When a party other than the consignor or consignee on the bill of lading and shipping order is responsible for paying the freight charges, such party is known as the "Third-Party" (TP) and the billing procedure is known as "Third-Party Billing" (TPB) subject to the following conditions.

1. Unless otherwise specifically provided,

A. The TP's name and address must appear in the body of the bill of lading and shipping order at time of original tender.

B. The TP and the shipper or consignee may not be the same company.

C. The TP may not be the majority owner of the shipper or consignee.

D. The TP may not be the paying agent of the shipper or consignee.

2. On shipments where account affiliations described above exist, the term "Third-Party Billing" or "TPB" will be changed to "Send Freight Bill To Party" or "SFB".

In addition, payment terms will be changed from prepaid to collect or from collect to prepaid, as necessary, to ensure that the shipment is Prepaid, if the shipper and SFB (formerly TP) are affiliated, or Collect, if the consignee and SFB (formerly TP) are affiliated.

3. TPB shipments will be accepted only when the consignor has established credit with ABF and guarantees to pay all lawfully accrued charges if the third party fails to do so within the time allowed under the credit regulations of the Surface Transportation Board.