BROKER NON PAYMENT
I have noticed a lot of posts in regards to non payment. I have been in the trucking business for several years. I have hauled a wide variety of freight, on a wide variety of equipment. There have been several instances where entities have tried to keep my money. To date, I have only been beat out of $750.00, and I have never had to turn my freight bills into a collection agency. Not that using a collection agency is a bad thing, but no one will be as diligent at collecting your money as you will. There are a few tricks one can perform to collect funds. First off, don't be too hasty until the payment is grossly delinquent. There are situations that are simply an oversight or mistake on behalf of the debtor. You don't want to tarnish a relationship with a customer until it is certain that they do not intend to pay you. Once you have determined that you are not getting paid, contact the shipper and receiver to find out which one is responsible for paying the freight bill. In some cases there will be a 3PL involved. The original shipping document should notate this. If a third party logistics provider is involved it will be necessary to contact them also. Once you have identified the party responsible for payment, provide them with proof that your company moved the freight, and provide them with the agreement between you and your broker for the monetary exchange to transport said shipment. Inform them of your intentions to exhaust all legal measures to collect your money, including but not limited to legal action against all parties involved, and request that they provide documentation of payment to whomever they paid for this shipment. Generally they will see to it that you are paid as to avoid involvement in litigation. Sometimes it is necessary to send requests for such documents via certified mail. If this fails, search the MC number of the company that tendered the load to you. A physical address will be on the FMCSA website, and it will be the actual address of said company/person responsible for administration of the MC number. This will be a valid address, as all brokers/carriers must be available for contact by the FMCSA, and the FMCSA will validate such address or the MC number will be suspended. Furthermore, the federal government requires a physical address, a p.o. box is not acceptable. In some cases, this address will be the home address of the individual who originally applied for the MC number, and ultimately the one who owes you the money. You can save yourself all of this trouble by doing a credit and background check prior to hauling the freight. I hope this has been helpful, from one hard working trucker to another. Good luck!