Common Rip-Offs

Sinking your bottom line!

CARGO INSURANCE: Many, if not all companies charge for ‘cargo insurance’ with a massive deductible, often in the $500—$700 range, for the driver. What they don’t tell you is that most companies are also self-insured. In other words, there is no insurance company.  Not to mention the liability waver in the small print on every waybill. This is nothing more or less than a completely unjustified cash grab by the company.

ADMINISTRATIVE FEES: These are often justified as necessary to ‘administer’ fuel cards, WCB accounts, debt collection or some other task on behalf of the driver. So what is the commission they already receive supposed to cover?

COMMUNICATION FEES: Pagers, 2-way radios, cell phones, smoke signals… somehow you and the dispatcher have to communicate. So why do you have to pay the whole cost? Or any cost? Safeway does not require their staff to go buy ladders to stack the top shelf so why do you have to pay for equipment the company requires you to use?

FUEL SURCHARGE: With roller coaster fuel prices the past few years all courier companies have been charging their customers a fuel surcharge. This is added on top of the regular fee and then disbursed to the driver. Except the driver only receives his or her commission rate on the surcharge, the company keeps the remaining 30-40 per cent. Did the company purchase the fuel for your vehicle? Not likely. So why are they keeping a third of the money?