Residential vs Commercial

    – Burr King’s Guide to avoid rebill fees

Each week we handle hundreds of shipments.  Some are easy and some are quite confusing.   Our goal is to find the best freight rate available on your LTL shipment and we need your help.  Less that truckload (LTL) shipments confuse even the most seasoned shipping personal so it no wonder why there’s many questions when it comes to getting your new machine shipped to your door.

Burr King offers a prepay and add service or you can arrange your own freight pickup.  PPA is where we prepare all the paperwork and handle the scheduling on your behalf.  In order for Burr King to prepare the paperwork and arrange shipping we need to know a few things to get an estimate that will be accurate and will not incur rebill fees.   Our freight quotes are estimated charges with the carrier.  They are subject to change depending on many factors.

Rebill fees are additional charges that can be added to the price that was originally quoted and often happen after the shipment is completed.   Rebill fees can add up to hundreds of dollars (or more) quite fast.  

Did you classify your address as commercial and in the freight companies eyes its “residential?” REBILL FEE

Did the driver have to wait?  REBILL FEE

Did you miss the delivery appointment?  REBILL FEE

Did you forget to have help onsite to get it off the truck?  You need a liftgate!  REBILL FEE

These are just a few of the things that maybe rebilled. 

Understanding Commercial vs Residential & LTL Add-ons

First you need to know how the trucking company will classify your address.  You might have a “commercial address” but if might not be so in the eyes of the freight company.

Definition of Commercial Address

Commercial addresses are those defined by our freight carrier as commercial sites. Typically, these addresses are commercially zoned buildings. Most commercial sites have tractor-trailer access and a loading dock.

Definition of Residential Address

In the LTL freight world, “residential” refers to an area, not to a specific address. If a commercial business is in what a freight carrier considers to be a residential area, shipments to and from that address will be hit with the residential address fee accessorial. Since LTL carriers use 53’ dry vans and large box trucks, it can be difficult to navigate residential streets since they are not designed for large vehicles. This creates safety and liability issues for the carriers and adds additional labor to the pickup or delivery since a driver can’t just back to a dock and have the freight unloaded. These costs are passed on to the shipper in the form of the residential address fee.

What is Limited Access?

Limited Access – non-commercial - Camps, Churches, Construction Sites, Convents, Country Clubs, Estates, Golf Courses, Farms, Marinas, Military bases, Mini-storage warehouses, Non-Commercial Locations; Nursing homes, Prisons, Rectory or Schools, Yacht Clubs and other such locations.

Inside Delivery

This option is required for limited access locations (schools, government bases, etc.) or locations where the delivery will need to be done inside a building.

Liftgate Service

Liftgate service is required for those addresses not equipped with a loading dock or a forklift. Freight Carriers will not let you just carry items off the truck and are not allowed to assist you in unloading besides lowering the liftgate. Failure to add liftgate service to your order when required will cause further delays as the freight company will require authorization from us to add it.

How can you avoid charges in the future?

It’s easy to avoid these fees.  Our team at Burr King will use common online maps with satellite views to check the conditions of the delivery location.  If we believe that the delivery will be considered residential, we will let you know what the additional fees will be ahead of time so there won’t be any surprises, as well as avoiding costly redelivery fees and rebill fees. 

Use a Freight Terminal

A freight terminal is the connecting facility where the carrier transfers shipments and rearranges trucks for delivers to local locations as well as forwarding terminals.  The terminals have docs, and workers in charge of loading and unloading incoming and outgoing LTL trucks.

To avoid residential delivery charges and fees associated with residential deliveries, choose to pick it up at the terminal.   Burr King will locate the nearest terminal and give you the option of picking it up at that location.  Not only can you save hundreds of dollars on the shipment, you will also likely get your delivery one or two days sooner. 

Shipping terminals have “call hours.”  Don’t let it scare you, it’s just a fancy word for their hours of “open” operation. 

Terminals may also be “dark.”  It just more fancy freight terms for terminals that may have limited hours of operation where they do not have staff available during “normal” business hours.

We are here to help!

Burr King’s team is here to help you avoid rebilling fees and get your new machine delivered to you at the best available price.  We do it every day and we think we are pretty dang good at it.  If you have questions about your shipment please give us a call - 660-438-8998.