LTL Freight News

A freight claim is not intended to be a profit center for a claimant, but rather to make the shipper “whole”, as if the carrier had performed their obligation according to the terms of the BOL contract and delivered the shipment as expected, with full market value intact. There are cases where the loss of profit as a result of the damage can be justified within a claim filing; however, in most cases, including profit in the claim is unacceptable. It is presumed that in the event of damage, the shipper would send a replacement for the damaged item out to the consignee and that the shipper’s profit would be secured with the replacement shipment. With the intended profit secured by the replacement and profit also included in the claim, a double profit would occur, causing the carrier to be unreasonably burdened. A freight (damage) claim is a demand from a carrier by a shipper or claimant for monetary reimbursement of a lost or damaged shipment, and the outcome of a claim settlement should...

Freight damages are certainly not pleasant surprises, but they are inevitable at some point if you are a regular LTL shipper. An understanding of the process will help you be more successful at bringing claims to a satisfactory resolution. WHO FILES THE CLAIM? Typically, the payer of the freight can only be reimbursed for the freight charges, so they are usually the ones to file a claim. Anyone can file a claim, however, but this is usually the simplest way to do it. HOW LONG DO YOU HAVE TO FILE A CLAIM? The answer to this depends on the type of claim being filed. There are generally two types of damage claims, Noted Damage and Concealed Damage. The difference between the two is that noted/visible damage claims were noted at the time of delivery, usually on the delivery receipt, and concealed damages were not. Concealed damages must be reported to the carrier within 5 days of delivery. Anything reported past the 5 day window will not be considered for a settlement and will be d...