Carrier Profile

I hauled a bunch of loads for TQL. On one of the older loads, the receiver marked a shortage on the BOL. Nobody from TQL called me about it. Nobody emailed me about a claim. As far as I knew, the load was done and everything was fine. I kept hauling for them, and eventually TQL owed me about $5,300 for completed loads. When I finally asked for my money, that's when I heard about this “claim” for some baking forms from months earlier. TQL didn't just refuse to pay the $5,300 - they told me that after the claim, I owed THEM about $700. So somehow I went from TQL owing me $5,300 to me supposedly owing TQL $700. I wasn't there when the trailer was loaded or unloaded, and the seal was intact. I don't know when TQL actually opened this claim. I don't know if TQL ever paid anybody for the shortage, and I haven't seen anything showing that they even contacted the shipper about it. The biggest problem is that they didn't tell me when it happened because shortages are usually computer mistake. I first heard about it months later, when there was no realistic way for me to check anything. By then you can't go back and count the freight or figure out what actually happened at the shipper or receiver. So carriers, watch your BOLs. If a receiver puts a shortage on a TQL load, don't assume you're good just because TQL doesn't say anything. You might keep hauling for them and let your balance build up, then find out months later that there's a “claim” being used to wipe out everything they owe you. Shippers should think about this too. Using TQL's claims process to cover warehouse shortages out of carriers' pockets comes with a price. Carriers know there is a risk of not getting paid, so they build that risk into their rates. At the end of the day, the shipper pays for that risk through higher transportation costs. And every time a carrier gets burned on payment, there is a good chance that carrier won't haul for TQL again. TQL has less capacity than other brokers.