Transport & Logistics Debt Collection | Atradius Collections

Recover unpaid freight and logistics invoices

Atradius Collections helps transport and logistics businesses recover overdue B2B invoices from domestic and overseas customers. Whether you operate a trucking fleet, arrange international freight or provide warehousing and fulfilment, we help you pursue unpaid commercial accounts through amicable collection and, where appropriate, assess further action.

Your drivers, fuel and operating costs cannot wait for another broken payment promise. If reminders are no longer producing payment, take the next step with your unpaid freight, haulage, forwarding or logistics invoices.

Start online: get a quote for your unpaid invoices

Agora starts with a tailored quote, followed by invoice and supporting-document upload. Select your company's country on the platform. If your country or your debtor's country is unavailable, or you need help with a disputed account, contact our team.

Which transport and logistics debts can you refer?

Transport and logistics debt collection concerns overdue payments for services provided to other businesses. Start with the service you supplied and the customer that agreed to pay for it.

• Carriers and trucking companies: unpaid loads, haulage invoices, agreed fuel surcharges and waiting-time charges.
• Freight forwarders: overdue forwarding and shipment-service invoices from business customers.
• 3PL providers: unpaid transport, fulfilment, handling and contract-logistics accounts.
• Warehousing businesses: overdue storage, picking, packing and handling charges.
• Courier and delivery companies: unpaid commercial delivery accounts and outstanding balances across multiple invoices.

For additional charges, include the agreed rate, how the amount was calculated and the records supporting it. A charge appearing on an invoice does not, by itself, resolve a disagreement about whether it was agreed.

What is stopping your customer from paying?

Before sending another reminder, identify whether payment is blocked by administration, a specific dispute or continued non-payment. The following checks help you explain the account when requesting collection support.

If missing paperwork is the only obstacle, resolving it may unblock payment. If the customer still does not pay, provide that correspondence with your case so the same questions do not have to be reconstructed.

Who owes the invoice: the broker, shipper or consignee?

One shipment can involve several businesses. The company that receives the goods may be different from the company that ordered the transport or was invoiced. Do not treat a delivery signature as a complete answer to who must pay.

Put the legal names from the booking, accepted quotation or rate confirmation beside the invoice details. Record who instructed the work, who agreed the price and whether another business was designated to handle payment. Explain any mismatch when you refer the account.

Broker not paying a carrier? Include the broker agreement or rate confirmation, shipment reference, invoice, proof of delivery and payment correspondence. Flag any suggestion that another party should pay for assessment; liability needs to be considered against the documents and applicable law.

Separate the freight balance from disputed charges

A single disputed line item can make an entire account look unresolved. Show the total outstanding amount, the amount expressly accepted by the customer and the amount challenged. If the customer has not confirmed a balance, label it unconfirmed rather than undisputed.

Illustrative example: a carrier invoices EUR 5,400: EUR 4,800 for transport and EUR 600 for waiting time. The customer confirms the transport charge but challenges the waiting time. No payment or credit has been recorded.

• Total outstanding: EUR 5,400.
• Amount acknowledged by the customer: EUR 4,800.
• Disputed amount: EUR 600, with the customer's objection and waiting-time evidence attached.

This is a way to organise the case, not a recovery prediction or a conclusion about any right to withhold payment. It lets the accepted balance and the disputed charge be assessed separately.

Get a quote for your outstanding transport invoices

Prepare your transport debt collection case

A useful case file connects the customer, agreed service, delivery and unpaid balance. Start with the information below, then add the records relevant to the reason for non-payment.

1. Identify the customer: full legal name, address, country, registration number if available and accounts-payable contact.
2. Explain the balance: invoice numbers, shipment references, due dates, currency, payments, credits and amount still outstanding.
3. Show what was agreed: contract, booking confirmation, accepted quotation, rate confirmation or service agreement.
4. Show the service was performed: proof of delivery, bill of lading, consignment note, tracking or warehouse-service records, as applicable.
5. Explain why payment has stalled: reminders, missed promises, objections, deductions and the customer's latest response.

