LevelSet Collections collects unpaid freight and hauling invoices for carriers, owner-operators and dump-truck companies on contingency: 10% to 33% of what we recover. No collection, no charge, and no minimum invoice size. We work broker non-payment, shipper non-payment and construction hauling accounts, and we push the claim against the broker's federal surety bond or trust fund when that's the fastest way to get paid.
Every licensed property broker must keep a $75,000 surety bond or trust fund on file with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The bond is filed on Form BMC-84; a trust fund is filed on Form BMC-85. The rule is 49 C.F.R. § 387.307, and the statute behind it is 49 U.S.C. § 13906(b). A broker can't keep its registration without it.
The money is there to pay motor carriers and shippers when a broker fails to pay freight charges under its contracts. Under § 13906(b), the bond or trust pays a claim when:
The surety must respond within 30 days of notice, and a denial must be in writing with the reasons. The surety decides on paper, so the claim has to be complete.
We pull the broker's authority and bond or trust filing from FMCSA's public records.
A formal demand with the rate confirmation, POD and invoice attached and a deadline to pay.
If the broker won't pay, we send the claim and documents to the surety or trustee.
We track the surety's 30-day response and keep pressure on the broker, the shipper and anyone else who can pay.
Before we file anything, we look the broker up by MC or USDOT number on FMCSA's public Licensing & Insurance (L&I) site. It shows whether the broker's authority is active, which surety or trustee holds the BMC-84 or BMC-85 filing, and whether a cancellation has been filed. Run the same check before you take a load: no bond or a pending cancellation is a red flag.
The $75,000 is the whole pot, no matter how many carriers the broker stiffed. Before a broker is declared in trouble, valid claims can be paid out of the bond as they come in, and each payment shrinks what's left. When a payment or claims would drop the bond below $75,000, the surety has to report it to FMCSA, and FMCSA moves to suspend the broker's authority.
If the surety decides the broker is in financial failure or insolvency, it cancels the bond, FMCSA posts a notice in the FMCSA Register, and the surety must accept claims for 60 calendar days after that notice. It then pays the uncontested claims, or a pro rata share of each if the claims add up to more than the bond. Miss the 60-day window and you get nothing from the bond, so file early and file complete. (If the broker files bankruptcy, these bond rules work differently, so tell us right away if you've heard that.)
Sometimes. Whether the shipper (or the consignee) owes you depends on the paperwork for that load, mainly the bill of lading:
Expect pushback: a shipper that already paid the broker is being asked to pay twice. We still put the shipper on notice when the paperwork supports it, because that double-payment risk often gets the broker or its surety moving.
Federal law gives a carrier 18 months to begin a civil action to recover charges for interstate transportation it provided (49 U.S.C. § 14705(a)). For a shipment of property, the clock starts on delivery or tender of delivery (§ 14705(g)), not on the invoice date or the date the broker promised to pay.
Eighteen months is the outside limit for a lawsuit, not a target. Bond claims, demands and shipper notices all work better in the first few months, while the broker is still operating and the surety still has the full $75,000. If your load delivered more than a year ago, send it to us today. Loads that never left Texas may follow state deadlines instead, and we'll check which applies.
A lot of carriers and owner-operators factor their freight bills. That changes who has the right to collect, so we sort it out first:
Send the factoring agreement and any release with the account. If the factor still owns it, we'll tell you before we contact anyone.
Construction haulers often have more leverage than freight carriers, because the job is tied to real property. Under Texas Property Code § 53.021, a person has a mechanics lien if, under a contract with the owner, the GC or a subcontractor, the person labors or furnishes labor or materials for construction or repair of an improvement. Texas defines material to include material ordered and delivered for incorporation into the work, and labor to include labor used in the direct performance of the work.
That means a hauler may have Texas mechanics lien rights when it sells and delivers fill, select fill, base, rock or other material to the site, or when its hauling is part of the site work itself, such as cut-and-fill or haul-off on the project. Whether your loads qualify depends on what you hauled, where it went and who hired you, so we review each job before we file. The lien deadlines are short, so check them on our Texas mechanics lien filing page, and see how we work with subcontractors on the same projects.
If the lien window has closed, the invoice is still collectible. That's what our construction collections service is for, including accounts across Dallas-Fort Worth.
Photos of the paperwork are fine. Text them to (469) 694-8003; texts are normally answered within the hour.
A two-truck carrier hauls a $3,400 dry-van load from Fort Worth to Atlanta for a broker. It delivers on time with a signed POD. Net-30 passes, then net-60, the broker stops answering, and the carrier's factor charges the invoice back under its recourse terms.
We'd confirm the factor released the invoice; look up the broker on FMCSA's L&I site to identify the surety and check for a cancellation; send the broker a formal demand with the rate confirmation, BOL and POD; and, if the broker doesn't pay by the deadline, file a documented claim with the surety. If the broker's bond shows a pending cancellation, we file against the bond right away instead of waiting out the demand. The carrier pays nothing unless money comes in.
Often, yes. Every licensed freight broker must keep a $75,000 BMC-84 surety bond or BMC-85 trust fund with FMCSA to pay carriers when the broker fails to pay freight charges. We prepare and file the claim with your rate confirmation, bill of lading and POD.
Federal law gives a carrier 18 months from delivery or tender of delivery to sue for interstate freight charges (49 U.S.C. § 14705). Bond claims and demands work best in the first few months, so don't wait for the deadline.
The bond is usually the best place to get paid. When a surety finds a broker in financial failure, FMCSA posts a notice and the surety must accept claims for 60 days, then pays uncontested claims, or a pro rata share if claims exceed $75,000. Missing that window can mean getting nothing from the bond.
Sometimes. It depends on the bill of lading: who it names as shipper and carrier, the freight terms, and whether the shipper signed a non-recourse clause.
Yes. Owner-operators, small fleets, dump-truck and hauling companies are a big part of who we help. There's no minimum, so a single unpaid load is fine. If the invoice was factored, send the factoring agreement so we can confirm you own it.
10% to 33% of what we recover, agreed in writing before we start. No collection, no charge, and no minimum invoice size.
Tell us about the account and we'll review it and lay out next steps.
Call (469) 694-8003. Liens from $199, filed in about 2 business days. Collections on contingency – no collection, no charge.
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LevelSet Collections LLC is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Information on this site is general information about lien and notice rules, not legal advice. Reviewed and updated November 8, 2026.
