Get back the demurrage you never owed.
FMC rules now let importers refuse late or incomplete D&D invoices, and challenge fees for days they couldn't move a box. Dwellback finds those charges in your invoices and builds every dispute. The audit is free. You pay only from what comes back.
Two clocks run on every box.
Demurrage runs while the full container sits at the terminal. Detention runs while you hold the carrier's equipment. Both start after free time ends. The striped days are where fees are often wrong.
Demurrage
Full box, still at the terminal
Detention
Box is out, not returned yet
Four rules, checked on every invoice.
The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 and the FMC's 2024 billing rule changed the balance. Most importers still pay what's billed, because checking takes time nobody has. Checking is our whole job.
Late invoices don't have to be paid.
Carriers must invoice within 30 days of the last day charged. If they miss it, you don't owe the charge.
The invoice must show its work.
Free time, availability date, the tariff or contract rule, the rate, a dispute contact, and two compliance statements. Missing items are grounds to dispute.
No fees for days you couldn't act.
Terminal closed, no appointments, empty return refused, carrier hold. Fees exist to keep cargo moving. When you couldn't move it, they can be challenged.
The carrier has to prove it's fair.
In an FMC charge complaint, the burden sits with the carrier, not you. We prepare the complaint. You file it in your name, free.
Audit one invoice yourself.
Copy the numbers from any D&D invoice into the panel below. The invoice updates as you type and shows what's disputable, using the same rules we use. It starts with an example.
Box is full and still at the terminal.
Days after free time when pickup was impossible: terminal closed, no appointments, a hold that wasn't yours.
About an hour of your time. We do the rest.
No software to install, no system access, no new process for your team. You send PDFs and approve letters.
Send your invoices
D&D invoices from the last 12–24 months, plus container dates if you have them. Under NDA.
~30 min of your timeWe audit every container
Free time, rates, invoice dates, required details, and the days you couldn't act. You get a written report.
Report in 5 business daysYou approve the disputes
Ready-to-send carrier letters and, where needed, an FMC charge complaint. Nothing goes out without your OK.
~30 min of your timeMoney comes back
We follow up until each claim closes as a refund, credit or waiver. Then we invoice our share.
You pay only on winsYou only pay when you get paid.
No retainer, no software fee, no charge for the audit. If we recover nothing, you pay nothing.
of money refunded, credited or waived because of our work.
→ you keep $30,000 · our fee $10,000
Included, always
- Free audit and written reportEvery container, every line, with the rule behind each finding.
- Dispute letters and FMC complaint draftsEvidence attached, ready to send from your email.
- Follow-up until each claim closesReminders, escalation to your account manager, then the FMC.
- Ongoing optionWe check new invoices inside the 30-day dispute window.
Old charges aren't lost.
Charge complaints to the FMC have no time limit for D&D billed since 16 June 2022. If you have the paperwork, we'll look at it.
46 U.S.C. 41310
“Most importers don't dispute D&D because it takes time nobody has. That's the gap we fill.”
Dwellback is new, and we're upfront about it. That's why the audit is free and why we only earn when your money comes back. If we find nothing, you've spent an hour.
We're an audit and recovery firm, not a law firm. We do the slow part: reading every invoice, matching dates, finding evidence and writing the disputes. You stay in control of what's sent and when.
Write to me directly at dev@dwellback.com. You'll get a reply from me, not a sales team.