Is it really worthwhile for FREIGHT CONTROL SYSTEMS to audit my bills?

   Definitely. Even if you are a small company you may be quite surprised at the amount of money recovered and it costs absolutely nothing unless we recover some money for you.

   Offhand, you may think not because you probably watch your freight bills and check them on a comparison basis. You might even have a rate sheet or computer disk that contains rates on your shipments. If the charges appear consistent you may assume they are correct, but often a consistent rate or charge can be consistently incorrect due to various factors such as incorrect descriptions, or your regular carrier may not participate in a cheaper rate or be party to single factor through rates, etc. This can all contribute to a regular error. If you happen to see a lower rate on a regular shipment you may be reluctant to call the carrier for fear of getting balance due bills.

   In addition to the refunds on your past shipments you can benefit by noting the shipments and carriers which seem to consistently result in overcharges and take your own corrective action. When returning your freight bills after auditing we will include copies of freight bills illustrating where you can save money on future shipments by suggested alternatives in routing, correct or more specific descriptions, weight bumping, separate weights, combining orders, stop-in-transit shipping or cheaper shipping modes. Future savings can be substantial.

Why aren't we getting a discount on our freight?

   Discounts off regularly published freight charges is something that each of you normally have to discuss with the carriers who handle your shipments. For a discount you can count on, you have to make arrangements with the carriers. It's not automatic.

   If you are receiving shipments of merchandise purchased on a "prepay and add" (freight charges) basis we strongly suggest that you have your supplier/shippers allow you a copy of their freight bill indicating the "total net shipping cost". We have seen quite a number of shippers prepay the freight to our clients, obtain reimbursement from our clients, and receive a discount or allowance or a rebate of sizable amounts. Some even ship out "freight collect" and later obtain an allowance rebate. Discounts should be allowed only to the party bearing the freight charges. The Federal Trade Commission does not have juridiction on this and the practice has been allowed by the Interstate Commerce Commission (now closed... regulatory control is now assumed by the Surface Transportation Board division of the D. O. T.)   The U. S. General Accounting Office has more recently notified all U. S. Government vendors that they consider this practice illegal (fraud).

Can FREIGHT CONTROL SYSTEMS effectively audit all my bills?

   Yes. We are effective on all truck, rail and air shipments throughout the Nation. We use micro-computers for rate and other information retrieval as well as using the actual printed tariffs. This makes the auditing process much faster and simpler than in the past. We also store rate and discount information unique to our clients and their various shipper/suppliers for future reference by our auditors.

Will I know the number and amounts of claims filed?

   Yes. When returning your freight bills (or shortly thereafter) we furnish a listing of the claims filed which show the carriers and the amounts filed. As you receive the refunds you can check the claims off the list. We will send a copy of the claim with the refund check if requested.

Will you have my bills for a long period of time?

   Usually not. We indicate how long we may need them. Smaller batches of bills are no problem. Larger firms may have many thousands of shipments to be audited and may take longer. Usually several weeks is all the time needed. While your records are in our care we will assist you in obtaining information or copies from them. Just call us.