opinions??

[Dorsey]

I need some opinions to see if I did the right thing. Say you have you have a car on the rear of your trailer and you need to unload a car in front of it to a customer. The emergency brake won't release, you call the customer and he doesnt answer and it is at night so the broker isn't open. What do you do?

[SWFLA]

I assume it was the rear cars brake that was not working properly???

I would probably cut the cable, disconnect it.... or figure out some way to get it off in a resonable amount of time and effort, we are hired to move their property but if it is broken on the road, (and the customer should know this is your living) it most likely would have had to be dealt with in the same manner when you got to his place anyway

[cosgo]

call a wrecker, get it off, charge the owner of the car. your bol's should have a clause on there regarding what happens if a car should become inoperable during transport.

[haulin rv]

I think you do what you have to do, its not your fault the brake froze. I usually ask when I load if its not a late model car if the e brake works, I've been down the same road as you in the past. Luckily it was a car I bought and not a customers, and I just yanked it off the trailer with another truck.

[Dorsey]

Well heres what I did. The emergency brake wouldn't release so I called the customer and he didn't answer so I left a message for him to call me back as soon as possible. I waited for about 20 minutes and no call back so I figured the easiest way to resolve the problem was to cut it since it wasn't working. The customer did call back 30 to 45 minutes later but the decision was allready made(not that it would of made much difference, had to do something to get the car off). This car was a 93 caddy so by no means is it new. Thinking back on it I wish I would had been more of a dick and got a tow truck to drag it off and put it back on and gave him the bill and collected the extra money for an inop. I thought I was doing him a favor by not doing that but when I went to drop it off he didn't see it that way. He wants me to pay to have it fixed. I'm not paying for something that was allready broken. Long story short I got my BOL signed and my money.

[Buster]

Cosgo is right, you should have a clause on your BOL stating you have the right to disable brakes, trans etc in order to move the vehicle.

[haulin rv]

I found a sample auto BOL online and they had a LONG list of terms and conditions. Here they are, figure somebody can use what they want.



1.

The customer verifies this vehicle is free of contents during vehicle's transport.

2.

No delivery time is guaranteed. All delivery dates and times are only estimates of normal deliveries, (delays may occur). Transporter does not agree to transport shipment in time for any particular market or event and will not be responsible for loss or damages occasioned by unavoidable delay. There are absolutely no guarantees made, expressed or implied, regarding delivery times or dates.

3.

No auto rental will be honored (for delays, damage or accidents).

4.

The auto transporter will not be responsible for damage caused by leaking fluids, (battery acids, brake systems, cooling systems, anti-freeze solutions) industrial fall-out and acts of God.

5.

The car transporter will not be responsible for damage caused by freezing of engine, cooling system, and/or batteries.

6.

The auto transporter will not be responsible for damage that results to the vehicle from tie downs breaking or tearing.

7.

The customer is responsible for preparing the vehicle for transport. All loose parts, fragile or protruding accessories, low hanging spoilers, etc, must be removed and properly secured. Any part of the vehicle that falls off during vehicle transport is the customer's responsibility including damages caused by said part to any and all other vehicles involved.

8.

The customer is responsible for completely disarming any alarm system installed in the vehicle. The customer must provide keys to any alarm system. In the event the car alarm sounds the transporter is required to silence the alarm by any means the car transporter or transport driver deems reasonable and effective.

9.

The transporter will not be responsible for any mechanical function damages to include engine, transmission, rear end, motor mounts, drive trains, wiring systems, cooling systems, window motors, radios, stereo systems, power steering, air bag, brake cable or brake system, clutch cable or clutch, engine tuning, vehicle computerized systems, alarm systems, any switch, alignment or suspension etc., (anything that is mechanical or electrical.)

10.

The auto transporter will not be responsible for any exhaust system, mufflers, or tail pipes. No Exceptions.

11.

The transportation company will not be responsible for convertible tops that are loose, torn, or have visible wear. The transporter will not be responsible for vehicle boots, caps, masks, bras, or any other type of canvas or material covering. No exceptions.

