Freight Bills

Understand Limited Access Fees

Transcript

Sometimes Less-than-Truckload carriers have to provide unexpected services or accommodations in order to complete your delivery. This results in additional fees. Koho is here to help you avoid unexpected charges. Today, we’re talking about limited access fees. Limited access fees are charged when an LTL carrier deems a delivery or pick-up site to be difficult to get to. Unfortunately, this can be very subjective. Different carriers define “limited access” in different ways. But there are a few basic categories of what they will consider limited access: - First, places that are remote or physically difficult to access with a full-size truck and trailer, such as construction sites, farms, camps, fairs, or mining sites.- Secondly, high-security locations, such as military bases and prisons. - And, finally, places not open to the general public during normal working hours, such as colleges and schools, churches, mosques, and temples.Fees for delivery to places like these can range from around $50 to over $1,000. The best way to avoid unexpected limited access fees is to know exactly where you’re shipping from and where you’re shipping to. When you book with Koho, you select a category for your pickup and delivery destinations. Then our booking platform will automatically tell you if it’s likely to be considered limited access so you can get an accurate quote from carriers.Want to learn more about how to avoid unexpected fees? Go to gokoho.com.

What are freight rebills or additional charges?

Typically, when you buy a product or service you know exactly how much you’ll be paying. With less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping, that’s not always the case. After your shipment has been completed, additional charges, also known as rebills, can be added to the price you were initially quoted. Because of how complex and specific LTL shipping can be, rebills are a fairly common occurrence in the LTL industry. Delays that keep the driver waiting, inaccurate freight measurements or weights, incorrect paperwork, or unexpected equipment needed to load or unload your cargo can all result in unpleasant surprises on your invoice. And they can be substantial. Limited access fees often surprise shippers who don’t have detailed knowledge of their pickup or delivery locations.

What are limited access fees?

Unfortunately, different carriers define “limited access” differently. There are a few basic categories of what will likely be considered limited access:
- Places that are remote or physically difficult to access with a full-size truck and trailer, such as camps, fairs, farms, construction sites, or mining sites.
- High-security locations, such as military bases and prisons.
- Places not open to the general public during normal working hours, such as colleges and schools, churches, mosques, and temples.
- Some carriers consider residential areas to be limited access, others have a separate category for this, but still charge a fee. One thing to keep in mind: even if someone runs a business out of their home, it is still residential.

Limited access fees can range from around $50 to over $1,000, depending on the specific locations of the pickup and delivery as well as the carrier. Though this is not a complete list it can provide you common examples of the type of places that may be considered limited access.

How do I avoid limited access fees in the future?

The best way to avoid unexpected limited access fees is to know exactly where you’re shipping from and where you’re shipping to. When you book with Koho, you select what category of place your pickup and delivery destinations are. Then we’ll let you know if it’s likely to be considered limited access. If you’re not sure, contact us by phone, email, or in our convenient messaging system and we can help you.

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