Check a reweigh or reclass charge.

You booked an LTL shipment, wrote the weight and freight class on the bill of lading, and paid the quote. Weeks later a corrected bill arrives with a higher amount. The carrier has reweighed or reclassified your freight. Sometimes the change is right. Sometimes nothing backs it up. Checking it in a fixed order tells you which.

What reweigh and reclass mean

LTL carriers measure and weigh freight at their terminals, often with automated dimension readers and scales. If what they find differs from your bill of lading, they adjust the bill.

• Reweigh: the carrier found a different weight. A heavier weight raises the charge even when the class stays the same.
• Reclass: the carrier assigned a different freight class, usually because it measured a lower density than you declared. A higher class means a higher rate.

The corrected bill often adds an inspection fee on top of the higher freight charge.

1. Find out exactly what changed

Put your bill of lading next to the corrected bill. Note whether the weight changed, the class changed, or both, and by how much. A reweigh with no change in weight should not carry a reweigh fee.

2. Ask for the carrier's proof

For a reweigh, ask for the scale ticket showing the date, location and measured weight. For a reclass, ask for the inspection record showing the measured dimensions, and any photos. If the carrier cannot produce either one, the change is hard for it to defend.

3. Check your own records

Pull your dock scale reading, pallet dimensions, product spec sheets and any pickup photos. If your records were taken with the freight fully packed and palletized, they are your strongest evidence. If the pallet was weighed before it was wrapped or stacked, the carrier's number may be the correct one.

4. Work out the density yourself

Density drives the class on a reclass. Multiply length, width and height in inches, divide by 1,728 to get cubic feet, then divide the weight in pounds by the cubic feet.

Example only: a 48 x 40 x 60 inch pallet is 66.7 cubic feet. At 1,000 lb that is about 15 pounds per cubic foot. Run the same math on the carrier's measurements and compare.

5. Check your rate agreement

Some shippers have a freight all kinds (FAK) agreement that bills a range of classes at one class rate. If yours does, a reclass inside that range may not change the price at all. Make sure the corrected bill applies your agreed rate and discount.

6. Watch the deadline

Under federal law, a shipper that wants to contest charges on a motor carrier bill must do so within 180 days of receiving the bill (49 U.S.C. 13710(a)(3)(B)). Note the date each bill arrived.

7. Write down a verdict for every bill

Mark each corrected bill as contest, partly contest, or let it go. A change the carrier can prove should be paid. A change with no scale ticket, no inspection record, or numbers that do not match your evidence becomes a dispute, with the documents attached.

If you would like a second set of eyes, Zenmul reviews reweigh and reclass charges and prepares a dispute letter for each bill worth contesting. You decide what to send, and you send it under your own name.

This article is general information, not legal advice.