Contract before tariff
The single most common over-billing is simple: the carrier's billing system rated the container on the public tariff, and the customer has a service contract with better terms. The clerk who receives the invoice rarely has the contract. D&D Pilot holds the contracts and finds the one that governs each booking by shipper, trade lane and validity date.
What is checked
| Term | Read from | Checked against invoice |
|---|---|---|
| Free time (days, calendar basis) | contract, else tariff | days billed |
| Clock start | contract (arrival / discharge / availability) | start date on invoice |
| Combined vs separate D&D | contract | split on invoice |
| Rate tiers | contract or tariff | per-day rate per tier |
| Container type / size bands | contract or tariff + B/L | rate band used |
| Exclusions | contract | days billed during holds / closures |
| Currency and conversion | contract | invoice currency and rate |
Deterministic where it counts
Day counts, tier allocation and currency conversion are code. The language model reads clauses and classifies the reason for the difference; it does not do arithmetic. The computation is shown in the file so the carrier's billing team can follow it.
When the clause does not help
If the contract is silent — say, on terminal closures — the file says the contractual basis is weak and drafts a goodwill request instead of a demand. Desks that only send strong disputes get them paid faster.