Damage limitations

RichM · Jul 21, 2006

Do any of the trucker laywers out here have any idea how long a time frame is for a customer to report physical damage to their location.

On July 17th I was informed that acustomer claimed that in the process of loading 12 refigerators I and my helper damaged their carpet. Only problem is that this shipment was from Feb 17th,5 months ago.The place was a consumer testing facility where manufacturers ship their producst to be looked at and commented on by the general public. We loaded these refigerators which were beat up on a Friday night. I documented the damages to the refigerators and took photos. The shipper signed off and no comment was made or recorded about the carpet. Now 5 months later with who knows what went in and out of the rooms they want to claim me.

kwexpress · Jul 21, 2006

KW Express
o/o till i die

Im no lawyer but i would like to know why it takes 5 months to report carpet damage.

what was the date they say they replaced the carpet and how old was the carpet when it was damaged.did you notice that you and your helper damaged the carpet have you seen pics thathave the date they was taken on?

it seems like your company should fight this for you but sometimes it would just cost more to fight than to just say ok

JohnMueller · Jul 21, 2006

Rich;

The single sentence "I documented the damages to the refigerators and took photos. The shipper signed off and no comment was made or recorded about the carpet." should be protecting you on this claim.

I would encourage you to "hold your ground" on this one. I would say that it should be tough for them to collect on this claim because it was not noted at the time of delivery and a claim was not immediately file thereafter.

To their advantage, when the "Proof of Delivery" or POD occurs, that person is signing, at the consignee, that the GOODS were received in "good order". If the carpet was damaged at the time of delivery, why wasn't some sort of incident report filed at that time?

Hopefully your carrier supports you in this instance.

Insurance companies have a tendency to "pay" small claims like this (if over $1,000 - more than the deductible) rather than go to court and incur more than the claim in legal fees.

Good luck,

HotFr8Recruiter

jaminjim · Jul 21, 2006

>Insurance companies have a tendency to "pay" small claims
>like this (if over $1,000 - more than the deductible) rather
>than go to court and incur more than the claim in legal
>fees.
>
>Good luck,
>
>HotFr8Recruiter

Ya think they know that, of course they do, thats why there are so many bogus small claims.

greg334 · Jul 21, 2006

I agree with HotFr8Recruiter.

Beside making claims like this opens the door to all kinds of claims that have nothing to do with the actual shipment. Wear and tear on an egress that is used for all kinds of traffic is really something like the claim I can make against UPS when they delivered a package to my home, they caused damage to my caravan while it was at my wife's work.

Jefferson3000 · Jul 21, 2006

I will agree with HotFr8. These days, BOL's read like a legal document. "Received in good order unless otherwise noted" is very common. Usually a carrier gives the consignee 24 to 48 hours to report "hidden" damage. Because when you sign your name, it is yours! As far as peripheral items including but not limited to damaged marble floors, carpet, walls scraped and paint chips, that is something that must be handled immediately.

This whole things sounds fishy.....