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Category : Freight Tec General

Agents Liable for Customer Bad Debt?

Should Agents be 100% liable for their customer’s Bad Debts?

Imagine one of your largest customers going belly up… and they owe you and your Broker company $50,000.00…

You soon learn there is no hope of collecting any of the money owed…

Who should pay for that bad debt?

It should be split the same way your commission was paid out between you and your Broker. If you are on a 50% / 50% split with your Broker, then you should both pay $25,000.00 of the bad debt.  If you are on a 60%/40% split, you would pay $30,000, and the Broker would pay $20,000.

Why?

Its fair. Its ethical. And both parties always have great interest in doing business with customers who will pay you.

I’ve heard of Brokers paying 100% of any bad debts from their Agents… They are CRAZY !

Lets me share a story with you…

I know of a company who practiced the policy of paying 100% of any bad debts from their agents. They did it because they thought it would lure agents into their company, and you what? They were right! They did lure a lot of agents into their company!

A few years down the road, they were hit for a $400,000.00 bad debt from one customer, then another one for 109,000.00, then another one for $55,000.00. The agent (who’s customers they were) didn’t care… he didn’t have to pay any of that $500,000.00+ back. No worries for him…

But there was great pain and anguish for all the other agents, and the broker. The broker was not in position to handle these rapidly mounting bad debts (there were more that rolled in). The broker tried to work things out… but the hole they were in got deeper and deeper too fast.

The broker quit paying the carriers.

The carriers sued all of the customers (and I mean EVERY single customer).

The customers had to pay all the freight bills again. (after already paying the broker months ago).

The customers were very angry.

The customers no longer trusted the agents they had worked with for years.

Good agents and several other good people lost their customer base – and their jobs. They could no longer provide for their families.

Agents now had to start over – their previous customer relationships were ruined because their broker ended up going belly up and not paying the carriers.

The criminal thing behind it all was this: There was a rotten apple agent who PURPOSELY did business with companies he knew were at risk of not paying their freight bills for one reason or another. Because he was paid his commission each week – he knew he would be paid before the bad debts hit the broker.  One bad apple spoiled the bunch… Actually, he put them out of business.

1 Mar 2018 Continue Reading

Shippers Can’t Be Too Careful in Qualifying Carriers

This is a True Story.  A carrier calls our office to book a load we had shared with our network.  We start our Carrier Qualification Process and find out that the Carrier wants to use an owner-operator.  We advised the Carrier that we needed to see their federal operating authority, Certificate of Insurance, W-9, and a signed copy of our Broker/Carrier Agreement.  When we receive everything back, we find that the Certificate of Insurance shows CARGO LIABILITY INSURANCE ONLY.

So, we called the Carrier back and asked if they had a separate Certificate of Insurance for Auto Liability.  He said, “No. Our owner operator carries Auto Liability Insurance.  All we provide is Cargo Insurance on the load and trailer.”   When we talked to the Owner-Operator, he forwarded to us a Certificate of Insurance showing Auto Liability Insurance.  At this point, most companies don’t check any further.  But our Carrier Qualification clerk, Kellie, called both of the insurance agents to verify insurance coverage.  This is what she found:

The Owner-Operator only had “Non-Loaded” Auto Liability insurance commonly referred to as “bobtail” insurance.  HE WAS NOT INSURED IF HE WAS HAULING A LOAD!!! The company for whom the Owner-Operator was hauling DID NOT HAVE AUTO LIABILITY INSURANCE.  Therefore, if we would have given this Carrier our load, our Shipper and we would have had a huge public liability risk since nobody was insured to protect the public. Imagine what would have happened if this truck was involved in an accident while hauling a load for one of our shippers.  The injured parties would have sued everybody—including our shipper and us—for damages.  The trucker and the company probably are “judgment proof” as all of their operating assets are most likely heavily financed with little or no equity.  That would leave only Freight Tec and its shipper liable.  As a result, we would have had to pay.  Freight Tec carries Professional Errors and Omissions Liability Insurance (the same insurance as medical doctors, lawyers, CPA’s, and engineers carry) in the event we make a mistake.  Fewer than 50 property brokers out of over 15,000 carry this insurance to protect their shippers.  Freight Tec is one of a select group of brokers who does.

BOTTOM LINE: You cannot be too careful in Qualifying Carriers.  Freight Tec does this every day on a FULL-TIME basis to protect our Shippers and ourselves from potentially devastating lawsuits.  To further protect our Shippers, we also carry Professional Errors and Omissions Liability Insurance.

2 Jan 2018 Continue Reading

Is Freight Brokerage Still A Good Business To Be In?

The short answer is: Yes.

Lets dive into why the industry is thriving. Todd Bryant of Bryant Surety Bonds lays out the facts in this article for JOC.com.

Here’s a summary:

Growing Demand:

Since January of 2014 Broker business has increased by 15%, and that grown still isn’t meeting demand.

Sound Income:

Brokers typically make more than the national salary average; and with control that comes with the business, you have the opportunity to increase your income.

