Platform, carrier and shipper: who does what?

Start with a completed handover sheet, then replace the example roles with the actual contacts and agreed work for your booking.

Example: make a handover sheet people can use

Invented agreed arrangement. One packed pallet travels from a Porto business to a Madrid warehouse. The sender supplies the loading forklift and operator. The accepted carrier offer includes unloading at the receiver's ground-level bay through the carrier's nominated handling team.

1. Prepare and load at collection — Sender's warehouse team. Share: Pallet ID, final packed size/weight and loading window.
2. Transport and delivery instructions — Contracting carrier's dispatcher. Share: Accepted offer, site contacts and agreed handover points.
3. Unload at the delivery bay — Carrier's nominated handling team, as included in the offer. Share: Unit record, access details and confirmed handling arrangement.
4. Check the delivery — Receiver's site contact. Share: Same unit inventory and procedure for recording observations.
5. Agree a scope or price change — Authorised shipper contact and carrier contact. Share: Description of change and written scope, time and price response.

You can make this sheet from the accepted offer and your site arrangements, then give each participant the instructions and contacts they need. Replace the example's role labels with actual people or providers. Keep the carrier's legal identity and booking reference at the top of the sheet.

Now suppose the receiver asks for the pallet to be taken to a different building. The agreed bay delivery does not describe that new movement. Send the change to the carrier contact and the person authorised to agree the additional work:

For [shipment reference], the accepted handover point is [bay]. The receiver now requests movement to [new point], with [access details]. Please confirm whether you can provide that work, who would perform it, and the revised scope, timing and amount payable. We will share the agreed answer with the handling team and receiver before the changed work proceeds.

Update the sheet once the change is agreed. Keep platform booking support and insurer contacts separately for the issues they handle. The sheet makes the operating plan usable; the applicable contracts and law still determine rights and duties.

Name the transport contracting party

The English GetTransport service agreement displayed when checked states an effective date of 1 August 2025. Section 2 distinguishes the platform service from a transport contract with the selected carrier. It also describes payment and information handling by the company; an invoice issued through the platform does not by itself identify it as the carrier.

Retain the terms and accepted offer that apply to your booking. Record the carrier's legal identity and contact, the transport service, cargo and addresses. If an offer or document is unclear about who contracts to carry the goods, resolve it before dispatch. This guide explains practical questions; it does not decide whether a limitation or waiver is enforceable for your situation.

Agree the work, person and evidence

• Cargo specification: Sender and the person checking final packing/measurements
  Confirmation to keep: Inventory version, final size/weight, contents and restrictions; estimates marked
• Packing: Sender, specialist packer or carrier, as actually agreed
  Confirmation to keep: Included work, packing requirements and readiness
• Loading / unloading: People and equipment provider at each address
  Confirmation to keep: Method, equipment suitability, access and competent operators
• Vehicle load securing: Provider responsible for the actual securing work/assessment
  Confirmation to keep: Acceptance of the cargo and packing in the agreed vehicle
• Transport and documents: Contracting carrier and any relevant operating contacts
  Confirmation to keep: Accepted service, applicable documents and instruction handover
• Receiving: Named receiver with authority to check the delivery
  Confirmation to keep: Handover point, inventory and inspection/reporting arrangements
• Insurance: Person arranging cover, insurer and eligible claimant
  Confirmation to keep: Actual wording and shipment confirmation, with reporting procedure
• Changes / issues: Person authorising extra work; carrier, platform support and insurer contacts
  Confirmation to keep: Written change, revised price/time and channels used

For each row name the responsible provider/person and record agreed or unresolved. One provider may perform several jobs. This operational record does not transfer or eliminate duties imposed by law. Do not fill every row with “driver” just because a vehicle has been booked.

Platform booking does not answer every handling question

Ask whether the price includes packing, indoor carrying, extra staff, a tail lift, dismantling or assembly. State the handover points and access constraints at both ends. Check these details against the accepted offer, rather than treating a category such as “furniture” as a complete service specification.

Ask the carrier which subcontractors or operating contacts may be involved and where instructions must go. For carriage within its scope, CMR Article 3 addresses the carrier's responsibility for persons used to perform carriage when acting within their employment. A subcontractor's involvement is not a reason to guess that the contracting carrier's duties have disappeared. The actual regime and facts still matter.

Keep changes attached to the accepted proposal

1. Describe the change: cargo, dimensions, address, timing or handling.
2. Contact the contracting carrier and appropriate booking-support channel before the affected work proceeds.
3. Get the revised scope, charges and timing confirmed by the authorised parties.
4. Share the accepted revision with the sender, handling provider and receiver.
5. Check with the insurer if the route or service change affects cover.

Do not assume a message has been accepted merely because it was sent. Keep the response/reference. Check the booking's current payment, cancellation and refund terms; this guide does not quote a universal deposit, fee or refund promise.

Route a problem to the right parties

For missing or damaged cargo, preserve the handover evidence and notify the carrier through its required procedure. Notify the insurer if applicable; contact platform support about the booking issue. Give each recipient the references needed to identify the job, and retain acknowledgements. Support contact is not a substitute for any notice owed to the carrier or insurer.

Use the damage and shortage record and the documents and insurance checklist. Mandatory law and the applicable contracts govern actual rights and responsibilities. Terms may change; read the version presented for your booking.