Filing a Damage Claim Against a Mover

Start at delivery

The strongest claims begin on moving day. At delivery you have the right to check your belongings against the inventory and note in writing any missing items and any damage, and you get a copy of those notes.

The delivery receipt the mover asks you to sign can say goods were "received in apparent good condition except as noted", but it must not contain language releasing the mover from liability. Don't sign anything that does. Take photos before and after, and keep damaged items and packing until the claim is settled.

Filing deadlines

Put the claim in writing and keep a copy. Federal law sets minimum time limits a mover can't shorten:

• At least 9 months to file a claim.
• At least 2 years to sue, counted from the date the mover gives you written notice that it disallowed all or part of the claim.

Filing sooner has an extra benefit on moves paid at delivery: if you file within 120 days of delivery (or the scheduled delivery date, if later), you may later be able to recover attorney's fees — see below.

What the mover has to do

• Acknowledge your claim in writing within 30 days of receiving it.
• Within 120 days, pay it, decline it, or make a firm compromise offer in writing.
• If it can't finish in 120 days, tell you the status in writing every 60 days after that, and why it isn't done.

Arbitration

Every interstate mover must run a neutral arbitration program for loss and damage disputes, and tell you about it — with a summary, the costs and the legal effect — before you sign the bill of lading.

The mover can't make you agree to arbitration before a dispute arises. If you request it for a claim of $10,000 or less, the result is binding on the mover. Above $10,000 it's binding only if you request it and the mover agrees. The arbitrator must decide within 60 days of written notice of the dispute (it can extend that if a party is late with information), and you can't be made to pay more than half the cost of starting it.

When the mover pays your attorney's fees

On moves where you paid at delivery, federal law lets a court award you reasonable attorney's fees if you filed your claim within 120 days of delivery, you win in court, and one of three things is true: the mover didn't tell you about its dispute settlement program, the arbitrator didn't decide in time, or you're going to court to enforce an arbitration award.

If a shipment is partly or totally lost

If part of your shipment is lost or destroyed (and not through your fault), the mover can only collect a share of the charges proportional to what it delivered — deliver half the weight, collect half. If the whole shipment is lost or destroyed, it can't collect any freight charges at all, though a valuation charge you agreed to still applies.

Common questions