The Problem
Alleged shortage at arrival.
The Key Point
Drivers must have an opportunity to validate shortage claims.
The Solution
Any problems at arrival should be noted on the delivery receipt with specificity.
Q: We are a truck broker handling LTL hauls on the East Coast. We recently had a freight invoice clipped by a new customer who alleges the truck arrived 50 cartons short. The delivery receipt is signed “Received under protest, subject to inspection and count.” We do not think this is sufficient to establish a shortage, but my customer says we’re wrong. Please advise.
A: As a general rule, receivers are to note, with specificity, any problems with the shipment before signing the delivery receipt.
Section (9.7) of Blue Book’s Transportation Guidelines provides the following regarding notations on delivery receipts:
A generic notation included on delivery receipts as a matter of general practice will not usually preserve or advance a receiver’s claim. Failure to make a specific notation on the delivery receipt may undermine a receiver’s ability to successfully pursue a claim for damages. For example, a receiver that fails to note a specific shortage as to count (e.g., notes only “subject to count”) on the delivery receipt is unlikely to prevail on a claim for the market value of the missing product.
Any attempt to establish shortages after the product is signed for, and out of the carrier’s presence, affords the carrier no opportunity to validate the claim.
This may result in questions such as 1) How do we know that the receiver’s count was accurate? or 2) How do we know that the product wasn’t lost while in the receiver’s possession? and 3) How do we know the product was even lost?
In your scenario, had the receiver simply noted “50 cartons short” on the delivery receipt, this notation, in the absence of an objection from the carrier, would likely be sufficient to establish a shortage. However, since this did not occur, in our view, your receiver has not supported a shortage or any basis for clipping your invoice.
This is the Trading Assistance Dock to Dock column from the January/February 2022 issue of Produce Blueprints Magazine. Click here to read the whole issue.