Stable Industry:

Broker bonds were raised to $75,000 in 2013, as a result, the brokerages with low credit scores shut down, bringing in a new batch of more financially secure brokers.

Freight Tec carries a $100,000 bond, and was rated in the Top 100 Broker by Inc. Magazine.

Bright Future:

With increased demand, more robust Brokerages, and growing incomes, the business is more trustworthy and profitable than ever.

If you’re interested in changing careers and becoming a Freight Tec Agent, check out or Agent Program.

 

 

20 May 2016 Continue Reading

Is the Future of Freight Underground?

A company in the UK called Mole Solutions thinks so. They’ve designed pods, that would travel underground to deliver goods currently hauled by trucks. They travel via a computer controlled smart track, using electromagnets.

The company claims they could ship goods for 20% the cost of road shipping.

But is it feasible? Laying that much pipeline would be a massive undertaking that would take years, if not decades to complete.
What do you think? Are underground pipelines just a pipe dream?

Here’s some footage of the test pods in action:

21 Feb 2016 Continue Reading
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The Death of the 8 Hour Workday?

Do you work 8 hours straight? Do you often work through your lunch? You may think that you’re a better worker for these habits, but, studies say you’re doing it wrong. They say the 8 hour workday is inefficient and outdated.

Entrepreneur says:

“The 8-hour workday was created during the industrial revolution as an effort to cut down on the number of hours of manual labor that workers were forced to endure on the factory floor. This breakthrough was a more humane approach to work two hundred years ago, yet it possesses little relevance for us today.”

No one is saying that the work day should be shorter per say, but our work, break, work schedule needs to change.

“Your brain wants an hour on, 15 minutes off.”

So take a break every hour, a real break. Get up and walk away from your work, get outside, lie down. Completely disconnect from your work, and when you return 15 minutes later, you’ll be primed and ready to focus!

Read the Entrepreneur article here.

16 Feb 2016 Continue Reading
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Enraged Driver Cuts off Semi-Truck!

In an moment of, what we can only call road rage inspired insanity, a motorist in Salt Lake City became enraged when a semi-truck changed lanes in front of their car. Instead of simply slowing down and giving the truck room, they decided to get “revenge” on the truck driver. The small red car passed the truck, changed lanes in front of it, and slammed on the breaks. The semi driver lost control, and rolled; blocking 4 lanes of traffic and causing 5 more accidents. Luckly, the only injuries were minor. The highway was closed for 7 hours while the cleanup was underway.

The accident happened on an interchange from I-15 to I-215. The trucker admits he was unfamiliar with the interchange and should have been going a little slower for the curve.

Police are searching for the driver, but so far, they have no leads. Utah Highway Patrol says that if they do find the driver, he will be facing reckless driving charges, in the least.

Driving a Semi isn’t easy, and they don’t have the same sight lines as someone in a car. Most drivers know that they need to give trucks room and understand that they have blind spots. Apparently this driver didn’t get the memo, or maybe he just didn’t care.

Let this be a lesson to all drivers: Give. Trucks. Space. That driver is doing a difficult job, and delivering goods you depend on every day! Cut them more slack, they’re often traveling routes they’re unfamiliar with. And always, always give them plenty of space.

Road Rage is never, ever, an appropriate response in any situation. But when it comes to trucks the damage is multiplied. This drivers desire to “Get back” at the truck driver could have killed people.

16 Feb 2016 Continue Reading
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Why Do We Celebrate “President’s Day”?

It seems like most of the buzz around President’s Day has little to do with Presidents. It’s all about big sales, or taking off for a 3-day weekend. But where did the holiday come from? What exactly or who exactly are we celebrating? A surprising amount of American’s don’t know much about the holiday.

We bet you didn’t know it was this complex!

Originally the Holiday was celebrated as Washington Day, in celebration of George Washington’s Birthday, and fell on the 22nd of February.

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The idea of changing the holiday from Washington Day to President’s Day, was first introduced in 1951. A bill proposing the holiday celebrate not Washington specifically, but the office of President itself. But the bill was stalled, and in 1968, finally voted down.  

In 1971, under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, it was moved the the third Monday of February. An early draft of the act would have renamed the holiday to “Presidents’ Day” to honor the birthdays of bothWashington and Lincoln, which would explain why the chosen date falls between the two, but this proposal failed in committee, and the bill was voted on and signed into law on June 28, 1968, keeping the name as Washington’s Birthday.

Yep, that’s right, technically, today is Washington Day.

Here’s where things get even more confusing…

“President’s Day” isn’t just a Federal holiday, it’s also an official State holiday. And just about every State has a different name for the holiday.

So what does your state celebrate? Find out:

Presidents’ Day is celebrated in:

  • Hawaii
  • New Mexico
  • North Dakota
  • South Dakota
  • Oklahoma
  • Puerto Rico
  • Texas
  • Vermont
  • Washington

President’s Day is celebrated in:

  • Alaska
  • Idaho
  • Maryland
  • Nebraska
  • New Hampshire
  • Tennessee
  • West Virginia
  • Wyoming

Presidents Day is celebrated in:

  • Michigan
  • Nevada
  • New Jersey
  • Oregon

Did you notice the only difference in the first three categories is spelling?

