Carrier terms

Every parcel travels under a contract with the carrier, and you accept that contract in your account the moment you activate the carrier. Read the terms once, at that point: they decide who answers when something goes wrong, and the version you accepted stays on file in your account.

Accepting a carrier

When you activate a carrier in your account, you are shown that carrier's terms and you accept them electronically. From then on you are the shipper and the principal on every label on that carrier: the parcel moves under the carrier's conditions, including its rules on the goods it accepts and their packing, and its charge for a parcel that cannot be delivered. Where we hold the negotiated rate, the shipping is rebilled to you at the carrier price with zero markup; where it is your own contract, nothing changes except that the label comes out of your plan allowance.

The register

We keep a register of every carrier terms version you accepted, with the date and an acceptance reference. Proof of acceptance is time-stamped and archived for ten years. You can ask for the register at any time and it is handed over on first request, which matters on the day an insurer, an auditor or a carrier asks which terms you agreed to and when. If a carrier updates its terms, you are asked to accept the new version before you keep shipping on it; nothing is accepted on your behalf.

You never ship under terms you have not seen. If the carrier changes them, we stop and ask.

Your declaration

The declaration stays yours. You declare the weight, the dimensions and the nature of each shipment, and accurate data is your responsibility under the contract. When a carrier's measurement differs from your declaration it re-rates the parcel to its own figure, and that re-rate is a legitimate charge under the terms you accepted. The audit reads every invoice line against the shipment, and flags and prices dimensional re-rates, surcharges, billing errors and duplicates so your team can decide which lines to dispute. The Carrier invoices guide walks through each of those lines.

Undeliverable parcels follow the same logic. Address validation at label creation is included, to avoid a failed delivery in the first place. The carrier's charge for a parcel returned to sender is set by the terms you accepted and passed through at cost like any other transport line.

Dangerous goods

Parcel carriers refuse dangerous goods by default. Some accept certain lithium batteries under special provisions, or limited quantities under the road, sea and air dangerous-goods rules (ADR, the IMDG Code and the IATA regulations), and only under a signed contract, with the marking, labelling and documents those rules require. That is carrier practice under the terms you accepted rather than a rule of ours, and it is the first thing to check before a product with a battery, an aerosol or a flammable liquid goes into a parcel network.

Liability

Loss, damage, delay and mis-delivery rest with the carrier under the transport contract. A claim is handled with the carrier under the carrier's terms, and where we administer the carrier account we file it in your name, with the shipment record, the declaration, the scans and the invoice already attached. Our liability covers the software and is capped at twelve months of software fees, excluding any transport we rebilled; the transport itself is the carrier's responsibility under its contract. We provide no transport insurance; insuring your goods in transit is your decision and your cover, and a carrier's own declared-value options, where it offers them, are part of the terms you accepted.

Carrier suggestions and your choice

Carrier, routing and cost suggestions in your account are decision support. The rules that pick a carrier at label time are yours to set, and the choice of carrier and the contract behind it are always yours. Nothing in the account can move you onto a carrier whose terms you have not accepted.

The invoice mention

When we re-invoice transport, the line carries the mention that it is rebilled at cost, with no margin, under a non-freight-forwarder status, so that the cost basis is written on the invoice itself. Where the carrier invoices you directly, our statement is a reading aid and carries no VAT. Where we invoice in the carrier's name under a mandate, the carrier's terms are still the ones that govern the transport.