How do I file a damage claim after car shipping?

Q: How do I file a damage claim after car shipping?

Note the damage on the Bill of Lading at delivery, photograph it, and report it to Rivalane within 48 hours. We send you the carrier's details and insurance documents. You file the claim with the carrier, which is the liable party under federal law. Keep every document and do not repair the car until the insurer has reviewed the claim.

A damage claim in car shipping follows a fixed sequence. Skipping a step early makes the later steps hard.

Record the damage at delivery. Write it as an exception on the Bill of Lading before you sign, have the driver sign the notation, photograph the damage with the date visible, and keep your copy.
Notify Rivalane within 48 hours. Email support@rivalane.com with the signed Bill of Lading and your pickup and delivery photos. Our Terms and Conditions require notice within 48 hours of delivery so we can supply the carrier's documents.
Receive the carrier's details. We provide the carrier's name, contact and insurance information in a commercially reasonable time.
File with the carrier. The carrier is the liable party. Send it the claim with your evidence and a repair estimate. Its cargo insurer reviews it.
Keep records and be patient. Claims against motor carriers are governed by federal law, the Carmack Amendment, which sets how liability and claims work. Do not repair the vehicle before the insurer has had a chance to inspect it unless the carrier agrees in writing.

What Rivalane does and does not do

We do not pay or adjudicate claims, because we never had custody of the vehicle and are not the insured party. We do make sure you have what you need to file and we stay in contact with the carrier on your behalf. Rivalane's own liability under the Terms is limited to the fee you paid us.

If a claim stalls and you want independent advice, the Terms encourage you to seek legal advice at your own expense; the Carmack Amendment is well established and attorneys who handle cargo claims know it.

What a complete claim file looks like

A written claim to the carrier that identifies the shipment (your name, the pickup and delivery dates and addresses, the vehicle and VIN), describes the damage, and states the amount claimed. Attached: the pickup Bill of Lading, the delivery Bill of Lading with the exception noted, your dated pickup and delivery photographs, and an itemized repair estimate. Keep a copy of everything and send the claim in a way that gives you proof of delivery, such as email with a read receipt.

Federal regulations at 49 CFR 370.3 set the minimum for a valid claim: it must be in writing, identify the shipment, assert liability for the loss or damage, and claim a specified or determinable amount. A phone call to the driver is not a claim.

The carrier's deadlines

Under 49 CFR Part 370, the carrier must acknowledge your claim in writing within 30 days of receiving it and must pay, decline, or make a firm compromise offer within 120 days, or tell you why it needs longer. Note the date you sent the claim and follow up when each deadline passes. Rivalane will press the carrier on your behalf if you tell us where the claim stands.

What the Terms say: the carrier is the liable party and the customer files directly with the carrier (Section 9b); the claim must be reported to Rivalane within 48 hours of delivery so Rivalane can provide the carrier's documents (Section 9c); claims against motor carriers are governed by the Carmack Amendment and the customer is urged to seek independent legal advice if needed (Section 9e of our Terms and Conditions).

How much you can claim

The measure under the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. 14706, is the actual loss, which for repairable damage is normally the reasonable cost of repair. Some carriers' terms or the Bill of Lading may state a liability limit per vehicle, and Section 5c of our Terms notes that you may be subject to the carrier's own terms. Read the back of the Bill of Lading; if a limit is printed there, it matters.

Common reasons claims fail

A clean delivery signature with no exception.
Photographs with no date or no wide shot showing which car they are of.
A repair completed before the insurer could inspect.
Damage that falls inside an exclusion, such as hail on an open trailer or a loose part that detached.
A claim sent to the wrong company, for example to Rivalane instead of the carrier, or to the driver personally instead of the carrier's office.
Each is avoidable with the steps above.

If the carrier denies or ignores the claim

Ask for the denial in writing with the reason. If it rests on a factual dispute, your Bill of Lading exception and photos are the answer. If the carrier simply does not respond, file a complaint with the FMCSA through the National Consumer Complaint Database, and consider legal advice; the Carmack Amendment provides a civil remedy and sets a minimum of nine months to file a claim and two years to bring suit from a denial. Rivalane will provide any further carrier documentation we hold.

Keeping the process short

Most claims that start with a noted exception, photos and a prompt estimate settle without dispute. The hard cases are the ones where the paperwork was skipped at the curb. If you have not yet shipped, the delivery inspection article linked below is the ten minutes that make the difference.

The same process applies whether the car traveled open or enclosed, and whether it was delivered to your driveway or a meeting point under our door to door service.