Procedures for Settling Loss and Damage Claims

A survey of the procedures and practices for settling loss and damage claims on movements of general commodities was undertaken to determine the reason for the sharp decrease in the number of loss and/or damage claims filed in recent years. A number of factors affected loss and damage claims: a general decline in the volume of Government traffic, expanded authority for use of commercial bills of lading for Government shipments, a change in the Government bill of lading that prevents the consignee from annotating on the reverse that loss and/or damage was noted on delivery, and raising the minimum amount for which claims will be filed. The reduction in the number of claims filed is not attributable to any weakness in the system, but many of the problems noted in a comprehensive review of loss and damage by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) in 1975 still exist. The Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC), which has responsibility for administering the Discrepancy in Shipment Reporting System for the Department of Defense, is not actively administering the system. There is little communication between MTMC and system participants, resulting in a lack of command emphasis. The MTMC has not established controls for identifying those activities which do not report discrepancies; this precludes effective monitoring of the system. In many cases, those discrepancies which are reported are not always completely and adequately documented.