Rights
Damage claims: 30 days to acknowledge, 120 days to decide
File the claim in writing with the mover inside the window on the bill of lading. An interstate mover must acknowledge within 30 days and pay, decline, or make a firm offer within 120 days. That is 49 CFR Part 370. What they pay depends on the valuation you picked before the truck loaded.
Call +1 (866) 961-9682Haulest data team · Desk opened official pages 17 September 2026. Editorial.
Why you are here
The broken dresser is the review. The claim that paid 60 cents a pound four months later is the one-star.
Why Haulest
The two deadlines, what to attach, and a count of damage and careful rows in the dump so you can see how common each is.
| Phrase family | Rows | Share of rows |
|---|---|---|
| Damage, broke, scratched, dented | 590 | 31% |
| Careful, wrapped, padded | 270 | 14% |
Before the truck leaves
Write exceptions on the inventory at delivery. A signed clean inventory is the mover's best defence. Photograph every item you flag, with the inventory tag visible.
Know your valuation. Released value pays 60 cents per pound per article. Full value protection repairs, replaces, or pays cash up to your declared value, minus any deductible.
The claim
Written, to the mover, with the inventory numbers, photographs, weight or value, and what you want: repair, replacement, or cash. The bill of lading names the filing window; nine months from delivery is the common term.
30 days: they must acknowledge in writing. 120 days: they must pay, decline, or make a firm compromise offer. If they need more time they must tell you why, in writing.
If you disagree
Ask for the mover's arbitration program. For claims of $10,000 or less you can require it. Above that, both sides must agree. Small claims court is the other door for the money. An NCCDB complaint records the pattern but does not pay the claim.
Official doors
1. Booklet
Interstate movers must give Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move. We link it. We do not rehost it as ours.
Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move (PDF)2. Lookup
SAFER company snapshot. Registered is not the same as authorized to haul household goods.
FMCSA SAFER company snapshot3. Complain
Protect Your Move. Photograph the inventory first. Then the phone.
FMCSA Protect Your Move
Official sources
Links go to the publisher. Haulest does not add findings. We checked these URLs in September 2026. If the live page moved, believe the agency.
- 49 CFR Part 370 (claims: 30 days to acknowledge, 120 to decide)
Opens a government site. Checked September 2026.
- 49 CFR 375.701 (valuation: released value vs full value)
Opens a government site. Checked September 2026.
- 49 CFR 375.211 (arbitration for loss and damage claims)
Opens a government site. Checked September 2026.
- Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move (PDF)
Opens a government site. Checked September 2026.
Ask out loud
- I packed the box myself. Can I claim?
- You can file. Damage inside a carton the mover did not pack is hard to prove and often excluded. Let the crew pack what you cannot afford to argue about.
- Does a review count as a claim?
- No. The claim is the written notice to the mover. Post the review too, with dates, so the next person can read it.
Next
Call for a free quote
From, then To. Date and home size after that. A person on the phone is faster if you already know the dates.
Call +1 (866) 961-9682Haulest is not a carrier. We connect you to movers. We do not dispatch a truck.
Haulest is a research desk and quote line operated by Panaweb LLC. We are not a carrier.