How to Properly Accept Freight Shipments

The majority of freight deliveries take place without any incident. However, it's good to be prepared in the event that your order is damaged during shipping.

A freight delivery will proceed according to the following steps:

1. Pickup: When your shipment is picked up, you will be emailed a shipping confirmation with the carrier (trucking company), pro number (this is like a freight reference number) and online tracking link.
2. In-Transit: Your shipment is now in transit and will take approximately 3 to 8 business days to arrive at your local shipping hub. 
3. Schedule: Once your shipment is at the hub, a dispatcher will call to schedule a delivery date and a delivery window. It's normal for the window to be about 4 hours.
4. Day of Delivery: the driver will usually call you when they are on the way and let you know they are coming. 
5. Off the Truck: The drive will put your shipment on a jack and take it off truck using a lift gate. Once on the ground, they will move it to your curbside if not already. Unless you have indoor delivery, the driver will not take your shipment inside.
6. Inspect for Damage: After the shipment is placed, it's your responsibility to inspect if the shipment has any damage. Please read below on how to inspect and report damage.
7. Accepting Delivery: The driver will give you a document called the Bill of Lading, or BOL for short. This is your delivery receipt that you will sign to acknowledge delivery. 

Enjoy your new purchase! In the vast majority of cases, freight deliveries happen without issue and our shipments are boxed specifically to withstand the rigors of freight shipping. 

How to Inspect and Document Damage 

In the rare event that there is an issue, it's important to carefully follow the instructions below to ensure that your shipping claim can be resolved.

All freight companies are required to allow you up to 15-30 minutes to inspect your delivery for damage or missing parts. This means that you should make a complete inspection of your shipment to check for dents, cracks or broken parts. We highly recommend opening each box regardless of how it looks to inspect for damage that may not be obvious.

In the event that your order is damaged (minor or major), it should be noted by writing the word "DAMAGED" on the both the driver copy and your copy of the BOL, along with a description of the damage. Items missing from your order need to written down as "ORDER INCOMPLETE". 

It is critical that the driver also sign and initial both copies of the BOL if any damage is present. By noting damage on the driver's copy, this ensures that there is written proof that damage was noted at the time of shipping. By having the driver sign your copy, this ensures that you have proof that the driver signed in your presence.

Do not refuse delivery of a damaged shipment

If you do, the refusal will invalidate any damage claims and will only create return shipping and storage fees. If you do this, then the driver will take the shipment back to the shipping hub and we will unable to make a damage report. This will simply cause any damage claim to be invalidated and it may also incur storage fees and return shipping fees that will be billed back to you.

In certain instance, there may be what is known as concealed damage, which is damage that is not immediately evident. In the event of concealed damage, you must document the damage with photographs and descriptions and send to us immediately within 24 hours, as the burden of proof be on the recipient to prove the damage was a result of the shipping carrier. ChoppingBlocks.com will assist as best we can in concealed damage claims, but cannot be liable for any shipments that were accepted without a notation of damage on the shipping receipt. 

Be sure to keep a copy of the receipt, as this will be vital in processing a shipping claim. Photographs of the damage are extremely helpful as well to ensure successful processing of your claim. Any and all information regarding shipping damage should be sent immediately to us at help@choppingblocks.com so that we may assist you. 

Please hold on to your shipment and store in a dry and safe place. Do not dispose of the shipment as evidence of damage is important. The freight company may require an inspection of damages as well. 

Failure to properly report damage will result in the inability for ChoppingBlocks.com or our vendors to file a shipping claim and will release us from all liability regarding shipping damage, so please document damage and inform us as soon as possible by telephone and/or email.