Free guide · From the desk of Hull & Line
The detention guide
12 mistakes owner-operators make before they file a detention claim
Twelve sections. Each one: the mistake, why it costs money, what the rate con, the bill of lading or the regulation says, and what to keep instead.
Reads on a phone · every figure sourced
Read this before
your next dock wait.
94.5% of carriers charge detention at least some of the time. Only 55% of the detention invoices they send get paid (ATRI, 2024). The money is lost between the dock and the claim. This guide covers the twelve places it goes, and what the rate con, the bill of lading and the federal rules actually say.
Three of the twelve
Arrival and departure times with no proof.
The ELD records the date, the time and the truck's location at every change of duty status (49 CFR 395.26). The BOL carries the receiver's signed times. If a clock can't be documented, it can't be multiplied by the rate.
Missing the broker's own deadline.
No regulation sets a universal submission window. The deadline is the one printed on your rate con, and a real, documented claim sent after it gives the broker a reason to refuse it on timing alone.
Not checking the broker before the load.
A broker keeps $75,000 in security, a BMC-84 bond or a trust (49 U.S.C. 13906), and a record of every load that each party has the right to review (49 CFR 371.3). Know both before you roll.
The other nine — the notice clause, the demand that cites the contract, the broker's bond as the last resort — arrive by email when you confirm. It's document automation, not legal advice.