Claims

A claim is a formal request to the carrier for compensation when freight arrives damaged, short, or not at all. Most of what decides the outcome happens in the first few minutes after the truck arrives, before a claim exists. This section covers that, then how to file, and what happens once you have.

Damage or loss

The claim form classifies each affected part of your shipment one of two ways.

Damage. The goods arrived broken. This covers visible damage you can see at delivery and concealed damage you only find after unpacking.
Loss. Goods that did not arrive. A shortage, where fewer handling units arrive than the Bill of Lading says were picked up, is filed as loss on the pieces that are missing.

You can list the unaffected parts of the shipment too, marked as no damage or loss, so the claim describes the whole delivery rather than only the bad part of it.

Info

A claim for a delay works differently. There is no delay option on the form, because a delay claim needs a documented financial loss behind it rather than a damaged item to value. If a late shipment cost you money, contact us directly and we will look at it with you.

Warning

Before you sign anything, inspect the freight and write any damage or shortage on the Proof of Delivery. A signed clean POD is the carrier’s evidence that your freight arrived in good order, and it is the hardest thing to argue past later.

Where to start

PART 1 Inspecting your delivery What to check before you sign, how to note damage on the POD, and what to do about concealed damage found later. PART 2 What you can claim for How the claim is valued, piece by piece, and what repairable, not repairable, new and used mean on the form. PART 3 How to file a claim Submitting a claim from your dashboard, step by step, with what each field on the form is asking for. PART 4 Supporting documents The documents a carrier needs, the extra ones an insurance claim needs, and why photos of the packaging matter. PART 5 What happens after you file Every stage a claim passes through, who is waiting on whom, and what to do if the carrier says no. PART 6 Getting paid How a settled claim reaches you, the payment methods available, and how long each one takes.

Who does what

You report the problem and provide the evidence. We prepare the claim, complete the carrier's own claim form, submit it, and chase the carrier through the process so you are not doing it. If your shipment was insured, we file with the insurer in parallel. Learn more about Insurance, which can protect the declared value of your freight beyond what a carrier is liable for.

Questions? Chat with us from the dashboard, email claims@freightsimple.com, or call +1 (604) 200-2500.