George Washington Day is only celebrated in Virginia

Washington’s Birthday is celebrated in:

  • Illinois
  • Iowa
  • New York
  • Massachusetts

Lincoln’s and Washington’s Birthday is celebrated in Montana.

Washington–Lincoln Day is celebrated in Colorado and Ohio

Washington and Lincoln Day is celebrated in Utah

Washington’s and Lincoln’s Birthday is celebrated in Minnesota

Alabama celebrates George Washington/Thomas Jefferson Birthday

And in Arkansas they celebrate George Washington’s Birthday and Daisy Gatson Bates Day

These states recognize multiple names:

  • Washington’s Birthday/President’s Day in Maine
  • Lincoln/Washington/Presidents’ Day in Arizona

In California “The third Monday in February” and Lincoln’s birthday are explicitly named as separate holidays.

So there you have it, we’re celebrating George Washington on a federal level, and depending on your state, you might throw some other president’s in the mix!

 

 

15 Feb 2016 Continue Reading

Best Podcasts for Truckers

Listening to the same music over and over gets old when you’re out on the road all the time. It isn’t always possible to be driving when your favorite radio program comes on, but it’s important to keep your mind active and stay up with industry information. Podcasts are a form of broadcasting that you can download to your smartphone or computer to listen to on your schedule. Both Android and iTunes offer podcasts through their store. Instead of waiting for the radio to provide the show you want to hear, download some of these podcasts while you’re behind the wheel.

Trucker Dump

Todd McCann has been on the road with his co-driver since 1997. He’s going to talk to you straight about trucking. If you’ve ever felt all alone when you’re on the road, check out his podcasts that cover everything from giving directions to why truckers don’t have butts.

This American Life

Ira Glass is the host of this podcast which gives stories about individuals around the world. Although it’s not directly related to trucking, you’ll laugh and cry while learning more about different cultures and traditions.

Trucking Podcast

This podcast bills itself as “probably the best guys’ podcast in the world.” Buck Ballard and his son host the show. They’re both truckers, and they’ll cover whatever they find interesting. It’s a family-friendly site that deals with everything motors and wheels. If you’re into cars, trucks, and racing, you’ll love these two guys.

Ask the Trucker

Allen Smith is an opinionated veteran driver who is trying to change the industry, one podcast at a time. The last couple of months, he’s been focused on health issues, but he talks about everything related to driving and business. He’s probably the leading blogger in the trucking industry. You can’t go wrong downloading his show to listen to when you’re on a long stretch of highway. Smith is going to tell it like it is. Learn more about the best freight broker and know how to do business.

Good Job, Brain!

Pick up some knowledge with this podcast that gives you offbeat news, trivia, and general information. Learning is one way to prevent boredom, and as you age, it’s important to your cognitive health. Keep your brain engaged and have plenty to talk about when you get back home with this informative and fun podcast.

Notes in Spanish

In today’s society, knowing another language makes you even more valuable in your field. Listen to a podcast that teaches you Spanish, French, or German. You don’t need to be fluent, just learn some basics in case you ever need it.

12 Nov 2015 Continue Reading

3 Ways Freight Tec Won’t Take Advantage of You

The transportation industry has not always been good to agents of freight brokers. At Freight Tec, we take a different approach to the agent-broker relationship. Not only do we protect agents’ interests, but we also provide the support they need to do their job successfully. Learn more about how we treat our agents to understand why we won’t take advantage of you when you agent for us.

We See Agents as Our Partners

Instead of putting our independent agents low on our priority list, we see the relationship we have with them as a true partnership. We guarantee that we will never steal from our agents, and we put it in writing. This is a rarity in our industry. You will not have to compete with any internal brokers or sales departments at Freight Tec, because we don’t have them. By providing back-office support and our expertise to our agents, it becomes a win-win situation for both of us, just like a partnership should do. Commissions are shared generously with our Agents, which lets you grow your customers base and profits while never having to worry about any relationships, profits or business being taken away from you.

We Depend on Our Agents

Because we do not operate our own sales force, we are required to rely on the agents who work for us. We are not going to steal your business to line our own pockets. There’s no conflict of interest, and we focus on the success of our agents. It is the connection of our team that encourages growth and innovation. We communicate with our agents on a regular basis in ways that are effective for doing business quickly and smoothly. When our agents do well, we do well.

We Empower Our Agents

Operational support for our agents provides the vehicle for power. We want positive interaction with those with whom we do business, and we will not belittle or diminish your success. It is our treatment of our agents that sets us apart from other freight brokers. We want your business to grow and succeed. To that end, we dedicate our resources to your success.

We have the technology and willingness to stay ahead of the rest of the industry. Our company passes these technologies and tools on to our agents, so that they can grow. Partners work together to build a business and be successful. Competitors work against each other’s best interests. We work as a partner with our agents, and we are in it for the long haul when you join our team. Our company is much different than the others in the industry. Let us show you how we can work together and both enjoy success.

4 Nov 2015 Continue Reading