How do I handle a situation where the seller blames the carrier for contamination that happened after loading?

Why this specific dispute is genuinely hard to resolve without documentation

Once material leaves a seller’s control and passes through a carrier, establishing exactly when and where contamination occurred, without contemporaneous documentation, often comes down to competing claims from the seller and carrier, each with an incentive to point elsewhere.

What documentation actually helps establish the truth

Photos or a signed condition report from the point of loading, ideally something the seller or their representative created at the time material left their premises, provides much stronger evidence than after-the-fact claims about what condition the material was in before the carrier took possession.

What to do if no such documentation exists

Without contemporaneous loading documentation, you may need to pursue the dispute with whichever party is more directly responsible under your specific contractual relationship — for future transactions, requiring loading documentation as standard practice prevents this exact ambiguity.

How ScrapTrade Makes This Easier

Requiring documented loading condition as part of arranging a ScrapTrade transaction gives you concrete evidence to reference if a contamination dispute later arises between seller and carrier.