Delivery Dates, Delays and Storage-in-Transit

Agreed dates vs. guaranteed dates

The bill of lading must show the agreed pickup and delivery dates, or the periods within which they'll happen. The mover must deliver on that date or within that period unless you waive it.

Guaranteed service is an option some movers sell. Then the bill of lading must show the guaranteed dates and the penalty or per-day amount the mover owes you if it misses them. If you need certainty — a lease end, a closing date — ask whether guaranteed dates are offered and what they pay.

When the truck is late

As soon as a delay becomes apparent, the mover must notify you, at its expense, by phone, in person, fax, email, overnight courier or certified mail. It must then set new dates taking your needs into account, keep a written record of the notice, keep that record for a year and give you a copy on request.

Ask for the new dates in writing and keep the record. If the delay costs you money, a claim for delay is handled like other claims, and refusing to release a shipment after you've paid what's due counts as a failure of "reasonable dispatch".

When the truck is early

If the mover can deliver more than 24 hours before the agreed date and you can't or won't accept, it may put your goods in storage — on its own account and at its own expense — and must immediately tell you the warehouse's name and address. It pays the storage, handling and redelivery until final delivery.

Storage-in-transit

Storage-in-transit (SIT) is temporary storage while your shipment is still in the mover's hands — for example, when your new home isn't ready. During SIT the mover's liability continues. When SIT ends, the shipment converts to permanent storage, and the mover's liability for it as a carrier ends.

Because that switch matters, the mover must notify you in writing before SIT expires, stating:

• The date your goods convert to permanent storage.
• That you have nine months to file claims.
• That its liability as a carrier ends.
• The warehouse rules that will apply.

The notice is due at least 10 days before SIT expires — or one day before, if the storage was for less than 10 days. If the mover doesn't send it on time, its liability continues until the end of the day after it actually notifies you. Goods in permanent storage must be in your name.

Shipments split across trucks

If your shipment travels on more than one vehicle, the mover can either wait until everything is delivered to collect, or collect a proportional share for each part delivered — but the total can't exceed the charge for the whole shipment.

Questions to settle before booking

• What pickup and delivery window will be written on the bill of lading?
• Do you offer guaranteed dates, and what do you pay per day if you miss them?
• How will you tell me about a delay, and who is my contact while the truck is on the road?
• If my new home isn't ready, what does storage-in-transit cost, how long can it last, and which warehouse would it be?

Get the answers in writing. The delivery window and any guarantee belong on the bill of lading; if they're only in a sales email, they're much harder to enforce.

Common questions