FAQs

Q?What forms of payment do you accept?

For standard shipments we are only able to take payment by all major credit cards. If you sign up for an account with us, you can either use credit card or you can request a line of credit. The line of credit will require a credit check and approval.

Shipments cannot be done via COD, they must all be pre-paid.

Q?How long will my shipment take to deliver? Are pickups and deliveries guaranteed?

In most cases shipments will be delivered within 1 to 7 business days, depending on the distance and area. Non-direct areas, usually rural areas that are more than 50 miles from a carrier terminal, in most cases are not serviced by the main carrier and as such will use an “interline” carrier. Interline carriers will generally be a regional carrier local to you. Non-direct shipments generally only add 1 to 2 business days of transit time per non-direct location but in certain cases may be longer. There are also cases in which non-direct areas are only serviced certain days of the week e.g., Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, or Tuesday and Thursday, sometimes even once a week. These vary by carrier and location. Transit days do not include the date of pickup nor weekends and holidays.

Deliveries are generally done in the mornings through the afternoon, depending on the route. Most carriers will call and schedule a delivery time when delivering to a residence. For businesses, they will do a standard delivery without a phone call unless requested.

Transit times are not guaranteed, they are only estimates. The carriers are usually very accurate with their transit time estimates but it is possible for shipments to be delayed for various reasons. We do offer guaranteed delivery service for those that need exact deliveries. If you happen to have a shipment that absolutely must be delivered on a certain date we highly recommend shipping the item as early as possible to be on the safe side. Even with guaranteed service there can still be cases where they simply cannot make it on time, usually due to unavoidable weather problems.

For pickups, no carrier is able to guaranty a pickup. Most shipments are picked up on the day requested but there are still many cases where they have to move the pickup to the next day or later in rare cases. If you have a shipment that must be picked up no later than a certain day we highly recommend to schedule the pickup at least a day earlier to be on the safe side, more would be better. If you are unable to ship it earlier, we can use special carriers that have the highest chance of getting an item picked up but these services do usually cost more than standard LTL. For maximum savings, leave yourself room for pickup and delivery.

For residential shipments, one needs to be extra cautious on the pickups and deliveries. The majority of the LTL carriers are designed for Business to Business shipments and usually “dislike” residential shipments, that’s why they charge so much extra for them. Since we do a lot of residential shipments, we are able to get great discounts on them and know how to work with the carriers to facilitate them. Even so, they will generally do residential pickups and deliveries after they’ve done their normal business routes which can cause delays in the pickups and deliveries. If you happen to be moving and are planning on shipping items then leaving, we highly recommend scheduling your pickup at least 2 days prior to you leaving or having a neighbor that can handle the pickup for you in case the carrier is unable to make it before you leave. For deliveries, someone will need to be available to take delivery, inspect the freight and sign the delivery receipt.

Q?When to use a common carrier or LTL carrier

Any time your freight exceeds a parcel carrier’s limits. If it weighs more than 70 lbs or over 130 inches in length plus girth. LTL carriers haul freight from 30lbs all the way to 10,000 lbs.

Q?Curb to curb

Almost all LTL shipments are considered curb to curb, meaning the freight is waiting for the driver and he does not have to come inside to pick it up. You can request an inside pickup or delivery but unless worked out in advance, the carrier only sends one driver. So he may need help loading or unloading the freight. Carriers even consider taking freight into a garage an inside delivery. Carriers charge extra for those services.

Q?Does my freight leave the trailer once loaded?

Yes. LTL freight shipping carriers use a hub and spoke system. Your freight is picked up and taken to a terminal. It is unloaded and place on a truck heading in the direction of your consignee. It may hit another hub and be off loaded and placed on another truck to finish the route.

Q?What is freight class?

LTL freight shipments are typically rated per hundred pounds and fall into a class range from class 50 to class 500. The lower the class, the lower the charge per hundred weight, and vice versa. There are 18 different freight classes: 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 77.5, 85, 92.5, 100, 110, 125, 150, 175, 200, 250, 300, 400, 500. Class is a function of three things: density, value and unbreakability. Engines are class 85 and ping pong balls are class 400. The ping pong balls will cost over 4 times more per hundred lbs than the engine. The book that is used to select the class of an item is about 2″ thick so the easiest way is to compute by density. But even this way is not always correct.

Q?What are surcharges and assessorial charges?

Carriers charge extra for assessorial charges because of the extra time needed or the equipment used.

Lift Gate – is the hydraulic ramp on the back of trucks or trailers that drivers use to lift the item from ground level to the deck of the truck when a loading dock or forklift is unavailable. This is often required for residential pick-ups or residential deliveries.

Fuel Surcharge – it popped up about a decade ago when fuel prices started moving up. It is a quick way for carriers to correct for fuel costs without changing their entire pricing structure every week. Anymore, about a third of the freight charge is based on fuel. This charge is always included in our quotes.

Inside Delivery or Pick-Up – If you need someone to come inside your business or home and physically pickup the freight and take it to the truck, you will incur this charge. Remember, there is only one driver in the truck so this service can be limited.

Notify Before Delivery – carriers charge extra if you need someone to call the shipper or the consignee before a pickup or a delivery.

Residential Pickups & Residential Deliveries – All carriers charge extra to make a home pickup or delivery. It really does cost the carrier more to handle these. The driver will spend extra time finding and maneuvering through a neighborhood. They have to watch for lower or hanging power lines and trees. Some neighborhoods have limited access or dead end roads; requiring the driver to back out. The carrier’s liability goes up as vehicles are parked in the road and children may be playing or riding bicycles in the road as well. Carriers can charge well over $100 just for this one service but Payless Freight has discounts on a residential pickup or a residential delivery that we pass on to you.

Delivery Appointment – Carriers charge extra for this service because they have to route the driver to be in your area at a certain time. They may even have to send a special truck just to make your delivery on time.

Redelivery Fee – If a driver comes by and no one is there to receive the freight, they have to make another delivery the next day. Some carriers charge a redelivery fee even for the second try but all will charge it for the third delivery.

Re-consignment Fees – If you change the destination of a shipment that is already in transit, carriers charge extra to make the changes necessary to complete the delivery.

Tradeshows – Because carriers may have to wait hours to get your freight into a trade show, carriers charge more for this service.

Limited Access – is an extra charge to make a delivery or pickup to an location that is not easy to access. This is because of the extra time needed or the driver has to backup long distances to make the delivery or pickup. This includes places like construction sites, farms, mini storage, churches, universities, hospitals and military bases.

Q?Is the quote price all inclusive?

At Payless Freight, our quote price is all inclusive based on correct shipment information given to us. Quotes are based on the two zip codes, weight, dimensions and class. The weight and dimensions are the two most problematic factors of a shipment. Most places don’t have scales so everyone guesses on the weight. If the weight is wrong then the quote is wrong.