Terminology

• Appliance Service: A service offered by moving companies or a third-party to prepare appliances like washing machines, dryers, and refrigerators for transportation. This service may not include the disconnection of plumbing or electrical services.

• Assembly and Disassembly: The process of taking apart furniture before loading it into the moving truck and reassembling it at the destination.

• Appliance Dolly: Supplied by self-service movers to help you load and unload large items like appliances and oversized furniture.

• Assessed Value Coverage: This specifies how much money per $1,000 of assessed value you will need to pay to cover your household items to their fully assessed value. Purchasing this protection requires that a cash value be assigned to the items you will be moving. If a deductible is applied, that value is stated next to the cost-per-$1,000 figure. For example, 7.50/100 means that the consumer must pay $7.50 per $1,000 of assessed value to cover the load against loss, and the first $100 of damage is not covered. Some valuation policies are calculated on a sliding scale, where the price per $1,000 of coverage will vary depending upon the total amount of coverage. In such cases, carriers are requested to quote valuation prices based on $25,000 of coverage. Please note that most valuation policies require that the entire load be covered, not just specific items. Ask your carrier for terms.

• Binding/Non-Binding Estimate:
• Binding: The mover quotes a flat price based upon a given inventory. No matter how long the job takes, the flat price is always paid. It is given only when an onsite estimate is performed.
• Non-Binding: These estimates are based upon the movers’ previous experience of jobs similar to yours. As the name suggests, these estimates are subject to change. Hourly Rates: Customers are charged by the hour per man, per truck.
•  Bulky Item Fee: Large items such as pool tables that require extra handling are subject to an additional charge.
• Basic Value Protection: Under Full Value Protection, your mover is liable for the replacement value of lost or damaged goods in your entire shipment. This is the more comprehensive plan available for the protection of your belongings.
• Bill of Lading: A legally binding document that outlines all of the details of the move from the shipping date to the items loaded on the moving truck. This document serves as a receipt of a customer’s agreement with a moving company.

• Carrier: The moving company who transports your belongings.
• Crating: The process of building wooden boxes to protect delicate or valuable items during transit.
• Cash on delivery (C.O.D.): When a customer agrees to make a payment to the moving company upon delivery at the destination.
• Claim: A claim filed for loss, damage, or delay in the delivery of household goods during any stage of the move or during warehousing.
• Cost of Move: This addresses how much the specific move will cost, not including the various extra charges and insurance. All cost estimates are calculated based on information obtained from the listed moving companies during a signup interview. Although every effort is made to gather the most accurate information, customers should be aware of the fact that many factors affect the cost of a move. Make sure to ask about all of the movers involved costs, including things like flights of stairs, and distance between your residence.

• Damage Claim: In general, a moving company is responsible if it loses or damages a customer’s household possessions during the move. In this situation, the customer can file a claim with the mover to request financial compensation for the loss or damage.
• Delivery Spread: Your sales consultant will give you a set of dates that typically range from 1-14 days for your shipment to arrive at your new home. These dates will be on the Bill of Lading and Estimate for Service. When you sign the Bill of Lading, you agree to the dates in the window and are expected to accept the delivery within those dates. The driver or office will call you 12-24 hours to let you know the planned date of your delivery.
• Delivery Window: The time period in which a moving company is scheduled to deliver a shipment to its final destination. The delivery window will depend on the distance of the move.

• Elevator Charge: An additional charge applied when a moving process includes moving items in an elevator.
• Estimate: A general calculation of the transportation charges, as well as costs for additional services requested by the customer. Includes an estimation of shipment weight.
• Expedited Service: An agreement with the mover to perform transportation by a set date in exchange for charges based on a higher minimum weight.

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA, is an agency within the Department of Transportation that regulates the operational requirements for moving companies, trucks, and equipment.
• Flight Charge: An additional charge for a moving professional to carry items up or down one or multiple flights of stairs.
• Full-Service Moving: A service where a moving company completes the moving process from start to finish for the customer. This includes providing materials, packing, loading, transporting, unloading, unpacking, and the clean-up of household goods.
• Full-Value Protection Insurance: An insurance policy which covers the current market value of an item, an item’s replacement, or the cost to repair an item if it’s damaged or lost by a moving company during a move.
• Furniture Pads: Placed under heavy household items, furniture pads help heavy furniture and appliances slide across floors without causing damage.
• Floor Runners: Floor runners or area rugs are used to protect wood flooring, especially in high traffic areas.

• Gross Weight: The combined weight of a moving truck loaded combined with household goods.
• Guaranteed Pick-up and Delivery Service: A premium moving service that guarantees specific pick-up and delivery dates.

• Household Goods Broker: A person, other than a motor carrier or an employee or a bona fide agent of a motor carrier, that as a principal or agent sells, offers to sell, negotiates for, or holds itself out by solicitation, advertisement, or otherwise sells, provides, or arranges for, transportation of household goods by a motor carrier for compensation.

