Register A Complaint
Shortage, damage, delay, billing or conduct. One route in, a fixed acknowledgement time, and a published escalation ladder if the first answer does not settle it.
Damage or shortage: seven days, in writing
Carrier liability for shortage or damage lapses seven days after delivery. A phone call does not preserve the claim — it has to be in writing, with the LRN. If you are close to the deadline, send a bare email with the LRN today and the detail tomorrow.What to send
A complaint with these five things attached is usually resolved without a second exchange. Without them we end up asking, and that costs you days.
- The LRN
- The nine-digit Lorry Receipt Number. It is on the Lorry Receipt and on every carton tag, and it is the only reference that identifies the consignment across carriers.
- The commercial invoice
- Establishes the value of what was in the carton. A claim cannot be assessed against a declared value we do not have.
- Photographs
- The outer carton, the seal or tape, the tag, and the contents as found. Photograph before unpacking further — a repacked carton cannot be assessed.
- The proof of delivery
- With the shortage or damage recorded on it at handover, and the driver's acknowledgement. This is the single strongest piece of evidence in a freight claim.
- Affected carton numbers
- Which cartons of the consignment, by the box AWB on their tags. On a multi-carton consignment this narrows the investigation to specific scans.
- Your preferred outcome
- Repair, replacement, credit note or freight waiver. Telling us up front removes a round of negotiation.
At handover — the four minutes that decide a claim
Freight claims are won or lost at the door, not in the correspondence afterwards.
- 1
Count before you sign
Count the cartons against the box count on the Lorry Receipt. A signature on a clean POD is an acknowledgement that everything arrived intact.
- 2
Note it on the POD
Write the shortage or the visible damage on the proof of delivery and have the driver initial it. A driver cannot refuse this.
- 3
Photograph before unpacking
Carton, seal, tag, then contents. Time-stamped photographs from the point of handover carry far more weight than any taken later.
- 4
Email the same day
Even a one-line email with the LRN starts the clock in your favour and fixes the date the complaint was raised.
Response times
Working days, from when the complaint reaches us in writing with an LRN.
| Stage | Commitment |
|---|---|
| Acknowledgement, with a complaint reference | 1 working day |
| First substantive response | 3 working days |
| Delay, billing and conduct complaints — resolution | 7 working days |
| Shortage and damage claims — assessment | 15 working days from full documentation |
| Settlement, once assessed and agreed | 21 working days |
Escalation ladder
If a stage does not answer you inside its committed time, go to the next one and quote the complaint reference. You do not need permission to escalate.
| Level | Who | Route | Respond within |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Ops desk | support@shippbie.com | 3 working days |
| Level 2 | Service Quality Head | escalations@shippbie.com | 5 working days |
| Level 3 | Nodal Officer | nodal@shippbie.com | 7 working days |
Owner risk vs carrier risk
Goods move at owner's risk unless carrier risk (FOV) was opted for and charged at booking. Check the Risk Coverage field on your Lorry Receipt before filing — it determines the ceiling on what can be settled, whatever the invoice value.What we cannot settle
- Claims raised more than seven days after delivery
- Consignments delivered against a clean POD with no shortage or damage recorded
- Concealed damage where the carton and its packaging were discarded before photographs
- Loss of goods that were prohibited or undeclared — cover lapses in full for the whole consignment
- Consequential loss: lost sales, contractual penalties or business interruption
- Delay caused by a checkpost detention arising from your documentation, or by a declared force majeure event
Not a complaint, just a question?
Tracking answers most status questions instantly, and the FAQs cover weights, e-way bills and charges.