On 11/30 a Coastal Carriers representative, Laura Steichen, contacted our office inquiring about a truck we had available in Kent, WA looking to go to the Hayward, CA area. After speaking with Ms. Steichen she informed our dispatch of a load she had available with one pick and one drop originating in Kent, WA going to San Jose, CA with a rate of $2200.00. Based on the information provided over the phone our dispatch verbally agreed to haul the load and Ms. Steichen asked our dispatch if we would start sending our truck now or wait until we received the rate confirmation sheet to which she was informed we would not move the truck until a rate confirmation was received. Ms. Steichen contacted our office multiple times after the original conversation and spoke with Mike Smith, our terminal manager, and stated the load was originating in Kent, WA and never once mentioned there were two drops and the actual pickup location was not as previously stated. After approximately a two hour wait our dispatch office finally received the rate confirmation. Upon receipt of the rate confirmation it was immediately noticed the pickup location was not in Kent, WA but in Wenatchee, WA which is 166 mile east of Kent and there were two drops in San Jose, CA instead of one. Ms. Steichen was immediately contacted by phone within minutes after reviewing the rate confirmation, not hours as claimed by the broker and she was informed these were not the terms discussed over the phone. Our dispatch simply asked for $200 more to cover deadhead miles and the extra stop which we feel was more than fair only to have the broker deny the increase and state the original rate was more than generous as stated in the attached emails. Based on the deceptive practices of Coastal Carriers we informed Ms. Steichen we would not be hauling her load and cancelled our truck. The rate confirmation was never signed and sent back to Coastal Carriers due their unethical business practices. Later in the evening this broker called our office again offering the load however this time the information was provided correctly but we refused their load. After receiving their second phone call it sounds to me like they were clearly trying to cover their tracks in this case. Our company has prided its reputation on being honest and upfront with all our customers in the event any issues arise in regards to their loads we are hauling. Also, a majority of our drivers are former military veterans along with the owner of our company. Honesty and pride it what our company was founded on and is what we preach to all our employees on how to conduct business. When a broker cancels a load on a carrier, the carrier has no other option but to just sit there and take it. However, when a carrier cancels equipment due to a breakdown or other circumstances outside their control, the broker raises a huge stink and tries to slander or ruin the reputation of the carrier. This is clearly the case here. Coastal Carriers and their representatives are simply acting like spurned little children because someone called them on how they conduct business and are simply trying to ruin the reputation of our company. They need to understand that in the trucking industry this happens and they must either conduct their business accordingly or face the repercussions of their actions. On 12/1 this broker filed a complaint on internet truckstop against our company and tried filing the same report yet again on 12/5; they are simply trying to tarnish our reputation by acting in an immature manner.
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