The carrier is liable for the goods: from acceptance to delivery, under the CMR Convention, with its own assets and its liability policy. The forwarder is liable for organising the carriage and for choosing contractors with due care, but answers for damage to the goods only if it carried them itself or chose the carrier badly. A broker merely introduces the parties and usually drops out of the picture once the order is signed. So the first question on every order is simple: who are you in this transaction?
What is the carrier liable for?
For everything that happens to the goods between loading and unloading. Article 17 of the CMR Convention makes the carrier liable for loss of and damage to the goods and for delay, and Article 3 adds liability for any subcontractors it uses. Compensation has a ceiling: 8.33 SDR per kilogram of gross weight under Article 23(3), which for light, expensive goods is less than the invoice value. CARGO insurance closes that gap, as we explain in our article on carrier liability exclusions.
What is the forwarder liable for?
For professional organisation: selecting the carrier, documents, instructions, deadlines. The Polish Civil Code makes a forwarder answer for the carriers it engages, unless it is not at fault in choosing them. That reservation matters. A forwarder that can document checking the carrier's licence, liability insurance and track record may walk away from liability for damage that carrier caused. The cargo owner is then left claiming against a carrier they have never seen. There is one exception: a forwarder that performs the carriage itself acquires the rights and obligations of a carrier, and is liable as one.
Who is the broker, and why is it the weakest link?
A broker in the Anglo-Saxon sense is an intermediary: it matches a load with a truck, takes a commission and accepts responsibility neither for the goods nor for performance. On the European spot market this role is played by companies reselling exchange orders down the line. The catch is that Polish and EU transport law barely recognises the broker as a category, so a broker's liability depends entirely on the wording of a contract few people read. Why we avoid this model altogether is the subject of our article on why we do not buy loads on freight exchanges.
How do you tell who you are signing with?
- Read the obligation: moving the goods is carriage, organising the move is forwarding.
- Check the Community licence: a road carrier must hold one, a pure forwarder need not.
- Ask for the policy: carrier liability insurance and forwarder liability insurance are different products with different exclusions.
- Ask whose fleet will carry the goods; an evasive answer is an answer.
Where does OPTIMUS sit in this picture?
We are a carrier. We run our own fleet on the Poland to United Kingdom route, hold a Community licence, carrier liability cover up to EUR 1 million and CARGO insurance, and on top of that we perform the services a forwarder usually arranges: customs clearance on both sides, warehousing and cargo inspection in Milton Keynes, consolidation of return loads. The client gets one company, one line of liability and one phone number. When you sign with us, Article 17 CMR works against us, not against somebody who still has to be found.
How does a damage dispute run in each of the three setups?
One scenario shows the differences best: a pallet of electronics reaches Birmingham damaged. If a carrier took the order, the case is linear: a reservation on the CMR at delivery, a written claim, notification to its liability insurer, payment within the Convention limits. If a forwarder took the order and subcontracted the carriage, a preliminary stage appears: establishing whether the forwarder answers for its choice of carrier or merely passes the claim on, with each company holding a different insurer and different deadlines. If a broker sat in the middle, the first weeks are sometimes spent working out who was actually party to the contract of carriage, because the documents say one thing and the correspondence another. The practical lesson: learn your counterparty's role before the damage, not after, because that role decides how many companies stand between you and the compensation.
Sources
- UNECE: the CMR Convention, treaty text
- ISAP: the Polish Civil Code, carriage and forwarding contracts
Not sure what kind of company quoted your UK transport? Write via the contact form: we will show you the licence, the policy and the truck that will collect the goods.
