One thing we find is asking who our supplier is shipping on we find Fed Ex very careful & willing to admit damages & also process claims quickly. Conway "We never damage anything" we don't use ABF..... always broken freight. Overnight/UPS is questionable. Self insuring trucking companies will always deny damaging freight. We also AVOID like the plauge "interline carriers" again check w/ fed x. We have our truck freight delivered to a trucking terminal, while this can create problems w/ our relationship IF there is damage, they are instructed to ALWAYS sign "possible concealed damage" or if things really look bad refuse them outright & then I will review. On Nov 4, 2013, at 11:47 AM, Luke Christy wrote:
> Wrenches, > > We have been in business for about 8 years, and up until now, the shipping > gods have smiled upon me, but apparently my luck has run out, as I've had 2 > costly shipping nightmares within a month, and I'm just wondering what other > Wrenches have done to protect themselves from the liability involved in > trusting expensive shipments to the freight carriers. Here's my situation: > > I recently had a pallet of modules shipped, and it arrived with multiple > broken modules, due apparently to careless handling,and having had something > heavy set on top of the pallet. I have my freight shipments sent to a > neighboring business which is kind enough to receive them for me, since they > have many full time staff who are always available during business hours to > fork shipments off a truck. In this case the forklift driver did not notice > the damage (it was not immediately evident), and the delivery was signed for. > However, upon picking up the pallet an hour later, I realized that the > shipment was damaged, called the freight company immediately to notify them > of the damage, and subsequently filed a detailed written claim. > > I just got notice that my claim was denied by the carrier, evidently without > considering any of the photos or the written explanation I submitted with the > claim. They simply cited that the shipment had been signed for without noting > damage. > It is clear to me that the carrier was responsible for the damage, yet > apparently because the damage was hidden and the BOL was signed, they can > leave me holding the bag for a significant amount of money. > > This particular incident could have been worse, but it is the first time I've > had it happen and it certainly makes me worried about future deliveries. It > suddenly seems like an unacceptable liability to have others sign for my > deliveries without a thorough inspection. > > I asked my distributor whether the shipments have any insurance on them, and > the person I spoke with didn't know the answer. So my $50 Ebay shipment is > insured, but my $50,000 worth of equipment isn't? My insurance agent says > that I can make a claim on my commercial insurance, but advised against it in > this case, since the loss was only around $1K, and is guaranteed to raise my > future premiums. > > I know that things get damaged or lost all the time in shipment, and I'm > wondering how other businesses handle it. Businesses that do larger volume > must have damaged freight all the time. Is it just impossible to get freight > companies to take responsibility for damage that is not immediately evident, > since they are acting as judge on their own behalf? Do you just refuse to > sign the bill of lading until you've examined all the contents of the > packages (this is a logistical nightmare in most cases)? Do you just chalk > it up to the cost of doing business and/or make claims to your commercial > insurance? > > Would appreciate your thoughts / experiences with this issue. > Thanks. - Luke > > Luke Christy > > NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional™: Certification #031409-25 > NABCEP Certified Solar Heating Installer™: Certification #ST032611-03 > CoSEIA Certified PV Installer > > Solar Gain Services, LLC > PO Box 531 > Monte Vista, CO. 81144 > sgsrenewab...@gmail.com > 719.588.3044 > www.sgsrenewables.com > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Home Power magazine > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List-Archive: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out participant bios: > www.members.re-wrenches.org > > t...@swnl.net www.SWNL.net > Solarwinds Northernlights > Serving Mid Coast Maine & Northern California > 207-832-7574 Cl. 610-517-8401 > > Blair "TUMP" May > ******** MAINE'S CHARTER ******** > NABCEP "Certified PV Installer" > > ******** MAINE'S CHARTER ******** > Trace Xantrex "Certified" Dealer / Installer" >
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