier to quote lowball freight rates to get the sale vs quoting the actual pricing.

 

Probably and interline charge,I doubt Southeastern goes to Vermont.

 

Southeastern is not known for being the least expensive carrier. They are definitely one of the better ones for sure though. They have "interline partners" that deliver their freight outside of the SEFL operating areas. I know it seems stupid that the aforementioned factors affect your rates but any company would do this. First of all, if your shipment weighed in at 50 lbs total, that tells me that you could've shipped a 10 lb box on USPS, UPS, or Fedex. Let me use some extremes to make it easier to make my point.
1. If you say you have a shipment that weighs 50 lbs and handlers see a pallet with a box strapped to it, they're going to re-weight it. A light 40x48 plt weighs about 25 lbs but, typically a 40x48 plt weighs in at 40-60 lbs. the carrier has to determine actual weight due to weight restrictions of commercial vehicles. If a shipment weighs more than indicated then the price is increased and justifiably so.
2. If you say you are shipping aluminum scrap and it turns out you are shipping a finished product, the classification changes to to increased liability.
Any company would do these things if they found a discrepancy. I'm sorry you had a bad experience shipping your freight. LTL can be tricky.

 

Southeastern Freight Lines... Vermont...

Something doesn't make much sense here.

 

All the LTL companies do this. Some are worse than others. They all went up on their rates when they changed a lot of the freight classes a while back. A customer's class 70 Agricultural Implements went up to class 100. If they put the wheels on, it goes up higher. If it's crated, it goes up higher. If a pole is sticking up (increasing the cube), the rate skyrockets. You just have to be very careful when shipping on LTL carriers (YRC, R&L, A. Duie Pyle, Saia, etc.). I do most of my LTL's on flats, steps or hotshots and don't have to worry about damages either. The Ag Implements don't get damaged easily, that's the only reason I ship them on the LTL carriers for my customer. The rates are lower, as long as it's not over 12' long and over 5K(?), I think it is. I occasionally do ship partials on vans, as long as I have confidence in the carrier and can be competitive. Sometimes it's more making sure that the pieces don't get damaged, so then I don't worry about being competitive.