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Email templates · Freight and trucking

Email template to complain about a freight delay or damaged shipment

Your freight showed up crushed, short a box, or days after it was promised. For damage, a written claim is the only thing a carrier acts on, and timing matters. Federal rules give you at least nine months from delivery to file a claim against an interstate trucking company, but the practical deadlines are much shorter: damage noted on the delivery receipt when the driver is standing there is easy to claim, while damage found after you signed for it clean (called concealed damage) has to be reported within days and is harder to prove. For delays, standard transit times are estimates, not promises, unless you paid for guaranteed service, so a refund is a goodwill ask rather than a right. Either way, email the claim with everything attached and keep the thread.

Before you send

  • The PRO number (the carrier's tracking number), the bill of lading number, and the pickup and delivery dates.
  • The delivery receipt. If damage was noted on it, that note is your strongest evidence. If not, the date you found the damage.
  • Photos of the packaging and the damage before you unpack further. Keep the packaging and the damaged item until the claim is settled; the carrier may want to inspect them.
  • Proof of the item's value (the invoice or receipt) and either a repair estimate or the cost to replace it.
  • What you are asking for: the repair cost, the item's value, or a refund of the shipping charge for a delay. One number.
Subject Claim on PRO #[tracking number]: [damaged / late] delivery on [date] 
Hi [carrier claims department or contact name],

I'm writing to file a claim on shipment PRO #[tracking number], picked up [date] at [origin city] and delivered [date] at [destination city], bill of lading #[bill of lading number].

What happened: [e.g. the crate arrived with one side crushed and the machine inside has a bent frame; the driver noted "crate damaged" on the delivery receipt / the shipment was quoted at three business days and arrived nine days later, after my installer had come and gone].

Attached are photos of the packaging and the damage, the signed delivery receipt, the invoice showing a value of $[amount], and [a repair estimate for $X / a quote for the replacement]. I've kept the packaging and the item in case you want to inspect them.

I'm asking for [reimbursement of $X for the repair / the declared value of $X / a refund of the $X shipping charge]. Please confirm the claim number and let me know if you need anything else. I'd appreciate an acknowledgment within [a week].

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • Under federal rules an interstate carrier has to acknowledge your claim within 30 days and pay, decline or make an offer within 120 days. If you hear nothing at 30 days, reply with the claim details and ask for the acknowledgment.
  • A common bad answer is an offer based on the carrier's standard per-pound liability, which can be a small fraction of the item's value. If you bought declared-value coverage when you booked, reply with that paperwork. If you did not, the per-pound cap may hold, and the fight is over the numbers within it.
  • If you booked through a broker, copy them in. Brokers have a relationship with the carrier and can move a stalled claim faster than you can.
  • If the claim is declined or 120 days pass with no decision, you can take the carrier to court; small claims is realistic for smaller amounts. Keep every email.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject File a freight claim for a damaged shipment 
Hi StandIn,

Please file and pursue a claim with a freight carrier; my shipment arrived [damaged / late].

The shipment: [carrier or broker name, PRO or tracking number, bill of lading number, pickup and delivery dates].
What was shipped and its value: [item, invoice amount, whether I bought extra coverage].
What went wrong: [description, what the driver noted on the delivery receipt, when I found the damage].
What I have: [photos, receipt, invoice, repair estimate, and whether I still have the packaging].
What I want: [repair cost / replacement value / shipping refund, and the amount].

Open the claim, keep after the carrier and the broker if there is one, and tell me if an offer comes in that's below what I should accept.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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