Most carrier-broker disputes are contract disputes dressed up as operational disagreements. The broker-carrier agreement — often accepted electronically, rarely read — determines set-off rights, claim deductions, payment timing and where any action must be brought.
Whether set-off is permitted, and on what terms, generally turns on the broker-carrier agreement and the applicable law. A broad set-off clause is common and is often the reason the deduction stands.
Payment terms, set-off and chargeback rights, cargo liability limits and deductibles, insurance requirements, indemnities, forum and governing law, and any anti-back-solicitation clause.
Ontario's Small Claims Court handles claims up to its monetary limit and is designed to be proportionate. Whether a claim is worth pursuing depends on the amount, the debtor's solvency and the agreement's forum clause.
This page provides general legal information about Ontario law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create a solicitor-client relationship.
Facing a regulatory or commercial transportation issue? Speak with counsel.