Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/771645
Y ou've done your due-diligence. You've contacted references provided. You've checked authority and insurance to make sure the carrier or broker you anticipate working with has been properly vetted. You feel comfortable creating this business partnership, at least on a trial basis with the first load. en, while the load is being transported, a little more information comes to light and you realize the broker or carrier you have booked the load with has a less than favorable history. A broker's past may include ownership of prior brokerages with poor payment histories due to slow-pay or with a string of unpaid carrier invoices. A pattern of poor performance may also exist when brokers operate outside of acceptable industry practices and do not honor industry standards for things such as "truck ordered not used" and "detention." A carrier's performance record could include issues such as a history of "holding loads hostage" in an effort to extort more money, "late pick-ups and deliveries," "back solicitations," "unauthorized re-brokering," "unpaid loss/ damage claims" and more. ere may also be a history of out-of-service violations with the DOT which determines when a carrier is unfit to operate. As business owners and owner-operators, becoming tangled up in any of these issues has the potential of placing you and your company in any one or more of the industry's most undesirable situations. Unpaid carrier invoices and/or falling victim to any of the fraudulent activities and scams, can severely affect your bottom line along with the success and reputation of your business. Sadly, these are scenarios that have become all too common within the transportation industry. Carriers and brokers ditch old authorities with bad performance ties only to create new companies to hide behind. Actions such as this are most always done to the detriment of prior business partners. e Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has been taxed with monitoring reincarnated carriers and morphing brokerages. But the current system has a lag which oen allows many to slip through the cracks and obtain new authorities to do business under. Truckstop.com's Security Department routinely receives tips and other information on carriers and brokers who attempt to reincarnate themselves into a new company. While there are legitimate business reasons to do this, most frequently it reveals attempts to change their name and image in an effort to disassociate from a bad history which always warrants the need for deeper, more in-depth investigation. Our security team utilizes many other tools and resources to determine the reason brokers and carriers morph into a new company under new names and operating authorities. Truckstop.com has also created some very useful resources designed to help keep the industry informed. For example, there is an "ALERTS" tab on our website that contains a menu of alert types for you to select from depending on the information you're looking for as part of your vetting process. We have also entered into a fact sharing relationship with CargoNet in an effort to get more valuable information into the hands of our clients. CargoNet is the industry's primary source of information on stolen loads, when and where loads are most frequently stolen, what the commodities are, and as always, steps that should be taken to avoid becoming a victim. Truckstop.com urges anyone with information on fraudulent activity taking place in the industry, to contact us with the details. Our Security Department can be reached only by email at security@truckstop.com. THE WINDOW IS OPEN. AGENTS WANTED | 800-872-5999 PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES. ELIMINATING OBSTACLES. Sonny Smith is the Director of Assurance Services for Truckstop.com focusing on service and support management for Truckstop.com's CreditStop, CACCI, and CPR service offerings as well as cyber sercurity.