A courier contract is usually signed in a hurry. The rate looks sensible, the sales rep is helpful, and the document runs to nine pages of small print that nobody has time to read properly. Then a parcel goes missing on a Friday afternoon, a fuel surcharge appears on the invoice, and whoever signed the thing is suddenly asking what clause 11 actually says. Most of that pain is avoidable. It comes down to a handful of details that are easy to skip at the negotiating table and expensive to unpick later.

Surcharges: The Part Nobody Quoted

Ask ten businesses what they pay per parcel and most will quote the headline rate. Ask what they actually paid last month, divided by parcels shipped, and the number is usually higher. The gap is surcharges, and they add up faster than people expect.

Typical add-ons include fuel, remote or extended-area delivery, oversize and overweight handling, waiting time at collection, failed delivery and redelivery, address correction, Saturday or timed delivery, peak-season uplifts, manual handling on awkward items, and returns processing. None of these are unreasonable on their own. The problem is signing without knowing which ones apply to your freight profile.

Before you commit, ask for the full surcharge schedule in writing, plus how often it can change and on what basis. A fuel surcharge tied to a published index is normal and budgetable. A charge that moves at the carrier's discretion is not something you can plan around.

Four questions worth putting in an email

• Which surcharges apply to a typical consignment of ours, and what triggers each one?
• What is the notice period for changing rates or surcharges mid-term?
• Can we see a sample invoice line by line before we sign?
• Which of these charges can be waived or capped if we commit to a fixed volume?

Collection Windows and the Cost of a Missed Pickup

"Collection between 9am and 6pm" is not a collection time. It is a whole working day. If your team finishes packing at 5.30 and the van came at eleven, you have lost a day, paid a failed collection fee, and probably annoyed a customer. If the van arrives at 11 and the goods are not ready until 2, the same thing happens in reverse.

Push for a narrow window and an agreed cut-off. Anything cut off before that time is collected that day; anything after rolls to the next working day. Then ask the awkward questions: who do we call when the driver does not arrive, what happens on bank holidays and during peak, and can we book ad hoc collections without penalty? A named depot contact and a direct number are worth more than a glossy service brochure.

Service Levels Without Consequences

Most contracts mention service levels. Fewer define them in a way you can measure, and fewer still attach any remedy to a failure. An SLA with no remedy is a description, not a commitment.

Pin these down in writing

• The definition of on-time. Delivery by a stated hour, or simply by end of day?
• The measurement point. Does the clock start at collection scan, at pickup from your site, or when the order is booked?
• The exclusions. Weather, strikes and incorrect addresses are fair. A long list of "operational reasons" is not.
• Reporting. Who sends performance data, how often, and in what format?
• Remedies. Service credits, free re-shipments, or a right to exit early after repeated failure.

Volume Promises and Minimum Spend

Discounts are usually banded: ship 500 parcels a month and you get a better rate. Quiet months are where this bites. If you commit to 500 and ship 300 in January, the shortfall may be invoiced, or the discount may reset for the following period.

Model a bad month before you agree, not a good one. Ask whether volumes are measured monthly or averaged across the quarter, whether unused volume carries forward, and how the bands are recalculated at renewal. If your shipping pattern is seasonal, say so and negotiate a seasonal schedule instead of a flat annual number.

Auto-Renewal and Notice Periods

Rolling twelve-month terms with 90 days' written notice are common, and the notice clause often specifies how that notice must be sent. Miss the window by a week and you have bought another year at whatever price the carrier sets.

Diary the notice deadline the day you sign, set a reminder 30 days before it, and check whether renewal brings a price increase. Also confirm whether you can terminate early for convenience, and what that costs. Knowing your exit route is what keeps renewal conversations honest.

Liability Caps and Claims Deadlines

Standard terms usually cap liability well below the real value of your goods, and claims windows can be short. Some categories, such as liquids, glass, electronics or high-value items, may be excluded or need to be declared in advance.

If you regularly ship goods worth more than the cap, ask about declared value cover or speak to an insurance broker about goods-in-transit protection. Keep proof of despatch and delivery for every consignment, and file claims promptly with the consignment number attached. For anything with significant financial exposure, take proper legal or insurance advice rather than relying on the carrier's standard terms.

A Pre-Signature Checklist

1. Full rate card and surcharge schedule, in writing.
2. Collection window, cut-off time and escalation contact.
3. SLA definitions, reporting and remedies.
4. Volume bands, shortfall rules and seasonal flexibility.
5. Term length, notice period, renewal and price review terms.
6. Liability cap, exclusions, claims deadline and insurance position.
7. Exit rights if performance drops below an agreed threshold.

Keep It Working After the Ink Dries

Signing well is half the job. The other half is making the contract live. Write a one-page summary of the key terms and give a copy to whoever books collections and whoever checks invoices. Log every late delivery, missed pickup and unexpected charge, with dates and consignment numbers.

Then review it quarterly with your account manager, using that log rather than a feeling. Carriers respond to specifics: forty-two missed collections in a quarter is a conversation, "the service feels worse" is not. A contract you monitor is a contract you can renegotiate on your terms.

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