Fees, Fines, Fo-Fum: I Smell a Drastic Increase in Rate Deductions

Late delivery. No Tracking. Missing paperwork. In the logistics world, you’ve almost certainly seen these notes on a payment here and there. 2024 has come, and unfortunately, these no longer appear to be the slaps on the wrist they once were. Once upon a time, the larger brokers would waive these fees, considering them too small to worry about, and the ones that didn’t get waived might be $50-$100.

However, there was a dramatic shift at the start of the year, and these companies are cracking down on their fees. Legally, we don’t believe we can put any companies on blast, but trust us when we say this is true across the board amongst many debtors. Some examples of deductions we have seen include:

• $500 – No tracking
• $200 – 1 day late
• $300 – No tracking
• $100 – Late paperwork
• $200 – Tracking
• $150 – Late Paperwork
• $250 – No tracking

These are only a few recorded examples of the increase in costs. We are only a couple of months into the year, and the issue has already ballooned to a notable level. Interestingly, in almost every example listed, these potential deductions were spelled out on the Rate Confirmations for the load.

So, what can you do to avoid these?

Read the Rate Confirmations

This sounds simple, but these charges are regularly spelled out.

Install your trackers

This is hands down the most significant increase we have seen. It’s not only an increase in fines but also the amount of money being fined. We’ve seen upwards of 25% of a load rate in some cases.

Send your paperwork to Scale Funding

These examples are not outlier cases of missing paperwork or lost invoices. These examples are Rate Confirmations that state paperwork is required to be sent in 48-72 hours after drop and accrue a daily fine thereafter.

Have your drivers communicate

We have seen a lot of complaints when a load drops even a day late, but the brokers for the loads never received updates from the driver. Whether it’s breakdowns or weather, it is best to keep your customer updated in real time. It can mean the difference between a late fee or not.