Almost every freight claim that gets rejected fails for one reason, and it is not the damage. It is the signature.
Thirty seconds at the tail of the truck
A driver arrives, drops the skid, and hands you a bill of lading. You are busy, the load looks broadly fine under the wrap, and you sign it.
What you have just signed is a legal statement that the freight arrived in good order. If you open the wrap an hour later and find a crushed corner, you are now trying to prove damage against your own signature saying there was none.
Carriers reject those claims, and they are within their rights to.
What to do before you sign
Walk the skid
All four sides. Look for crushed corners, torn wrap, leaning stacks and anything sitting in liquid.
Photograph it on the truck
Before it comes off, if you can. Photographs taken at the tail of the truck carry far more weight than any taken in your warehouse later.
Write it on the bill of lading
Specific words. "Corner crushed, top two cartons torn" beats "damaged". Then sign, and keep your copy.
Report it within 48 hours
Send us the noted bill of lading and the photographs. That is your window, and it starts at delivery.
Once it is noted
With a notation and photographs, we handle the carrier claim. You do not deal with the freight company and you do not chase anybody.
Transit damage is a covered claim under our returns policy, which means repair, replacement, partial refund or refund depending on the extent, and we pay any return freight involved.
Without the notation, the strongest position anyone can take is goodwill. We would much rather be in the first situation.
Shortages and the count
The same discipline applies to counts. If a delivered load is well below the stated count, photograph the skid as delivered and count it before it gets mixed into your existing stock.
Our threshold is more than 10 percent below the stated count on the listing, within 30 days. That is measured against the stated count, because these loads are unmanifested and there is no manifest to measure against.
Read the full claims procedure
Windows, evidence and how a claim is settled.