I know for a fact that some of the larger carriers get paid for more miles than they pay their drivers for. I once had an NLM load picking up and delivering to Case New Holland. The load was 900 actual miles but my carrier only paid me for 826 miles. I can prove without question that NLM paid my carrier the full 900 miles. Have any of you other drivers had a similar experience with your carrier? Also, do you guys think this is a legal and ethical practice?
Is it legal to shave a drivers miles?
- Thread starter MagicMan
- Start date
I used to be with a carrier that had some customers they gave a 3-5% mileage deduction to...but they did not tell us which ones they were....
Very few times has my actual miles match my paid miles. When they use zip code to zip code, this could be up to 50 miles longer.
moose
Veteran Expediter
Yes it is .
& then again ,as a contractor ,this is none of my business .
i can care less ,what the Carrier getting paid to move the freight .
Mile Per Load is not a traded currency at the grocery food store .
Pay Per Load is.
Gone Back to ZZZZzzzz....
It's legal, because they offer the load and you can accept it as is, or reject it. On the other hand, if they pay the contractor a percentage, then make them show you the paperwork and have them pony up.
It's not ethical, though. It's scummy. It's just another example of a lie that carriers deny they tell. Carriers will tell you straight up that they don't lie, yet they get caught in them all the time.
Some customers do in fact get discounts. Some customer call their own shots with the carrier and will only ship if it's paying this or that many miles, regardless of how many it actually pays. Some carriers cave because they don't want to lose a customer. Some customers have actual contracts that state they will pay mileage from specific routing programs, such as Rand McNally Household Good Miles, or Mapquest.
When I'm offered a load, if the miles look a little iffy, and I can't reconcile it with the Garmin, Streets & Trips, PC Miler or Google, I'll have dispatch run the mileage on Google (to let them see it for themselves), and if it's significantly different, I'll simply turn the load down, and I'll be rather blunt why.
It's not ethical, though. It's scummy. It's just another example of a lie that carriers deny they tell. Carriers will tell you straight up that they don't lie, yet they get caught in them all the time.
Some customers do in fact get discounts. Some customer call their own shots with the carrier and will only ship if it's paying this or that many miles, regardless of how many it actually pays. Some carriers cave because they don't want to lose a customer. Some customers have actual contracts that state they will pay mileage from specific routing programs, such as Rand McNally Household Good Miles, or Mapquest.
When I'm offered a load, if the miles look a little iffy, and I can't reconcile it with the Garmin, Streets & Trips, PC Miler or Google, I'll have dispatch run the mileage on Google (to let them see it for themselves), and if it's significantly different, I'll simply turn the load down, and I'll be rather blunt why.
Yes the carrier gets paid based on the actual mileage and then they run it through an internal computer program that siphones the miles. They called me with a 600 mile load a few days ago. The dispatcher said it was a 600 mile load, but when he sent the load to my QC it said the load was only 530 miles. The dispatcher knew the load was 600 miles and he shaved the miles down.
AMonger
Veteran Expediter
If a carrier gives a discount, it should be out of THEIR money, not the contractor's. When I was in a big truck, a load from NC to MI was routed for pay purposes through some NC mountain roads that weren't legal for my big truck. That's the route via which I was paid. My scheduled fuel stop was on the big road going the other direction. The variance was 20%. Being a company driver at the time, I had no choice.
Theft, plain and simple.
Theft, plain and simple.
More times then not the mileage is usually short.You'd think address to address would be a more exact way of doing business....both carrier and contractors are are losing at least a 500 miles a year...then multiply by unit numbers...
CharlesD
Expert Expediter
I don't know if I'm in the minority or something, but I keep Streets and Trips open all the time and I place my bids based on the mileage I get on there and pay based on those miles, regardless what the broker is telling me the mileage is. I have Streets set up to only use major roads, so most of the time it gives something close to truck routing. If the broker is questioning my bid amount I tell them and they can either take my bid or leave it.
Even with doing that, sometimes a driver will still run a few more or a few less than what I'm basing the pay on. That can't be avoided unless you run address to address, but NLM loads are the only ones I know of where you can see the addresses before you're awarded the load. I just run zip code to zip code with practical routing and go with that. I think in the end it balances out as far as the driver is concerned because how many times will you be able to shave some miles off by taking a shortcut? Should the carrier feel cheated if a contractor runs fewer miles than he was paid for?
It still comes down to the responsibility of the contractor to carefully consider the load offer and use every tool at his disposal to see if that load is profitable. It's up to the carrer to pay the miles announced when the offer is made though.
Even with doing that, sometimes a driver will still run a few more or a few less than what I'm basing the pay on. That can't be avoided unless you run address to address, but NLM loads are the only ones I know of where you can see the addresses before you're awarded the load. I just run zip code to zip code with practical routing and go with that. I think in the end it balances out as far as the driver is concerned because how many times will you be able to shave some miles off by taking a shortcut? Should the carrier feel cheated if a contractor runs fewer miles than he was paid for?
