New lease agreements?

[ATeam]

During the conference call, while talking about the new Qualcomm stuff, it was mentioned that we'd be getting new lease agreements to sign. Not another word of explanation, no other information. I take it, from the timing, that he meant when we have the new equipment installed. Any idea why we'd need a new lease agreement for that?

Diane and I received our new lease agreement in the mail a day or so ago. We have skimmed it and determined that a careful, line-by-line review is in order. There are changes buried in the language that give us pause.

I'm not going into specifics here. With some of the questions Diane (an attorney) has raised, my guess is we will be talking to the legal team at FedEx Custom Critical to address some of our concerns. Those questions are not the kind that a contractor coordinator would be able to answer.

Other questions are more straightforward. One follows.

As you carefully read your lease agreement -- and I urge you to do so -- ask yourself how much money you would be on the hook for in the following hypothetical but not unrealistic scenario:

You are an owner-operator in your own truck loaded with freight valued at over $100,000. An event for which you are not at fault destroys your truck and cargo.

For example, you are stopped at a red light and are rear-ended by a four-wheeler. You are not injured and are able to get out of the truck. The driver of the four-wheeler is not injured either but the car catches fire and the fire spreads to your truck. The truck is fully engulfed and becomes a total loss by the time the fire department arrives. The Qualcomm unit is destroyed. The reefer data recorder is destroyed. The cargo is destroyed. The remains of your rig are removed from the scene using a crane and flatbed.

Under the new lease agreement, how much money must you pay to FedEx Custom Critical? When must it be paid? How much money, if any, will your truck insurance company pay to offset the amount due FedEx Custom Critical?

 

[layoutshooter]

I am sure that we will have to have a lawyer look at this new lease. It would only be smart.

 

[LDB]

In many cases advance planning will solve the problem. If I'm at the J (or wherever) and need to drive to the Wally (or wherever) I'm going to do what I need to do at the J before I leave (shower, laundry, whatever). When I get to the wherever I can wait there on the next job just as well as at the J so I don't need to worry about the 14 hour clock, driving back, or anything else. I can also check before leaving the consignee and depending on the situation go direct to the wherever instead of the J if I don't need J services before my next job.

 

[layoutshooter]

You are right Leo, I am sure we will all learn some "work arounds" for at least some of the problems. Few like changing. That is one of the biggest issues. We will either learn to live with it or do something else. It's really simple.

 

[MYGIA]

Diane and I received our new lease agreement in the mail a day or so ago. We have skimmed it and determined that a careful, line-by-line review is in order. There are changes buried in the language that give us pause.

The greatest concern to me is that the new lease agreement is being sold as needed with the QC upgrade and increase to the weekly fee. To learn that other things are being changed and slipped by in the fine print is indeed reason to give one pause. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Each time I have been asked to execute a “new” or “revised” lease, I put the two copies side-by-side and go through it line by line. In the past I have not had it reviewed by my attorney. Guess this time I will need to do so.

 

[ATeam]

The greatest concern to me is that the new lease agreement is being sold as needed with the QC upgrade and increase to the weekly fee. To learn that other things are being changed and slipped by in the fine print is indeed reason to give one pause. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Each time I have been asked to execute a “new” or “revised” lease, I put the two copies side-by-side and go through it line by line. In the past I have not had it reviewed by my attorney. Guess this time I will need to do so.

While it is vital for contractors to actually read and understand the lease agreements they sign, I did not mean to sound undue alarms. Regardless of the reasons a carrier gives for requiring a new lease agreement, it is the agreement itself that is important.

Anytime you enter into a new agreement, it only makes sense to know what it says. And it especially makes sense to know the financial risks you are exposing yourself to by signing carrier's lease agreement and operating under it.

Some questions to consider:

Is it mandatory to have a Qualcomm unit in your truck or can you operate without one?

If your Qualcomm unit is destroyed, who pays and how much?

Same question for the carrier-installed reefer data recorder you may have in your truck.

If you break down under load and are towed to the delivery, who pays?

Under what circumstances, if any, will insurance cover such losses?

How is the interest calculated that is paid on the escrow money you have with your carrier, and is the interest paid on the full amount in all circumstances?

If your truck is on company property and is damaged in an accident in which the company is at fault, who is liable for the down time and costs of the repair?

If you are on company property and are injured by a falling object, errant fork lift driver, fall on the ice or some such thing, what liability if any accrues to the company?

These questions are not intended to imply that something sneaky is going on. It is not. The questions are intended to help readers understand the importance of reading and understanding the lease agreement you sign.

While Diane and I have some concerns to discuss with the company, we expect to resolve them and sign the document.

Even so, the concerns were serious enough to prompt us to request a current lease agreement from another carrier which we are also reviewing line by line. Doing so will help us understand our present carrier's agreement even better. It also prepares us to make an easier transition to our Plan B carrier if the need to do so ever arises.

Kindly note that we have had a Plan B almost as long as we have been with our present carrier. While wise to do, it is nothing new.

Our present carrier's lease agreement is new. We will not enter into it without reading and understanding it, and resolving our concerns. I urge all contractors to do the same.

EDIT: Diane just read this post and wishes to add that there are few new changes in the agreement. The changes highlighted in the cover letter are the most significant. The language is "tightened up" in some places but most provisions are the same. Naturally, all provisions and words of an agreement are important to understand.