BAFFLED BY BILLS OF LADING

Dear Ms. PACA Law:

I need your help with an issue that’s come up. Earlier this year, I sold a load of tomatoes to a customer in New York. It was a delivered sale, and I used a transportation broker to move the load by truck from Florida to New York. My customer paid me, and I paid the truck broker.

Last week, I received a nasty letter from an “investigator” from a trucking collection company in Mississippi. They claim that the broker who I paid has closed his doors, and never paid the truck. I’ve already paid once for the truck. These people are telling me that I am still responsible for paying the carrier. If I don’t pay twice for the same load, they are also threatening to go after my customer for payment.

What should I do?

Irritated in Immokalee