12.

The vehicle owner or the customer shall, in their absence, designate a person to act as their agent at the point of pick up and/or delivery, if for any reason they are unavailable.

13.

The auto transport company will inform the customer prior to delivery. It is the customer's responsibility to have the full payment when the transporter's driver arrives. In order to affect pick up and delivery the customer agrees to meet the transporter's driver at any specified time and place. No exceptions.

14.

All payments for vehicle transportation must be in the form of a cashiers' check. The customer agrees that if the payment cannot be made by cashiers' check, the vehicle will be stored at the customer's expense. Should the customer be unable to accept delivery for any reason, the vehicle will be placed in storage. Any and all storage and/or delivery charges will be the responsibility of the customer.

15.

The customer agrees that should this vehicle become inoperative for any reason during the transport, a charge of $100.00 (one hundred dollars) will be added to the transport charges and will be collected at time of vehicle delivery. This charge must be paid in cash or by cashiers' check. No exceptions.

16.

The customer agrees that their vehicle is insured and their insurance has primary responsibility.

17.

All claims will be settled at actual cost.

18.

The customer agrees that this is the only contract between the parties governing this transport and no other agreement or contract is in effect. No claim or legal action of any kind may be initiated against transporter's agent(s) or the transport broker (if any). Claims for damage must be made to the auto transporter.

19.

Exceptions for damages must be noted on the Bill of Lading at time of delivery, a claim for damage not documented on Bill of Lading will not be honored. All claims must be made in writing within 15 (fifteen) days of delivery with a statement of specific damages claimed. All claims, subrogation, litigation, or legal action must have right of venue in the state of (State where carriers business resides), county of "", in the municipal court.

If any provision or part of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, all other parts of this agreement remain in effect.

[Dorsey]

I was just reading my BOL and it does have a disclaimer about the brakes. The cops were actually called and wanted me to write on the BOL that I cut the cable. I told them I wasn't writing that, so I wrote "vehicle inoperable, emergency brakes don't work". They called him over and he looked at it and agreed to sign it. When he got his copy he said this isn't right. I told him you signed it! Packed my things up and left. I'm sure he whined to them for 30 minutes more after I left. I don't think the guy was intentially trying to get me to fix something that was already broken but thought that they worked and thought that I cut them unnececarily. He wasn't a very realistic person though. I was suppose to deliver it Wednesday and called him around lunch time and told him I would be there about 3:00pm to 3:30pm and he said he needed a more specific time than that(you can't get much more specific than that) so I told him you can come and pick it up when you get a chance then. He said no it's suppose to be delivered to my door. Since it was in my home town I told him I would deliver it today. He lived in the back of an apartment complex but I did get it back there to him.

[SWFLA]

Good Info in the BOL clauses ;)

I think some customers believe WE are Corporate and have deep pockets :confused:

[stamp11127]

Dorsey, what part of J'ville was that delivered to and was this putz a native Floridian or a transplant?
That's my old stomping ground, grew up on the west side over by Cecil Field NAS, raised all kinds of hell in my youth. Wish I had bought some of the sand lots on the way to the beach when I was in my teens, I'd be a millionaire now.

[Dorsey]

It was over there off of Southside Blvd close to the Avenues mall. I beleive he was Haitian. He just moved down from Maryland and had his POS 93 caddy:rolleyes: moved down. He crossed me as one of them people that pays a little money and thinks he owns you and you better bend over backwards for him. If I didn't live in Jax it would of been in storage. He didn't see me as doing him a favor delivering it the next day and not charging him for an inop. Good rule of thumb seems to be is the cheapest car on the trailer is going to be the most PITA.

Yea you could be retired right now if you would of bought some of that land. The guy that owns Winn-Dixie(from what I was told) and the guy that owns Skinners nursery are doing well off right now. When the housing boom was going on they owned a lot of that land.

[h2oskibumz]

Good rule of thumb seems to be is the cheapest car on the trailer is going to be the most PITA.

Always. :p