RHA conditions conform
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Asociation's new conditions of carriage have been published and will take effect from 1 June. They were last updated in 1982.
The new conditions allow for a basic liability for goods of E1,300 per tonne; it was previously £800. This brings them further into line with the Freight Transport Association's conditions, published last summer, which provide for £2,000 per tonne.
However, the RHA says it will not be increasing its own goods-in-transit insurance rates in the immediate future.
Other changes to the conditions include the ending of a haulier's right to sell a customer's goods if payment is not made. This follows a court case in Manchester last year where it was ruled that an operator could have a lien over a customer's goods but could not dispose of them.
However, there is a new provision for bad debts which states that a carrier can now demand interest of 5% above bank base rates if payment is late. For the first time it also terms the consignor as the "customer" rather than the "trader'.
The conditions are not a contract themselves, stresses the RHA. Hauliers must still make their own deals with customers with the conditions of carriage forming the basis of these. For example, the conditions do not lay down a recommended payment term, although most operators settle for 60 days.
The RHA has also repeated its warning to non-members about using its copyrighted conditions of carriage. It says it will inform local trading standards officers of offenders; an operator was recently fined £400 for infringement of copyright.
The association says it is delaying putting the conditions into effect until June to give members time to sort out their insurance. The conditions are designed to "provide the haulier with guidance."