Freight damage claim

Definition

A claim against a carrier for equipment damaged in transit, filed inside the bill of lading's window.

Why It Matters

Commercial kitchen equipment is heavy, awkward and easy to dent, and a dented door on a delivery day is the dealer's problem whoever caused it. The window is set by the bill of lading and federal law will not let it run shorter than nine months from delivery, with the carrier owing an acknowledgement in thirty days and a decision in a hundred and twenty. So a poor recovery rate is a receiving process and not bad luck. Ask for two years of claims filed, recovered and written off.