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What causes chargebacks and how do I prevent them?

Chargebacks come from cargo claims, late-delivery penalties, count and damage adjustments, fuel advances, and retailer fines passed through by the broker. Prevent them with proof captured at the time — a clean, legible POD with any exception noted, timestamped arrival and departure, load photos — and by reconciling every settlement against the amount you expected.

Reviewed 2026-09-07

A chargeback is money deducted from what you are owed rather than billed to you, which makes it hard to fight after the fact — you are arguing to be paid, not refusing to pay.

The common causes: OS&D (over, short, and damaged) adjustments when the delivered count or condition is disputed; late-delivery penalties, sometimes pass-through retailer fines; fuel or cash advances taken against the load; and cargo claims.

The prevention is documentation at the moment it matters. A POD signed with a printed name and time, with any pallet damage or shortage noted at the door, closes out most OS&D disputes. Timestamped gate-in and gate-out defend against detention and late-delivery claims. Photos of the load condition at pickup and delivery defend against damage claims.

The catch is reconciliation. A chargeback only hurts if you do not notice it. Checking every settlement line against the expected amount is what surfaces the deductions in time to dispute them with the evidence you captured.

Terms in this answer: Chargeback, Proof of Delivery (POD), Rate Confirmation, Detention

In Trailflow: settlement reconciliation.

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