What do you do when the trucking company ghosts you instead of paying their bill?

[ProTower]

This may not be in the right forum, so please feel free to move it there.

I'm sure I am not the first and definitely won't be the last one this happens to with the influx of new truck drivers and companies in the us recently.

 

My situation: We were called by the local police (rotation) to recover a burned tractor trailer. When we arrived we had a 2016 International tractor that was 80% burned, pretty much everything but the back tandems and those tires are scorched. The tractor had been unhooked from the loaded reefer on the breakdown lane of the interstate and pulled forward far enough to prevent damage to the trailer. The police told us the company had another truck coming to pick up the trailer.

 

We recovered the burned unit, cleaned the debris from the roadway and ditch with our skid loader and dump-truck, then swept up the spill dry we had placed on the fuel and oil puddles. We now have a significant bill for the services performed and it since nobody from the company called the next morning as promised, I am trying to figure out my next move.

 

I looked up the DOT number on the Safer website and called the number registered with the DOT. A middle eastern sounding male voice answered and when I told him who I was he shouted NO and hung up. The number now just rings and nobody picks up, no voicemail, no nothing.

 

I know I can get salvage certificate and dispose of the vehicle, but scrap value is $750 and that's about 10% of what is owed against it.

 

What do you do to get paid when this happens to you?

Edited July 17 by ProTower
clarity

[Stuart Wagner]

just like shoplifting. You gotta raise your prices to cover some loss jobs like this one.

[ProTower]

I was hoping for a magic spell or something I could say that would make them pay...oh well.

[ProTower]

 

On 7/17/2024 at 10:06 PM, Stuart Wagner said:

just like shoplifting. You gotta raise your prices to cover some loss jobs like this one.

 

Thanks Stuart,

Wouldn't it be great if you could put a lean on their DOT or MCC Authority until they paid?

 

I can only imagine the amount of fraud that would be attempted on companies if that were possible though. Gotta remember to be careful about what I wish for. This is only the 2nd time we been stuck in nearly 60 years so we'll be ok, but it still sucks. I think I'm more upset that Deputy Fyffe allowed them to leave the trailer and load on the side of the road and wouldn't let us impound it with the junk tractor.

Edited July 22 by ProTower

[MA Rob]

Unfortunately it seems to only be getting worse. Like Stuart said, our rates are not just for performing the service. It is also for the ability to provide the service 24/7 and with the expectation to not be compensated for some of the calls. The trucking industry needs to understand this. 

 

It does seem like it is getting harder and harder to be compensated lately.

Rob