Sometimes an incident occurs in transit with freight or LTL shipments that have been shipped by DCL. Examples of this include:
Lost shipment
Shortage (noted on the POD)
Damage (noted on the POD)
Below are the steps to take to report this type of incident and submit a claim to the carrier.
How to Report a Freight or LTL Incident
Notify your Account Manager (AM) and the Order Support Group (OSG) [email protected].
It is important OSG is always included on the emails so we can report the status of the investigations.
Please include the following information when notifying your team:
Order number
Ship date
Carrier name
Tracking number
Proof of Cost of Goods
DCL will initiate an investigation with the carrier, on a case-by-case basis. This is only done, per request.
Any claims documents that are submitted to OSG will be processed. OSG will reach out to the carrier at least twice a month to review open claims for updates.
What to Expect from the Claims Process for LTL Shipments
Please note, when submitting an LTL claim:
If damages or shortages are noted on POD we have 9 months to file.
If not noted on the POD we only 5 days from delivery to file.
A signed POD with sufficient notations of loss or damage is the only document that can legally hold a carrier liable, period. When goods are tendered for transport the carrier accepts them in “apparent good order externally”. The cartons are not opened for purposes of inspecting the goods. At the time of delivery, it is the legal obligation of the consignee to briefly look over all freight they are receiving. If a shipment is in a distressed condition, the consignee must make notations of any and all damages on the delivery receipt before accepting the delivery. By signing a POD without any exceptions of loss or damages, the consignee is legally stating that they have received their entire product they were expecting, in good condition and establishes that there was no question concerning the condition of the shipment at time of delivery. Failure to notate visible loss or damage on the POD waives all carrier liability.
The definition of truly concealed damage is: damages that “could not have been reasonably determined and/or seen at the time of delivery.” (Example: damage that just occurred to the actual product inside, without any indication of damages to the outer packaging, could be considered truly concealed damages) Just because a POD is not notated with exceptions, does not automatically mean it is then considered concealed damage.
In the event that damage is discovered after delivery, the NMFC guidelines state that damages should be reported to the carrier immediately upon discovery but in all cases, within 5 days of delivery. It is best practice that the consignee or CHR sales office contacts the carrier’s OS&D dept. or delivering terminal to report the concealed damages. It is critical that written record is kept when reporting concealed damages to the carrier and include the record of the report in the claim file. Preferably, it is best that it is reported by email. If reporting by phone, ask the carrier if there is a concealed damage report number they can provide or ask that they send a confirmation email asap of the report (should not leave the phone call without some kind of written confirmation from the carrier of the report).
However, please keep in mind, that this is only a NMFC guideline that most LTL carriers follow and is not legally backed by any current federal transportation law. The carrier is still not legally required to offer a settlement even if this guideline is correctly followed. Any settlement offered by the carrier is completely voluntary merely as a good business gesture and not an admission of liability. Failure of the consignee to note an exception at delivery and the delay in reporting the damage to the carrier, makes it very difficult to establish carrier liability. This is why notations of exceptions on the POD upon delivery is of upmost importance.