Overcharge Recovery

What Is Overcharge Recovery?

Overcharge recovery is the process of identifying freight invoices where a carrier billed more than the contracted or correct rate, and recovering that excess amount as a refund or credit.

How Does Overcharge Recovery Work?

Overcharge recovery typically follows a freight audit: once billing discrepancies (wrong rate, duplicate charges, incorrect accessorials, misapplied fuel surcharges) are identified, a formal claim or dispute is filed with the carrier requesting a refund or credit for the difference. Recovery can be handled internally by a shipper's finance or logistics team, or outsourced to a third-party freight audit and recovery firm, often on a contingency basis (a percentage of what's recovered).

Why Overcharge Recovery Matters

Freight overcharges accumulate quietly across thousands of invoices, and without an active recovery process, that money is simply left on the table. A consistent overcharge recovery practice turns freight audit findings into actual returned dollars rather than just a report.