It is becoming more common for freight companies to invoice agents directly for detention or dry run fees. Detention fees are an additional charge incurred when a carrier's truck is held at the pickup or delivery location for longer than a predetermined allotted time, known as "free time". The "free time" and cost vary from carrier to carrier. A dry run fee is a charge assessed when a pickup is missed due to the shipment not being ready. This charge is for the time, labor, and gas used by the driver when no shipment actually picked up.
As a general rule, NFC will not make payment of detention or dry run fees on your behalf when you are invoiced directly. Additionally, if we are charged these fees, we will investigate with all parties involved and may opt to charge back if the situation calls for it.
In order to avoid these fees, we suggest the following:
- The freight should be staged and ready on the loading dock at the time of pickup.
- All documents should be completed before the driver's arrival.
- Contact NFC Operations as soon as possible if you know you cannot load in a timely manner or the freight is not ready.
In exchange, NFC is dedicated to doing our part by:
- Avoiding the use of companies to aggressively charge fees.
- Absorbing or splitting fees in situations in which the agent is not 100% at fault.