For several unpaid loads, use one row per invoice in your account statement and match each row to its shipment records. Separate different debtor legal entities, even if they trade under the same group name.

Missing a document? Tell us what you have and what is missing. You can discuss the account with our team before you have assembled every record; the evidence needed to pursue it depends on the circumstances.

A short summary you can use when contacting us

“We provided [service] to [customer legal name] in [country]. [Number] invoices totalling [amount and currency] remain unpaid, with the oldest due on [date]. The customer [has not responded / missed a payment promise / disputes a specified amount]. We have [available documents]. We would like help recovering the outstanding balance.”

If an insurer, factor or another collection provider is already involved, include that information and any instructions or correspondence you have received.

How Atradius Collections helps with unpaid logistics accounts

Atradius Collections provides commercial debt collection services, including international recovery with local-language communication. For a transport account, the starting point is a clear explanation of the customer relationship and unpaid service.

1. Provide the case details. Identify your business, the debtor, the outstanding balance and any dispute.
2. Review the proposed service and costs. Use the online quote route where available, or discuss complex accounts and multiple debtors with our team.
3. Submit the invoices and supporting records. Include payment history and specific instructions relevant to the customer relationship.
4. Pursue amicable recovery. The collection process seeks payment and clarification of unresolved objections.
5. Consider further action where appropriate. If the account remains unpaid, the available options and costs depend on the case. Any proposed legal action requires a separate assessment.

The aim is to resolve the outstanding payment professionally while taking the commercial relationship into account. Recovery and future customer cooperation cannot be guaranteed.

When should you stop sending routine reminders?

Consider referring an overdue account when payment promises repeatedly fail, the customer stops replying, unexplained deductions accumulate or an overseas debtor remains difficult to reach. Describe any dispute at the outset so it can be assessed alongside the unpaid balance.

For international transport, ask for a case-specific deadline check. The CMR Convention contains limitation rules for actions arising from carriage within its scope. Do not assume that every transport, forwarding or warehouse invoice has the same deadline, or that sending reminders alone protects your position.

Questions about freight and logistics debt collection

Can I refer one invoice or several unpaid loads?

You can request support for a single commercial debt or a wider overdue account. For several invoices against one customer, include a reconciled statement and identify any invoice-specific objections. Contact our team if you need ongoing support across several debtors.

Can you help when my customer is overseas?

Atradius Collections provides international B2B collection services. Share the debtor's country, legal entity, amount and currency so the appropriate route can be considered. If a country is not available in the online journey, contact our team rather than selecting a different country.

Can detention, storage or other additional charges be included?

Include them in the account breakdown, together with the agreed terms, dates, calculation and supporting records. Identify any objections. Whether a disputed charge can be recovered depends on the agreement, evidence and applicable rules.

What if the customer claims the goods were damaged?

Provide the complaint, delivery records and correspondence about the amount withheld. State whether the customer has acknowledged any part of the invoice. A cargo claim and a freight-payment claim need to be assessed in context; do not assume one automatically determines the other.

How much does collection cost, and how long will it take?

Request a quote for your account and review the proposed fees and scope before proceeding. Timing depends on the debtor's response, country, documentation and dispute. A case-specific estimate is more useful than a fixed promise for every freight invoice.

Can I ask for help without a signed proof of delivery?

Yes, you can discuss the case and explain the gap. Provide the records you do have, such as tracking, delivery correspondence or an acknowledgement from the customer. Whether that evidence is sufficient needs assessment.

Ready to refer your unpaid transport invoices?

Have your company details, debtor's country, outstanding amount and invoices ready. Start with an online quote, then follow the platform steps to upload your case documents.

Start your collection case: get an online quote

Select your company's country on Agora. For an unavailable country, disputed account or collection portfolio, speak to an Atradius Collections specialist.

This service is for business-to-business debts. This page provides general information, not legal advice.

Recover your overdue invoices with confidence

If reminders are no longer wokring, we are ready to help. Get in touch with Atradius Collections to talk about your options and start recovering what you are owed.