Hot Rods Help Needed; Dealing with a Freight Company...

I run a warehouse and ship things all over the country. the problem here as I see it is not so much the error in weight, but they are screwing you royally on the difference in shipping costs.

here's what I came up with via Con-Way going from 94545 in California to 10014 in New York using our discounted rates. a person off the street would easily pay $100.00 more

930 lb pallet , class 70 (motors) would be $450.99

700 lb pallet class 70 would be $388.67, a difference of only $62.32.

I personally would just ignore them, but should you still feel the need to discuss it ask them where the extra came from.

 

With over 30 years of shipping chassis and parts by truck freight I have had a lot of different experiences with freight companies. Most of the trouble was with pallets of parts as I don't have a scale large enough to weight them so was estimating the weight. I've solved those problems by shipping all the loose parts UPS. On perimeter frames it's easy to get the right weight as I know what the rails weigh when I get them and what the parts weld on them weigh. No problems to date since I changed my shipping practices. Bottom line is I've been screwed by the bigger trucking companies many times and never did win. I now prepay my freight and as I said to date haven't had problems?

 

Actually, the contract ended when they cashed your "paid in full" check. I ALWAYS wright "PAID IN FULL" on any check for services or used parts/cars,etc.

 

One more thing... I found out the hard way that "used" engines are covered for only $75 salvage value maximum with shippers. I had a 2006 take-out engine shipped to me a few years back through Con-Way Freight Lines. It arrived at the docks laying on the ground, carb broken off (the engine had rolled over many times), valve covers crushed, pallet in splinters. I called Conway and was kindly offered $75 total - "read the contract" they said. I did and they were correct, according to the terms - Uhh, I did not read. The only way I got some cedit was because the seller used the freight company a lot and pushed for some additional reimbursement. Buy insurance.

 

One more thing... I found out the hard way that "used" engines are covered for only $75 salvage value maximum with shippers. I had a 2006 take-out engine shipped to me a few years back through Con-Way Freight Lines. It arrived at the docks laying on the ground, carb broken off (the engine had rolled over many times), valve covers crushed, pallet in splinters. I called Conway and was kindly offered $75 total - "read the contract" they said. I did and they were correct, according to the terms - Uhh, I did not read. The only way I got some cedit was because the seller used the freight company a lot and pushed for some additional reimbursement. Buy insurance.

 

You have already received the shipment. i agree with everybody else that said ignore them. It's a done deal.

 

You did pay them after the motor was dropped off, right? If you haven't paid them but waited for an invoice, you're probably out of luck unless you can find the BOL paperwork that came with it.

 

They were paid in full before the shipment was picked up.

 

you fellas could do a lot better using Fastenal to ship yer stuff

 

Then bend over and suck it up.

It's horrible when someone else says you have to jump thru hoops

 

What they were "banking on" after a month, is that the engine would be IN a car and impossible to weigh!
Not that it would be just a "pain in the rear"!

 

If this is the case, you paid in full before shipment was picked up, the contract was closed when the item was delivered in good condition, you signed the bill of lading, and the driver left with the signed paperwork. They can't go back and say, "Oh, we added so and so because of this or that". You prepaid for their services, which were to haul the item to you in the same condition as it was when they picked it up. They apparently did what they were supposed to, you got your engine in good shape, they have already recieved payment, so they don't have a leg to stand on.

 

My wife deals with A LOT of shippers where she is employed. I had her read this and she said it's on the shipping company to weigh said item BEFORE payment and adjust quote from there! They have a scale in their shipping department and attach a certified shipping weight sticker to the skid of product. If the transport company has a problem with that weight they must weigh it via certified scale to prove there is a discrepancy in weight. Only rarely happens because transporter don't want to go through the off load and weigh and then reload. So it sounds like a sick way to get more cash from you so ask for CERTIFIED weight of said shipment and after a month I believe that they will be hard pressed to produce that document. As my wife also said it should be on the BOL.

 

Our office arranged shipping on a 5,000 pound hydraulic cylinder 300 miles via Yellow Freight and they charged us $2400 and took 4 days. The company that repaired it shipped it back to us using a freight company that they normally use that charged $260 and got it to us in 1 day. Shipping can be a scam.

 

this is true ones its signed for when prepaid the terms of the contract are then fufilled . a quick call to your state or the federal ICC ( interstate commerce commision ) will help clear things up as they do regulate the way the billing and collection of bills are done . if it traveled between state lines then the state will help , if it crossed state lines then contact the feds .

 

If it is still at the freight line and you have not paid the extra fee get these people involved: http://consumerwiki.dca.ca.gov/wiki/index.php/Weights_and_Measures_(County) In Arizona several TV stations exposed this shipping and moving scam the Weights and Measures agent had the moving van weighed and filed charges against the company and the driver was arrested by Phoenix police.

 

Wow! The company could have rented a U-Haul truck and paid you $100/hr plus expenses including a hotel room and been about half the price. The cylinder would have been there the next day.

 

Did they forget to take the pallet jack off their scale when they weighed it ?

 

Freight handing companies have always had the reserved right to amend shipping charges
based upon several factors - weight being one of them.

In all fairness to shippers - what you are told a load is is not actually what it turns out to be ...

BUT - in your case specifically ...

If there was a discrepancy in the stated shipping weight and the actual shipping weight,
it should have been noted upon pick up and your shipping quote ammended before delivery - not after.

Jim

 

when they shipped out they used a LTL ( less than load) shipper which is very expensive as you call and they are there kind of like UPS for heavy freight , no need to search and find a transport co to haul the load ( which can be a pain if you do not do it on a regular basis ) . and your paying for convienience , more than likely the shipper back was using a backhauler or broker , and it was a load to get a normally empty truck back to its home terminal ( basically pays for the fuel home and a little money for the driver ) since there is no real full load freight going in that direction , lots of flatbeders and companies located in out of the way spots like North central Wisconsin, upper Michigan do this ( I would this if I had to pick up castings in Menesha and was a late pick up time ) , in the industry a backhaul rate is often 1/2-3/4 of going normal rate , and many companies use this to save them money . when I had my flatbed I used to do some backhaul work if the load going out would put me out so I couldn't find work the next day .or if I was going out to pick up for a customer empty and had to lay over . when I ran dedicated product tanker the transport cost was $$$ but I would have to drive back empty as I couldn't get a home bound load to cover costs . when I ship engines or heavy stuff I call for rates and make sure its the proper classed rate too as general freight is higher than classed ( declared autoparts are cheaper than others)

 

How is it they know NOW it weighed 930 lbs and didn't apparently know that when it was first shipped?? Where do they get their evidence?? Chrystal ball? Smoke and mirrors?? No halfway decent ltl outfit would find themselves in this predicament---pound sand is too polite. Tell them to put it where the sun don't shine.

 

Interesting reading the weights and sizes of engines in this. Learned a bunch.

 

You mentioned "Talk about pain in the rear...that must be what they're banking on..." exactually & most would just roll over & payup without a fight. Get it weighed on the pallet.

 

It was a case of management not asking about the cost or delivery time. The company that trucked it back is a regular LTL company that has much lower rates so they ship a lot more freight. They don't have to wait to fill a load. We have shipped with them for the past 10 years.

 

I have a local carrier like that , he will try to make a full load , but if not he rather it get there and it off his truck . and he is cheaper than YRS ,Dayton or R&L and often if its picked up before 11:59am it will deliver with in 150 miles the same day . or the next morning ( depending on how many deliverys ) .