What Is Concealed Damage in Freight Shipping

Posted On 15th January 2025

Have you recently received a damaged freight shipment? There’s a solution!

Shipping damage is something all freight delivery companies have to deal with, but thanks to the submission of damage claims by customers, incidents have greatly decreased.

This guide will help you learn all about freight claims management and teach you how to report concealed damage like a pro in under 5 minutes!

Damaged Freight - How Do I Report Concealed Damage?

How Do I Report Concealed Damage

Before submitting a claim for a potentially damaged shipment, you must be thoroughly familiar with the concealed damage meaning and the carrier’s policy about damaged products.

While most freight carriers tend to deal with shortage claims in an identical way, you should still learn more about the policy of the company that has shipped your product.

The freight damage inspection consists of several important steps:

  1. Inspection of the shipment’s external condition: The first step is to search for concealed damage on the packaging materials of the freight shipment. Note all visible signs of damage on the delivery receipt before signing it.
  2. Inspection of the shipment’s contents: The next step is to check for freight damage in the content of the shipment and note down all of the damaged item(s). The potentially defective content of the shipment must be referred to as concealed damage in the claim.
  3. Preserve the supplied packaging materials: Before returning the shipment for inspection by the carrier, ensure all of the packaging materials are properly preserved with the shipment.
  4. File a claim: The final step is to produce and submit the concealed damage claim and demand a restoration or replacement of the product, based on the delivery company’s policy. You must be familiar with the concealed damage definition policies of the shipping company before filling out the claim.

The damaged products must be properly described in the notice before sending them back to the freight carrier. Accurate details of the freight shipping damage or empty spaces in the shipment must also be described to receive proper feedback from the carrier.

Who is Responsible for Filing a Freight Claim?

Knowing who is responsible for filing a freight claim is an essential part of managing freight damage and successfully submitting a claim.

Let’s review the possible outcomes and learn who’s responsible for the concealed shortage of your freight shipment!

Shipper/Sender Responsibility:

The freight sender may often make a mistake in terms of concealed shortage or improper labeling. When claiming lost or damaged freight on the shipper’s behalf, the shipper must provide the consignee (recipient) with the necessary information for the claim and guide them through all of the necessary steps.

Carrier Responsibility:

The carrier is entirely responsible for delivering the shipment to the recipient and finalizing the shipping process. If any faults were inflicted on the freight during this stage of the shipment, you must contact the carrier company or service that corresponds with the sender and fill out the claim accordingly.

Recipient Responsibility:

If the recipient damages the freight after proof of delivery, neither the carrier nor the shipper is responsible for covering the damages.

If you’re unsure whether the damage was inflicted by you or not, contact the carrier first and request more information about the shipping process. Typically, the warranty of the shipped product may cover any user-inflicted damages, but you should still contact the shipper or sender for more details.

What to Do When You Need to File a Claim?

With most shipping companies, the concealed damage freight claims must be submitted within 15 days of the carrier transporting the shipment to you after getting it off the sender’s supply chain.

As established, the claim must include essential information about the damaged items within the shipment as well as a thorough description of the recipient’s demands.

Common policies in filing a freight claim include:

  • Taking immediate action is key to effectively filling out the claim. According to the NMFC concealed damage policy, some carriers may refuse to take action on your claim outside of a particular period after receiving the shipment.
  • You should also attempt to mitigate the damages as much as possible unless you consider the damaged products completely rendered useless as a result of the damage. If the freight damage is that severe, it will typically be spotted right after the proof of delivery process.
  • Create supportive documentation as well as a detailed description of the damaged freight and include how many items were damaged and the average price of each product. The more information your carrier or shipper has to work with, the less you will need after submitting the damage claim.

Now, let’s go through some of the best methods to preserve the condition of all freight-shipped products!

Useful Tips to Prevent Concealed Damage Claims

After learning what is concealed damage and who’s responsible for filing the claim, it’s time to review some effective methods to prevent shipping damages successfully.

Some of the best methods to minimize damages to the shipment include:

  • Consider alternatives for external or internal protection of the shipment, such as bubble wrap such as bubble wrap or kraft paper for fragile items within the shipment. Make sure the correct box size is used, the cushioning is adequate, and only use high-quality materials to protect the shipment. Before passing the shipment to the carrier, ensure the box is sealed securely.
  • Leaving extra space in between the shipped products may cause some of the items to shift and move during the shipping process, resulting in increased impact force and vibration damage.
  • An excellent alternative to prevent damage is via proper packaging, reinforcing weak points, and including labels and instructions for the recipient. Sometimes a simple “UP” arrow label will prevent the user from ripping the packaging improperly and potentially damaging the shipment’s content.

Wrapping Up

After a thorough review of how to manage concealed or damaged freight, we can conclude that filling out a claim is always your best option. If the inflicted damage was unintentional or hasn’t been spotted during the loading or unloading of the freight, you will be restored to the paid price or delivered products.

Proper packaging, timely inspection, and familiarizing yourself with the carrier’s policies will help you efficiently handle any instances of concealed damage, ensuring a smoother shipping experience.