Fraud type · Logistics fraud
The fake client: you haul the load, but never get paid
Hauliers think of fraud as stolen cargo. But the reverse trick is just as common: the client who lets you drive and never intended to pay.
How it works
The order comes in via a freight exchange, by email or by phone. The rate is good, the cargo ordinary, the client looks like an existing forwarder or trader. You drive, deliver and send your invoice. Then silence, or excuses. When you dig deeper, the client turns out to be a clone, an empty shell or a company that just went bankrupt.
Sometimes there is more to it: the client re-sells the job at a profit and collects from the real customer, but never pays you. Then you are the last link in a chain of unpaid invoices.
The variants
- The cloned client: poses as a well-known forwarder. See Spotting a clone company.
- Double brokering: a middleman accepts the job, passes it to you and disappears with the freight money.
- First trips paid, then the big one: a few small jobs are paid neatly to build trust. Then many trips at once on long payment terms, and then nothing.
- The company in distress: a client who knows bankruptcy is coming and keeps ordering as much as possible. See Bankruptcy fraud in transport.
9 red flags
- A new client with a strikingly good rateand few questions about terms.
- Many trips at onceafter a few small, neatly paid jobs.
- Long payment terms requestedwithout an existing relationship.
- Email or phone do not match the registeror the company's official website.
- The client is itself a middlemanwithout own customers or fleet.
- Poor or no payment historywith other hauliers or on the exchange.
- Recent change of director or addressin the register.
- Missing or late annual accountsor losses in the latest figures.
- Pressure to confirm nowwithout time to check the client.
One red flag is not proof. If you see two or more, stop and check further first.
Checklist: how to vet a new client
- Look the company up in the register and check status, management, changes and figures.
- Call the landline from the register and ask whether the order is really theirs.
- Compare email address and domain with the official website.
- Check payment experiences on the freight exchange and ask colleagues.
- Put the agreement in writing: rate, payment term, who the client is and who pays the invoice.
- Ask for (partial) prepayment on a first or large job, or limit trips until paid.
- Invoice quickly and follow your debtors daily. With new clients every day counts.
What to do if it goes wrong
- Stop driving for this client while invoices are open.
- Send a reminder and start collection quickly; don't wait months.
- Check whether you can claim from the real shipper or consignee; the consignment note sometimes gives you rights.
- Report it to the freight exchange and your trade association; you are often not the only victim.
Let Safetybizz check it
Safetybizz checks your new client before you drive: does the company really exist, do the contact details belong to it, are there changes of director, losses or signs of an approaching bankruptcy.
See SafetyBizzFrequently asked questions
What is a fake client?
A party that has you carry out transport without ever intending to pay. Often a clone of an existing forwarder, an empty shell or a company that knows it is going bankrupt.
What is double brokering?
A middleman accepts a job and passes it to another haulier without the shipper knowing. He collects from the customer and does not pay the haulier.
How do I avoid not getting paid?
Check every new client in advance, put agreements in writing, ask for prepayment on a first or large job and follow your open invoices daily.
Read also
This page is general information and not legal advice.