What to do the day you see shipping damage
The day you see damage, photograph it, write an exception on the delivery bill before you sign, and write down the names and the truck number. Do not wash, buff, or repair the panel first. A note on the bill is not the claim. You still send a written demand for a specific amount, inside the deadline in the contract. Nothing here promises the carrier will pay.
Key facts
- Same-day record
- Photos, an exception on the delivery copy, and the names of the driver and the companies. Do this before the truck leaves if you can.
- Do not wash first
- Cleaning that removes evidence, or a repair started before notice, is a fact the carrier will raise. Leave the panel as you found it until you have photos and the note.
- The note is not the claim
- 49 CFR 370.3(c) says a damage notation on the delivery receipt, standing alone, is not a claim. Follow it with a written demand for a specified amount.
- Source: 49 CFR 370.3
- The deadline to use today
- Write down the claim deadline printed in your contract. The carrier's acknowledgment and answer clocks are explained on the claim page, not decided here.
The sources are listed on this page.
The day you see the damage, make a record and tell the carrier. Do not wash the car first. Do not sign a clean delivery sheet. Do not wait for a free afternoon to "deal with it." The contract's clock often starts at delivery. This is general information, not legal advice, and it does not promise a payment.
RideShipper is not the carrier. We cannot open a claim on the carrier's form.
Do these things before the driver leaves
If the car is still at the curb, stay there.
- Do not sign yet. Hold the delivery copy and the pickup copy side by side.
- Photograph the damage. Tight on the mark, then wide enough to show the panel, then the VIN, then the odometer. The full set is what to photograph before pickup. Use it at delivery even if you already used it at pickup.
- Write the exception on the bill. Panel, type of mark, approximate size, and "not on pickup copy" if that is true. Strike any "no exceptions" line you do not mean. The wording is in noting damage on the bill of lading.
- Ask the driver to initial the note. Photograph the page with the note and the signature.
- Write down the driver's name, the carrier name on the door, the USDOT number, and the time.
If the light is bad, say so in the note. Night and weekend delivery is the page on waiting until you can see the panels. You are allowed to ask for enough light to see the paint. You are not required by this page to refuse the car if you need it tonight. You are required, by common sense and by the claim rules below, not to certify a condition you did not look at.
Do not wash, detail, or repair first
Leave the panel as it arrived until you have the photos and the written note. A wash that you need in order to see dirt versus paint is fine if you photograph before and after and you are only removing dirt. A buff, a touch-up pen, or a body shop visit before notice is a different fact. The carrier will say the damage changed, or that it was repaired before they could inspect.
If the car is unsafe, photograph first, then do the minimum to get safe. Email the same day and say what you did and why.
Personal items and a messy interior are not the claim. The claim is the new damage to the car. Do not spend the hour cleaning the cabin and skip the panel.
Tell them the same day, in writing
Email the carrier and, if you used one, the broker. Use the notice address in the contract if it has one. Include:
- Your name, the pickup and delivery cities, and the dates.
- The VIN and a one-line description of the damage.
- The photos, or a link they can open without an account.
- A sentence that a written claim for a repair amount will follow.
- A request for any inspection they require, and the deadline in the contract for that inspection.
That email puts them on notice. It is not the claim unless it demands a specified or determinable amount of money. 49 CFR 370.3(b) requires the shipment to be identified, liability to be asserted, and a dollar amount to be claimed. 49 CFR 370.3(c) says the notation on the delivery receipt, standing alone, is not enough. When the repair estimate arrives, send the claim letter. The full steps are how to file a damage claim.
While you wait for the estimate, do not let the contract deadline pass. If the deadline is close, file with the estimate you have.
What happens after you file
The carrier's clocks for acknowledging and answering a written claim are on how to file a damage claim. Put the deadline printed in your contract on the calendar the same day. If that date is shorter than the floors in 49 USC 14706(e), ask a lawyer which date governs before you rely on the longer one.
If the price also changed at the curb
Damage and a new price are two problems. Do not sign a higher price in exchange for a clean damage box, and do not ignore the dent because you are arguing about money. Write both facts down. The price pattern is a price increase with the car on the truck. The ordinary delivery sequence, when nothing is wrong, is delivery day.
Shipping checklist
The checklist keeps the photos, the bill, and the claim letter on one page. The claim helper is an outline, not a filing with the carrier. The condition report, as a term, is in the glossary.
Questions
I only noticed the dent after the driver left. Is it too late to write on the bill?
You cannot rewrite their copy after they leave. Photograph the dent now, email the carrier and the broker the same day, and quote any inspection window in the contract. Send the formal claim as soon as you have a repair amount. A late discovery is harder. Silence until next week is harder still.
Should I get the car repaired today so I can drive it?
If it is unsafe to drive, do what you must to be safe, and photograph everything first. Tell the carrier in the same-day email that you had to move or cover the car, and why. If it is safe to leave the panel untouched, leave it untouched until you have photos and, if the contract requires it, until their inspection window passes.
Who do I call first, the broker or my own insurer?
Call the carrier and the broker on the numbers in the contract, the same day, and follow the email. Call your auto insurer if you want to know whether your policy applies. Do not assume it does. The cargo claim still goes to the carrier in writing.
Can I post the photos in a review instead of filing?
A review is not a claim. File the claim. You can write about the shipment later under the site's review rules. RideShipper does not turn a review into a payment from the carrier.