Reservations for visible loss or damage must reach the carrier no later than at the moment of delivery, and for non-apparent damage within 7 days of delivery. For delay, a written reservation must be sent within 21 days. The foundation of the whole process is a damage report drawn up on the spot, with photographs.
The moment of delivery decides everything
Most lost claims fail not because the carrier bore no liability, but because nobody wrote anything down at unloading. The CMR Convention runs on a presumption: taking delivery without reservations creates a presumption that the goods were in the condition described in the consignment note. Reversing that presumption after the fact is hard. So the only effective procedure is a simple one: check at delivery, record it on the document, photograph before the pallets come off.
Reservation deadlines under the CMR Convention
- Apparent loss or damage: reservation no later than at the time of taking delivery (Art. 30).
- Non-apparent loss or damage: reservation within 7 days of delivery, Sundays and public holidays excluded (Art. 30).
- Delay in delivery: written reservation within 21 days of the goods being placed at the consignee's disposal.
- Limitation of actions: one year as a rule, and three years in case of wilful misconduct or equivalent default (Art. 32).
What a good report should contain
A report does not have to be an elegant document, it has to be a complete one. It should state the date and place, the consignment note number, vehicle and driver details, a description of the consignment with pallet count and markings, and a specific description of the condition found. „Goods damaged” will not do: it must say which pallets, to what extent and in what way. Then photographs: the load in the trailer before unloading, the pallet close up, damaged packaging, the seal and the vehicle plates. Carrier liability and the compensation limit are described in carrier liability under CMR.
The clause on the consignment note
The simplest and most often skipped tool is a clause written into the consignment note in the box reserved for the consignee's reservations. The entry should be specific and signed by both parties. A consignee who signs the document clean and only then rings with a complaint weakens their own position. Retail deliveries add their own document clausing procedures, described in POD, GRN and clausing.
Shortage, overage and simple miscounting
A separate category is a quantity discrepancy: fewer or more units arrived than the paperwork shows. Before launching a claim it is worth ruling out mundane causes, a miscount at loading, double scanning or an error in the packing list. Only then does it become a loss. We describe the practical path in shortage and overage at unloading.
Who pays: liability cover, cargo cover, or nobody
Carrier liability and insurance are two different things. Carrier liability cover protects the carrier within the limits of its liability under carriage law, with exclusions and caps. Cargo insurance protects the owner's goods regardless of whether anyone can be blamed. Fortuitous events, force majeure and inherent vice of the goods can mean the carrier is not liable, and without cargo cover the loss stays with the owner. We take the differences apart in liability versus cargo cover and in liability insurance exclusions.
How we handle it
When damage affects cargo moving on our job, we start the documentation immediately rather than after a call from the client. For consignments in the United Kingdom the load can be routed to our Milton Keynes warehouse for inspection with a report, pallet rebuilding and separation of sound units from unsound ones. The structure of such a report is described in the inspection report for the insurer, and the scope of work on the cargo inspection page.
Sources
Have a transport loss and do not know where to start? Describe the situation through the quote form or call us, and we will advise which documents to gather before the goods move on. This text is informational and does not constitute legal advice.
