MileCFO
+1 (984) 789-5979 Free audit

Money recovery

TONU: When You Are Owed It and How to Claim

Truck ordered not used explained: when a cancelled load can carry a fee, the three records that carry the claim, a timing table on invented numbers and a message to send.

5 min read

Parked truck and trailer with a cancelled-load mark above itLoad cancelledTruck was ready

Why this matters. A broker cancels at 6:30 in the morning. The truck was already dispatched, the driver already moving. The call ends, the truck goes back to the yard, and the money for that lost day is never asked for. Brokers rarely add TONU, the fee for a truck ordered not used, on their own. If you do not bill it, nobody will.

Your rate con decides

Whether TONU is owed depends on the clause in your rate confirmation or another written agreement. No clause, no automatic claim. The terms and the times in this article are invented, and nothing here is legal advice. If a large amount is in dispute, ask a lawyer to read your contract.

What TONU is, and what it is not

TONU is a fee a carrier may bill when a load is cancelled after the truck was committed. It is not detention, which pays for waiting at a stop. It is not layover, which pays for a held night. It covers the truck you set aside for a load that never moved. Some terms pay it only if the truck was already moving or on site, so read the conditions on yours.

Timing is the whole claim

Many TONU clauses work like a window before pickup. Cancel early and nothing is owed. Cancel inside the window and the fee applies. The length of the window and the amount are in your rate con.

Example data: Broker A's rate con says TONU is $150 flat if the broker cancels less than 4 hours before the pickup appointment. The appointment is 09:00, so the window opens at 05:00. The same load, cancelled at different times:

Example data: one clause, three cancellation times
Cancelled atHours before pickupInside the 4-hour window?TONU under these terms
04:304.5No$0
06:302.5Yes$150
08:300.5Yes$150

The window and amount are invented. A clause that says "less than 4 hours" and a clause that says "within 4 hours" can treat an exact 4.0 differently, so read the wording.

That is why the cancellation time is the key record. A phone call with no record leaves you arguing about when it happened.

Three records carry the claim

  • The dispatch. The time the driver was assigned and told to go. A dispatch message or a load board entry is enough.
  • The cancellation, with its time. If the broker calls, reply by text or email: "Confirming you cancelled load [number] at [time]. Truck was dispatched at [time]." Your reply creates the record.
  • What the truck had done by then. Miles driven, position, any wait. If the truck reached the shipper, ask for the check-in time. This supports the claim and sets up a request for more than the flat fee if your terms allow it.
TONU proof, strongest first
Fact to showGood proofWeak proof
TONU is agreedRate con clause signed by both sidesA verbal promise
Truck was committedRate con and a timed dispatch message"We were on our way"
When it was cancelledBroker's text or email, or your confirming replyAn unlogged phone call
Truck effortDispatch time, location, miles, check-in slipNo record

Source: our TONU guide.

How to bill it

  1. Check the TONU clause when you book. Note the amount, the window and any conditions in the load record.
  2. Log the dispatch time.
  3. Get the cancellation in writing the same day.
  4. Record what the truck did.
  5. Bill it as its own invoice. There is no delivery, so there is no POD. Send an invoice titled TONU with the rate con page and the cancellation message attached.
  6. Follow up on the due date and compare any refusal with the clause.
Subject: TONU, load [number], cancelled [date] Please pay the TONU on invoice [invoice number]. Load [number] was dispatched [time] and cancelled by [broker contact] at [time] by [channel]. Pickup appointment was [time]. TONU per the rate confirmation: [amount], applies [condition]. Truck status at cancellation: [location or miles driven]. Attached: rate confirmation, dispatch record, cancellation message.

Quote the clause, give the times and do not add costs the clause does not cover.

Common questions

  • What if the shipper cancels, not the broker? Tell the broker right away in writing and ask whether TONU applies. Some terms treat the cause differently, and the rate con is the guide.
  • Can I bill TONU and detention together? Only if the hours do not overlap and the terms allow both. If the truck waited and was then cancelled, bill the wait and the TONU separately with a clear timeline.
  • What if I rebook the truck quickly? The broker may argue the loss was smaller. Note what you did and when.

When the clause is thin

Some rate cons mention TONU in one line with no window, no amount and no conditions. Others say nothing at all. In both cases the safest move is to ask before you book, not after the cancellation: "Does TONU apply on this load, how much, and from what time?" An answer in an email is a term you can point to later. If the broker will not say, note it in the load record, because that is also information about how the load may go.

Make it a weekly check

Put the confirming text in the dispatcher's routine: time of the cancellation, time of the dispatch, and the words "TONU applies per the rate confirmation". Then scan the load list each week for cancelled loads with no TONU line. Those are the ones that slip through. The TONU guide has the full process, and the comparison of detention, layover, TONU and lumper shows how the four differ.

Want to know how many cancelled loads in your recent history were never billed? Send us your last 20 loads and we will check them against the rate confirmations.

Related guides and tools