Vitran Express Canada

GUIDE TO FILING LOSS &/OR DAMAGE CLAIMS ONLINE

QUICK CLAIM is a simple one page, three part “online” form, that upon completion is submitted directly to the Vitran Express Canada Inc. website. As soon as you select the submit key at the end of the form, your system sends the submission electronically to Vitran. The Vitran web site automatically responds to you via E-mail, with the subject line being your reference number, and indicating your claim was received. There is an Adobe PDF attachment that should be opened and reviewed to determine if the submission was completed as desired. This PDF represents the Vitran Express Canada Inc. claim form. You can print or store in an E-mail folder as required.

Part one of QUICK CLAIM consists of Claimant information, and generally has to be completed only the first time you file a loss or damage claim.

Information is retained within your system to automatically bring forward the same data the next time you elect to file a claim. All fields require completion, so that we have enough information to communicate with you, the claimant, by E-mail and regular mail.

Part two of QUICK CLAIM covers the actual claim itself along with the shipping details.

First you have to click on the down arrow beside commodity type and select the best description for the goods being claimed.

You then tab over and insert the 8 digit Vitran Express Canada Inc. pro number, or the 11 digit Vitran Express U.S. pro number, or the 11 digit Saia pro number.

With your cursor you are then select the currency for the claim. You can select either Canadian or U.S. Dollars, however, only one selection can be made for a given claim.

The next step is to provide your Claim Reference Number. You should set up a format that can be used in sequential order for all claims, ie. DM0001-04 would indicate this Debit Memo is number 0001 of a sequence for the year 2004. Please enter your claim reference information.

The foregoing fields are all mandatory, as they are the references required to further your claim. The second part of this section allows you to provide us with exact details for the goods being claimed.

Proceed to line 1, and under quantity insert the number of a given item to be claimed. If the items are individual pieces, insert the number. If an item is sold by the case, insert the number of cases. Under description you then provide a description such as 4’ metal rods, or 24 x 250G cases of sugar candy. Under unit cost you put in the cost of a sell unit which is either the price for the individual items shown under quantity or case lots shown under quantity. Next you click on the down arrow beside shortage and select either shortage or damage. If the same item has both shortages and damages, you have to do a line item for each. As soon as you select a type, the system automatically does a sub total for the line. If you require a second line then simply proceed to line 2 and enter the information and so on for the first 3 lines.

If your claim entails more than 3 lines of input, click on the “Add More Details” button and the system will make available 3 additional lines for inputting. You can ultimately add up to 9 additional lines for a total of 12 lines of input. Simply use the second group of 3 lines and then click on the “Add More Details” button again to repeat the function.

Part three of QUICK CLAIM covers the Remarks and Comments area, which also includes disposition for damaged goods (salvage).

In the Remarks and Comments area, please enter any pertinent information that would assist us in adjudicating the claim. This area is reserved for you to freely comment on the loss or damage and how it occurred or whatever information you require us to know. The more information we have concerning the circumstances surrounding your claim, the better opportunity we have to provide a quick and successful adjudication. We also utilize this information for future claims prevention so whatever appears here (though the source is not revealed), will assist us in preventing the same problem again. The Remarks and Comments area is a continuous type format and will accept line after line of comment.

With regards to salvage, there are 4 separate scenarios that can be chosen.

If the claim involves damaged goods, you must check one or more of the following:

If the damaged goods can be repaired please use your cursor to select the box on the left and then advise an approximate dollar value in the box on the right. We will contact you with regards to repairs and work out an agreement that will allow you to proceed.

If the damaged goods are acceptable, but cannot be utilized without an allowance, use your cursor to select the box on the left and then advise us the dollar value of the allowance you are seeking in the box on the right. We will contact you with instructions for proceeding.

If the damaged goods cannot be utilized, and are available for the carrier to salvage for mitigation of the claim, simply use your cursor to select the circle on the left.

Conversely, if the damaged goods are not available for carrier disposition, use your cursor to select the circle on the left and then provide an explanation as to why the goods are not available. Again, this remarks area will accept your entire comments on a scrolling basis.

Once all the information has been entered and you are satisfied with the submission, all that remains is to submit the claim to Vitran Express Canada Inc. Clicking on the “SUBMIT” button will alert the system to check over the claim and forward to Vitran. If there are any errors that require correction, the system will explain them and ask that you go back and fix them. Remember, claims submitted against U.S. domestic shipments will not go through this system and will rejected without submission, showing an error message that indicates “non existent pro number”. Once all errors have been corrected, clicking on the “SUBMIT” button will forward your claim and cause an E-Mail response to be generated to your E-Mail address advising the claim was received and you will also receive the PDF invoice copy.

CLAIM ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & DOCUMENTATION

Do not submit documents in support of your claim until such time as you receive an acknowledgement from Vitran Express Canada Inc. indicating that further documentation is required. Within 7 days of submitting your claim, you will receive an E-mail acknowledgement for your claim. At that time the E-mail will once again utilize your Claim Reference Number as the subject, and will indicate the Total $ Amount of the Claim, as well as the Type(s), the Vitran Pro Number and the Vitran Claim Number. This E-mail will also be accompanied by an Adobe PDF attachment. Please open the PDF attachment so that you might determine what if any further documentation is required to complete the file. There will as well, be instructions regards submitting the documents contained within the PDF attachment.

CLAIM STATUS, CLAIM TRACING

Claim tracing can be done directly from the PDF acknowledgement file as well, and you will also be given the name and phone number of the adjudicator should you wish to contact us directly regarding your claim.

Check the current status of your claim by selecting the following link.
http://www.vitran.com/cgi-bin/webClmInq.pgm?ClaimNumber=00000001&ProNumber=00000001&Command=Query
If you have any questions regarding this claim, please contact
ADJUDICATOR at (416) 798-4965 ext 0001, or
MailTo:adjudicator@vitran.com

That's all there is to it.
Proceed to QUICK CLAIM to file claim