Unpaid haulage, forwarding, or warehouse invoices don't need a lawsuit — they need leverage. Carrier liens and CMR Convention claims, backed by local collectors across Europe's main transport corridors.
Get a freight case review →Multi-party subcontracting chains — shipper to broker to carrier to subcarrier — mean the reminder you send often reaches the wrong party entirely. We trace the chain first, then pursue the one actually liable.
Where goods or a vehicle are still in a carrier or warehouseman's possession, a lien is enforceable in most jurisdictions without a court order — immediate, real leverage. Where a claim is disputed and crosses a CMR Convention border, we work within a framework 55+ countries already recognize, instead of starting from zero in unfamiliar local law.
Most files resolve amicably — the freight industry runs on ongoing load relationships, and a carrier who wants next month's business responds differently to a properly documented demand than to a generic invoice reminder. When they don't, the same collector's file moves straight to lien enforcement or a CMR claim.
An overdue haulage invoice doesn't need a reminder. It needs someone who knows exactly which party in the chain still owes you.
In Anthropic's Economic Index — which measures which occupations' tasks AI is actually used for across millions of anonymized conversations — tasks commonly done by paralegals and legal assistants rank in the top 15% of all 718 occupations tracked. Documentation is increasingly AI-assisted; tracing a multi-party subcontracting chain to the right defendant still isn't.
Haka AI maps the subcontracting chain the moment your claim is placed — shipper, broker, carrier, subcarrier — so your collector starts already knowing who's actually liable, not guessing from an invoice.
Source: Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026 release. Figures describe observed AI usage by occupational task, not employment.
The Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR) governs international road freight across 55+ signatory countries. It establishes carrier liability limits, documentation requirements, and claim timeframes for disputes between shippers and carriers.
Yes. In many jurisdictions, carriers and warehouse operators have a statutory or contractual right to retain goods until freight charges are paid. Our transport lawyers can enforce carrier and warehouse liens when goods are still in the carrier's possession.
Yes. Multi-party freight chains where a shipper contracts a broker who subcontracts a carrier are common in road transport. We trace the payment chain, identify where the blockage is, and pursue the correct party — or all liable parties simultaneously.
Amicable recovery typically takes 20 to 60 days. The freight industry's reliance on ongoing load relationships means debtors are often more responsive than in other sectors. Debts submitted within 90 days of default recover significantly faster.
No cure, no fee. Commission is a percentage of the recovered amount agreed upfront — no registration fees, retainers, or hidden charges. Portfolio clients with multiple freight accounts receive volume-based commission rates.
Freight debt covers haulage and trucking invoices, freight forwarding charges, carrier subcontractor payments, warehouse and storage fees, customs brokerage debts, intermodal transport invoices, and demurrage or detention fees for road and rail freight. The leverage is usually one of two things: physical possession of goods still in transit or storage, or the debtor's need to keep a load relationship running.
Recovery starts with documentation — transport contracts, rate confirmations, freight invoices, bills of lading, CMR consignment notes, proof of delivery — since claims backed by signed PODs and rate agreements move faster through both negotiation and enforcement. From there, a freight-experienced collector opens the file with the debtor's accounts department, already aware of load board payment terms, fuel surcharge disputes, and the seasonal cash flow patterns that shape when a haulier can and can't pay.
Road freight routinely runs through more parties than the original contract suggests: a shipper contracts a broker, who subcontracts a carrier, who may further subcontract a smaller haulier for the final leg. When payment stalls, it's often unclear — even to the creditor — which link in that chain is actually responsible. Chasing the wrong party wastes weeks.
We trace the chain before pursuing anyone: who contracted whom, who took possession of the goods, and where the payment obligation legally sits. Where liability is genuinely shared or disputed, we pursue multiple parties in parallel rather than waiting to litigate the question of who's responsible before recovering anything.
A carrier lien lets a haulier or warehouse operator lawfully retain goods until freight charges are settled — available in most jurisdictions without a court order, provided the goods are still in the carrier's possession. It's the fastest lever in freight collection precisely because it requires no prior litigation to take effect.
For disputes crossing borders within the CMR Convention's 55-plus signatory states, the framework is already agreed before a dispute exists: liability limits, documentation standards, and claim timeframes are set by the Convention itself, not negotiated fresh in an unfamiliar local court. That's a significant head start for any creditor whose freight moves internationally.
Cosmopolite's freight collectors work on no cure, no fee: nothing upfront, a fixed percentage of what's actually recovered, agreed before your file is placed. Portfolio clients running multiple freight accounts receive volume-based commission rates, and legal costs for CMR claims or lien enforcement are quoted and approved separately.
Every week you wait is a week easier for the debtor to argue the paperwork's gone missing. It hasn't — but you should still move first.
Our debt recovery agency with over 25 years of experience provides: Business to Business Collections Services, Legal Debt Collections and worldwide Skip Tracing services.
