In the process of express delivery and logistics
There are frequent instances of agreed freight payments。
In many cases, the receiving party has no objection to the payment of freight charges
But if the receiving party refuses to pay the freight
To whom should logistics companies claim freight
Basic cases
Company b procured a shipment of goods from company a, which was contracted by the parties to be transported on behalf of company a, while the freight was borne by company b。
Company a entered into a contract of carriage with a logistics company for the delivery of the goods to company b, under which a freight rate of $18,000 was agreed to be paid in the form of payment。
The latter shipped the shipment to the premises of company b and delivered it to company b. However, companies a and b, in dispute over payment of the goods, refused to pay freight to logistics companies. In the absence of such a request, the logistics company filed a lawsuit with the court for a joint payment of $18,000 for freight by company a and company b。
Court hearings
After hearing, the court held that the contract for the carriage of goods between a and logistics was legally established and entered into force and that the parties should agree to perform their respective obligations in accordance with the contract. The logistics company, as the carrier, shall safely transport the goods to the agreed place and deliver them within an agreed period or reasonable period of time, and the shipper or consignee shall pay the freight corresponding to the logistics company。
As a result of the agreement between a and logistics that the freight would be paid “attribution”, logistics also made it clear, as a shipper, that under industry practice, “attribution” meant payment of the freight by the consignee, i. E. By the contract of carriage between a and logistics, by which the consignee, namely company b, agreed to pay the freight to the shipper, but in this case company b expressly refused to pay the freight。
Under article 65 of the law of the people's republic of china on contracts and article 523 of the civil code of the people's republic of china, the parties agree that the third party shall perform the debt to the creditor, that the third party shall fail to perform the debt or that the third party shall fail to do so, and that the debtor shall be liable to the creditor for default. Company a is therefore liable to pay a freight charge of $18,000 to logistics, while company a may claim the freight charge separately from company b on the basis of an agreement with company b in its purchase and sale contract。
In the end, the court decided to pay $18,000 in logistics freight charges and to reject other claims by logistics companies。
The judge's statement
The contract is relative and binds the parties. While the parties to the contract may create an obligation for a third party in the contract, if the third party fails to do so, it remains for the debtor to continue to perform or assume responsibility for breach。
In this case, the parties to the contract for the carriage of goods were shipper a and carrier logistics and the consignee was company b. Where “attribution” is agreed, the logistics company should claim from the shipper under the contract for the carriage of goods, even though the freight is, according to industry practice, borne by the consignee, if the consignee refuses to pay the freight。