It still comes down to the responsibility of the contractor to carefully consider the load offer and use every tool at his disposal to see if that load is profitable. It's up to the carrer to pay the miles announced when the offer is made though.
Charles you are correct..there are times on a weekend load i shave 70-80 miles off a load by taking the scenic route...It helps make up for the little overages during the week..
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
As Turtle pointed out, you accept the offer and thats all that counts..if they got paid for 100 miles and offered it to a driver for 50 miles, where is that illegal? Its not, you are under no obligation to take any load you are OFFERED for whatever reaon, its totally your decision....
That being said , yea it is scummy.....but not illegal.....
That being said , yea it is scummy.....but not illegal.....
Yes the carrier gets paid based on the actual mileage and then they run it through an internal computer program that siphones the miles. They called me with a 600 mile load a few days ago. The dispatcher said it was a 600 mile load, but when he sent the load to my QC it said the load was only 530 miles. The dispatcher knew the load was 600 miles and he shaved the miles down.
I would have turned the load back to dispatch till he/she came up with the correct mileage...
IF the 530 was the correct mileage..it would depend on my mood at that moment...*L* I'd probably turn it back to the carrier as they intentional lied about the mileage to enhance it and get my approval...
The dispatcher is new and he let the real mileage slip out because he was looking at the NLM rate confirmation sheet that announces the real miles as well as the pick-up and delivery times. Then he ran the load through the company system that figures up the drivers pay and it gave me a decent rate but then the miles were shaved down by 10 percent. I was mad but there's nothing I can do about it without causing an uproar and possibly getting my contract cancelled.
bubblehead
Veteran Expediter
When I drove for a Fleet Owner, He told me how they shave the miles...one time they shorted him 200 miles so when he reached the number of miles they claimed, he stopped the truck, called them and said "Ok, I have run the miles you paid me for...are you going to send someone to pickup the freight or are you going to pay me the remaining miles to the delivery location?" He got paid the remaining 200 miles...when they did the same to me, I did likewise and was paid likewise. I have since never been shorted more than zip to zip. If the run pays good based on an assumed 50 extra miles, I accept it...if its marginal, I counter based on an extra 50 miles. This has worked very close to true miles run.
guido4475
Not a Member
99% of the loads here at All-State have paid more than actual miles run. I follow my gps routing,which keeps me on the highways.I think only a few runs were like 5-6 miles less than actual miles.Here are the loads for August that I have done,Actual miles and paid miles.
actual paid
612 633
478 486
235 237
164 211
526 514
408 416
477 477
1,246 1,282
957 993
761 776
316 349
430 434
219 220
1,427 1,461
1,607 1,649
Totals-9,863 10,138 diference of 275 miles, or $244.75 extra for the month.
So this is why I do not complain about the .89 cpm avg pay per mile too much.
actual paid
612 633
478 486
235 237
164 211
526 514
408 416
477 477
1,246 1,282
957 993
761 776
316 349
430 434
219 220
1,427 1,461
1,607 1,649
Totals-9,863 10,138 diference of 275 miles, or $244.75 extra for the month.
So this is why I do not complain about the .89 cpm avg pay per mile too much.
ebsprintin
Veteran Expediter
I keep track of dispatched and actual miles just to see if anything turns into a trend. It generally is short against the driver. I just figure it into my minimum rate that I will run. So basically I add the shorted miles to my cpm to operate.
This is the kind of behavior that keeps drivers from being loyal to a carrier. Stuff like "100% of fuel surcharge program" instead of "100% of fuel surcharge". They think we don't notice.
eb
This is the kind of behavior that keeps drivers from being loyal to a carrier. Stuff like "100% of fuel surcharge program" instead of "100% of fuel surcharge". They think we don't notice.
eb
That sounds good, and I know a number of drivers, including myself, who would love to do that to make a point, but it's a breech of contract. The load contract isn't to drive a specified number of miles for a specified sum, the load contract is to pick up the freight at a certain place and time, and then deliver it to a certain place and time, all for a specified sum. The mileage has nothing to do with it, other than to form the basis for calculating the specified sum for which you agree to deliver the freight. Even the carriers who pay by the mile and not a percentage, the load contract itself is still for the pickup and delivery of freight, not for miles driven. As an independent contractor you can take whatever routing you like, be it longer or shorter, the carrier couldn't care less, just as long as you deliver the freight to the agreed-to destination on time.
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
Legal definition of fraud: A false representation of a matter of fact—whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of what should have been disclosed—that deceives and is intended to deceive another so that the individual will act upon it to her or his legal injury.
If that doesn't show it to be illegal, I don't know what will. The company is looking to gain by concealing the fact of the load from the contractor. The contractor loses what would have been more money, or a legal injury. But the extent of the injury is so small, no DA would press charges, IMO. You would likely be luckier in civil court.
If that doesn't show it to be illegal, I don't know what will. The company is looking to gain by concealing the fact of the load from the contractor. The contractor loses what would have been more money, or a legal injury. But the extent of the injury is so small, no DA would press charges, IMO. You would likely be luckier in civil court.