Before you haul that TQL load, better listen up

I have the revised rate con but in the fine print it states that we (the carrier) are responsible for any fees incurred. That alone according to my atorney allows them to do exactly what they did to me. The issue with my breakdown as I have had in the past, I notify whoever is my customer right away. Where this truck broke, it was on a Saturday morning and no-one was open on the weekend so we had no choice but to wait till monday first thing. TQL called the shop about 30 min after they took my truck in and at that time they did not know the cause of the problem was. So then my harassing calls began. Now typically I will just repower with another truck if it is available or I will rent a truck. They insisted on cross docking that they had a truck on stand by. They wanted to send him to get my trailer and move it to the cold storage which I agreed to but first I wanted a revised rate at least for the miles I already put on the load and second I needed to know who the carrier was and we needed a trailer interchange agreement as per FMCSA. This is where they got real pissy saying I was stalling etc. and that it would be ok because they had the trailer interchange with that carrier on file. I made a quick call to my local FMSCA Inspector (since I was audited and found squeky clean, he also gave me his cell number in case I had any issues or needed clarification) and he reafirmed what I read in our little green book that the interchange has to be between the equipment owner, in this case me, and the carrier who will be towing it. TQL had a fit and started telling me I was hijacking the load. At that time I said they needed to shut up and listen as I then read quote for quote the trasnportation law regarding trailer interchange as well as the laws regarding who actually owns the freight once it is on our truck(for those who have not spent time to read the laws, rules and regs the carrier owns and is 100% responsible of the freight in the eyes of the law until it is removed and signed over to its final owner) and there is no such thing that the FMCSA or FBI will listen to from a broker in regards to freight being stolen or hijacked unless they hear from the loads assigned carrier. Either way I formally resended thier contract and am no longer doing business with them. My whole point to this scenario is the fine print in their contract taht every carrier who hauls for them has signed and the simple truth that by signing their contract you are waiving your legal rights to claims and legal retribution that is provided by the FMCSA while tendering a load for them. If more people realized they have no rights when it comes to a claim with TQL (because you waived them in their contract) they may rethink doing business with them. I am not a lawyer and am well educated but I did not interpret what I read in theor contract correctly otherwise I would have never signed it in the first place.

As to the concern that my attorney may not be appropriate, well he is very versed in Transportation law. Thats all he does. He is also not one of these attorneys who nickles and dimes me to death. If he says I have a case, I win, if he says chalk it up to education like in this example he is spot on and saves me even more of a loss. I have had this particular attorney on retainer for 5 years and we along with some other carriers and this law firm have successfully sued the FMCSA over CSA2010 . You see all the changes that have been mandated from CSA from the initial name change to the rewording of the safer sys. categories etc. you are talking to one of the main opponents of the flawed system and we have been very successful. I wish it would all happen much sooner but it is a slow process with one foot in front of the other when dealing with the fed.