• Intrastate Move: A move where the origin and destination are located in the same state.
• Interstate Move: Any move that involves crossing a state boundary, regardless of distance.
• International Move: Any move that involves crossing an international boundary, regardless of distance.
• Inventory: The detailed descriptive list of your household goods showing the number and condition of each item.

• Line-Haul Charges: Charges calculated by the mileage and weight of a shipment; specifically for long-distance moves.
• Load Date: The date on which the shipment is to be picked up by the moving truck.
• Local Move: A short-distance move, typically 40 miles or less.
• Long Carry Charge: A charge applied when a moving company carries items an excessive distance from a home to the moving truck or vice versa. This distance is determined by the moving company.
• Long-Term Storage: Storage of household items in a warehouse for an extended period of time, typically one month or longer

• MC Number: Motor Carrier number (MC Number) is also an interstate operating authority and unique identifier assigned by the FMCSA to moving companies operating in interstate commerce, in other words hauling cargo across state lines.
• Moving Company: A moving company helps people move their belongings from one place to another.
• Moving Cost: The cost for a moving company to transport household items to their final destination. This does not include additional services or insurance costs.

• Net Weight: The weight of a shipment; obtained by subtracting the tare weight (the weight of the moving truck) from the gross weight (the weight of the fully-loaded moving truck).
• Non-Allowable List (prohibited items): A list of items that moving companies will not handle because they may contaminate or damage the moving company’s property or the property of the customer. For example, furniture that will not fit through doorways, items infested with bugs, household chemicals, and propane tanks are subject to this list. Please take a look at our webpage that contains list of common prohibited items by clicking HERE.

• Overnight Storage Fee: The movers simply load the truck on one day and arrive the following day to unload. The items stay on the truck so there’s no additional labor just additional travel or overnight storage fees that may apply.
• Overflow: When items are left behind due to insufficient space on the primary moving truck. An additional truck is then utilized to transport the leftover items.

• Packing Service: A service offered by moving companies or third-parties where professionals pack items before moving day and unpack them upon delivery.
• Packing Supplies: Also known as packing materials, these are cardboard boxes, stretch wrap, packing paper, bubble wrap, foam sheets, packing peanuts, packing tape, and other equipment used to protect or contain household items.
• Parts Box: A parts box will keep all of the smaller items in one place and will ensure that hardware, cables, wires, and remotes are easily accessible at your destination. If your mover is disassembling furniture or any of your belongings, request that they use a part box if you notice that they have not set aside a box specifically for parts.
• PBO: Stands for packed by owner. A term used by moving companies to designate when items are packed by a customer.
• Pick-up Spread: The window of seven calendar days, within which your moving company must pick up your shipment
• Pre-Existing Damage: Existing damage to an item that is not associated with the move.

• Quote: The price of a moving company’s services. Based on a customer’s in-home estimate and their specific moving needs.

• Reweigh: A reweigh of the items on the moving truck may be requested by a customer upon delivery. If a reweigh is requested, charges will be calculated based on the new net weight.

• Stretch-Wrap: A heavy-duty saran wrap, stretch-wrap is wrapped around furniture to protect it from damage.
• Survey: Also referred to as an in-home estimate, a survey is a process where a moving professional visits a customer’s home and uses a cube sheet to create a list of furniture and estimate its total weight. They will also inquire about additional moving services and then provide a quote for the estimated cost of the move.
• Storage-In-Transit (SIT): Temporary warehouse storage of your shipment pending further transportation, for example, if your new home isn’t quite ready to occupy. You must specifically request SIT service, which may not exceed a total of 90 days of storage, and you will be responsible for the added charges for SIT service, as well as the warehouse handling and final delivery charges.

• Tare Weight: The weight of the moving truck, equipment, and packing materials without a customer’s items. This weight helps determine the net weight of a customer’s move.
• Tariff: A schedule of rates, charges, rules and regulations filed with the Minnesota Department of Transportation or Minnesota Department of Agriculture by or on behalf of the carrier or warehouse operator.
• Transit Time: The time spent in transit between a customer’s old home and their destination.

• Unpacking: When a moving professional unloads boxes and crates from the moving truck and unpacks the contents at the destination.
• USDOT Number: A USDOT number serves as registration for any vehicle that transports cargo across state lines (which includes moving trucks). This number is regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration under the US Department of Transportation

• Valuation: A valuation is the estimated value of a customer’s belongings. Before the Bill of Lading is signed, a customer will declare the monetary cost for all of the items included in their move. A moving company will use this number to determine their liability for damage to or loss of an item.

Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move: A document prepared by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) to inform consumers of their rights and responsibilities as a shipper of household goods. For more information, visit the federal government website regarding this by clicking HERE.