D&D audit
What a substantiated claim to the carrier looks like, and why most are rejected
Published: 2026-09-25
Written by Vytautas Natys, director of UAB NVGroup.
A claim to the carrier over an overcharged invoice is not rejected because it is unfounded. Most often it is rejected because it does not show what it is founded on.
What is rejected outright
A letter saying “we believe the invoice is incorrect, please review it”. There is nothing in it the other side can check, so the answer is either silence or a formal refusal.
The same goes for a list of amounts with no explanation of where they came from.
The four things it needs
A specific item. Not “your June invoices”, but the container number, the vehicle registration or the invoice line identifier. The other side has to find the same record in its own system.
The rule relied on. A contract clause, a tariff section or an article of law. Not a general principle, but a place in a document.
The calculation, with its inputs. Not “overcharge of €840”, but what that figure is made of: how many days were charged, how many should have been, what rate was applied, what it should have been. The other side has to be able to redo the sum and arrive at the same answer.
The evidence. A copy of the invoice with the line marked, an extract of the contract, gate records or whatever other documents the dates came from.
What is usually missing
The tariff version.
Tariffs change. If the claim says “under the tariff, free time is five days”, the carrier's first answer may be that a different edition was in force at the time.
So it is worth stating, next to each rule, which version applies, from when it is valid and where it came from. That is not a formality — it is the difference between a dispute and a conversation.
Who writes the claim
An important detail that is often skipped: the claim is brought by the party to the contract.
If the invoice came to you, the claim is written by you. A third party may prepare the reasoning and the calculation, but the letter goes out in your name and over your signature.
In some states this is not merely a question of practice: asserting another person's claim on a commercial basis is a regulated activity there.
What to do before sending
Read your own claim as though you were the other side and ask: could I check this without asking a single follow-up question?
If the answer is no, what is missing is not arguments but data.
Frequently asked questions
Is it enough to state the total overcharge?
No. The other side has to be able to redo the sum and reach the same result, and for that it needs every input: how many days were charged, how many should have been, what rate was applied.
Can I bring the claim through a third party?
A third party may prepare the reasoning and the calculation, but the letter goes out in the name of the contracting party and over its signature. In some states, asserting another person's claim on a commercial basis is a regulated activity.
Why does the tariff version matter?
Tariffs change, and the dispute often happens months later. Without the version and its validity date, the first answer may be that a different edition was in force at the time.
Related articles:
“That was not our tariff”: why it matters which version was in force