1.
What is the Billing and Settlement cycle?
Our Billing and settlement cycle runs from
Monday through Friday of each week. Agents and Contractors will
be paid for their freight bills in a timely manner, providing the invoice and all supporting documents
are received at the
corporate office. Payment for Invoices received by Monday prior to the
billing run for the current week will be paid on the following Friday.
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2.
What is the Customer Credit Approval Process?
Via fax or phone call or e-mail, Agents send the full
legal name, billing address phone number, MC Number if we are dealing with
a Freight Broker and a contact name to our Credit Department.
The process of verifying the Credit Status normally takes only a few
minutes provided all of the information is correct.
Our determination to extend credit to a
customer is based on the average number of days that they
extend the payment of their bills. Our major concern is the customer's
total payment history.
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3.
What Charge Backs to Agents Occur?
In accordance with our Agency Agreement,
Agents are charged back for short paid invoices, per diem and equipment
repair bills from customers that the agent cannot bill either to a
customer or to a Contractor.
It is extremely important that an Agent be
aware of "Service Contracts " that exist between Ocean Carriers
and certain Customers. These Service Contracts extend the Free Time
that a Customer is allowed to keep a container and/or chassis before Per
Diem Charges are assessed. Per Diem Invoices that do not reflect
correct Free Time are sent back to the Ocean Carrier for re-computation or
in most instances for cancellation. Not knowing terms of a
"Service Contract" can result in an Agent paying for Per Diem
charges that are not valid. Per Diem and Container repair invoices will be
sent to you immediately when they are received in Monroe, your response
with instructions for billing is expected within 2 days. If there is no
response the expense will be deducted on the following week settlement.
In the event we decline credit to a
customer, we still may allow the Agent to conduct some level of business
with the customer as an "Agent Risk Account". An
"Agent Risk Account" means that the agent is subject to charge
backs of 100% of the balances due on all invoices that remain unpaid.
Establishment of an
"Agents Risk Account" and the level of credit to be
extended is agreed upon by both the Vice President of Credit and
Collections and the
President of Titan Transport, LLC on a case by case basis. Charge backs to
Agents for non payment of invoices identified as "Agent Risk
Accounts" will be deducted from the Agent's commission on the 31st
day after the date of the billing invoice.
Titan Transport, LLC reserves the right to
terminate or deny further credit to any customer who in the their opinion
represents an unacceptable credit risk for non payment or for excessive
delays in paying invoices, even if the agent agrees to assume an
"Agents Risk Arrangement". Also, we do expect the agent to
actively participate in the collection of any delinquent outstanding accounts receivable.
To that end, we will provide the Agent with a weekly accounts receivable
listing of all invoices for their customers with outstanding
balances.
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4.
How do we get a Driver Qualified and how long does it take?
The first step of the process is to get a
release from the driver to obtain the necessary information for the MVR
Report and to contact any former employers. Once these releases are in hand we
can obtain an MVR Report on the prospective driver. Usually the Agent needing the
driver will fax the driver's current information to the Safety Department
in Monroe along with the release. Current information includes Full
Name, Social Security
Number, All current driver's license numbers including the state of
issue, and the driver's date of birth. The Safety office will need a
full DAC report that will aid the Agent in documenting the
last ten years of the prospective driver's work history. DAC reports are
obtained by the Monroe Office.
If the MVR results are acceptable, the
driver is then sent for a pre-employment drug screening test.
Normally the MVR and DAC results are available to us on the same day
requested and if the driver can take the Drug test before 2:00 PM the
results are available by the next afternoon. The most difficult part
of the process is verifying employment since this requires a response from
a third party who may or may not be inclined to give us a prompt
response. Provided everything
goes as planned and the Driver completes all required DOT/FMSCA documents
while we are waiting for the MVR/DAC reports and the results of the Drug
Screen, the total turn time should not exceed three (3) to four(4) days
from start to finish. Obviously it is a lot to ask for everything to go as
planned and if there is a missed deadline then the time will be
extended. Also, if items are turned in late in a day the time can be
extended an additional day just for proper communications to take place.
Each Contractor/Driver Application
booklet is a complete package, documents and/or pages should not be
removed from the booklet. The booklet should be returned intact to
the Safety department in Monroe so that the review process can proceed
more smoothly. If pages are missing they will have to be found before the
driver can be qualified.
We will work as fast as possible to
qualify drivers, but we need help from you in providing all of the needed
information in a timely manner. Together we can complete the process
in as short a time period as possible.
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5.
How much does Bobtail and Physical Damage Insurance Cost?
Our Bobtail Insurance is $12.75 per week.
Though it is recommended, we do not require our contractors to have
Physical Damage Insurance, and we do make it available through Titan
Transport, LLC at the rate of 4.75% of the value of the truck.
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6.
Do you require Contractors to have Workers Compensation Insurance?
Yes,
we do require Contractors and or Drivers of the Contractors to carry
Workers Compensation Insurance or an equivalent replacement. For
those who do not have the coverage we make available an OCAC Policy.
The cost to Contractors who drive there own vehicle is currently $146.24 per
month. This amount can change periodically. Each person covered by the OCAC policy is
issued a separate Policy and a copy will be provided to them. A copy of
the benefits is provided to each Agent for review and to review with each
Contractor and Driver.
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7.
Do you advance fuel money to Drivers?
We can provide Comdata Cards to every Driver. The amount of Fuel Money
periodically loaded to the card is determined by the Agent, but can not
exceed 40% of the billable line haul for each active freight bill.
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8.
Do you require Contractors to maintain an Escrow account?
Yes,
we require all Contractors to maintain an escrow account with a minimum
balance of $750.00. Escrow is deducted at the rate of $30.00 per
week until the $750.00 is reached. Deductions will restart if the
escrow account is used to cover an expense. Titan Transport, LLC does pay
interest on the Contractor escrow balance.
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9.
If I want to maintain my own identity (use my Agency as the Operating
Carrier), will Titan Transport, LLC accommodate such a request?
Yes,
for agents who wish to retain and use their Business Name as the operating
Carrier, we will establish the Agency Name as "Your Agency Name,
Division of Titan Transport, LLC". Placards for your trucks
will indicate that you are operating as a Division of Titan Transport,
LLC. We do not encourage this as it creates some level of confusion at the
Ports and additional paperwork for approvals. If you wish to retain
your name as the official part of the Agency for interchange purposes this
will require additional discussions as there are substantial costs and
legal issues involved in this process.
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