The rate on the confirmation is only part of what a load can owe you. Detention, lumper reimbursements, and truck-ordered-not-used fees are real money — and they're paid to the operators who document first and ask correctly.
Know the terms before the wheels roll
Detention is compensation for dock time beyond the free window — commonly two hours — at an hourly rate that should be on the rate confirmation before you accept the load. A lumper fee is what a facility charges to unload; it's ordinarily the freight payer's cost, reimbursed against a receipt. TONU — truck ordered, not used — compensates you when a booked load cancels after you've committed the truck. None of these are favors. All of them are terms, and terms only exist in writing.
The clock only counts if you documented it
Detention claims live and die on timestamps. Arrive on time and get the arrival noted — gate record, signed-in time on the bill of lading, a timestamped photo at the dock. Note when loading actually starts and ends, get the departure documented, and notify the broker or your dispatch before the free time expires, not after. A polite message at ninety minutes — 'still waiting on a door, detention starts in 30' — turns a future argument into a present fact.
Lumpers are simpler: pay nothing out of pocket without confirming who's covering it, and never lose the receipt. A photographed receipt sent the same hour beats an original mailed next week.
Ask like a professional, escalate like one too
The ask is administrative, not emotional: documents attached, amount stated, terms cited, submitted through whoever handles your billing — direct to the broker, or through your carrier's desk if you're leased on. Most disputes end at the paperwork stage, because complete paperwork is rare enough to be persuasive. When something stalls, escalate in writing and keep the thread; the operator with the organized file wins the slow arguments.
And keep a private scorecard. A facility that eats four hours every visit, a broker who fights every legitimate claim — those are pricing signals. The freight was never as cheap as it looked.