Mover holding your belongings hostage? What federal rules say

It's one of the worst moving stories: the truck shows up, or doesn't, and the company says it won't unload until you pay far more than you were quoted. Federal rules for interstate moves set a limit on what a mover can demand at delivery. Knowing that limit, and having your paperwork ready, is your best protection.

When a mover is allowed to hold your goods

A mover can legally keep your shipment if you don't honor your contract and pay what you owe on time. The problem is when it demands more than the rules allow. FMCSA says it may take enforcement action when a mover or broker knowingly and willfully fails to deliver after the customer has paid.

The most a mover can demand at delivery

• Binding estimate: once you offer to pay the binding estimate amount, the mover has to release your goods. Extra services you asked for after the bill of lading was issued can be added, but only if you agreed to the new charges and signed a new binding estimate.
• Non-binding estimate: once you offer to pay up to 110 percent of the estimate, the mover has to release your goods. Anything above that gets billed to you later, not collected before unloading.
• Impracticable operations: if the delivery turns out to need things like a long carry or a smaller shuttle truck, and the mover's tariff defines those charges, it can collect them at delivery only up to 15 percent of all other charges due then.
• Partial delivery: if only part of your shipment shows up, the mover can only demand a share based on weight. The federal example: if 2,500 pounds of a 5,000-pound shipment arrives, it can demand 50 percent.
• Form of payment: for non-binding estimates, the mover must accept the payment method agreed to when you got the estimate, unless you agree in writing to change it.

Refusing to unload after you offer these amounts counts as failing to deliver with "reasonable dispatch," which opens the mover up to a cargo delay claim. For how each kind of estimate works, see binding vs non-binding estimates.

Charges added after loading

On a binding estimate, if the mover thinks it needs to do extra work after the bill of lading was issued, it has to tell you what the work is and give you at least an hour to decide. Those added charges get billed to you after 30 days from delivery. They can't be used as a reason to hold the shipment, apart from the 15 percent cap on impracticable operations.

What to do if it's happening to you

1. Stay calm and get the demand in writing: the amount, who's asking for it, and where your goods are.
2. Pull out your written estimate and bill of lading, and work out the legal maximum using the rules above.
3. Offer that amount, in the payment form you agreed to, and keep proof that you offered or paid it.
4. Write down everything: dates, times, names, phone numbers, texts, and emails.
5. File a hostage complaint with FMCSA (details below).
6. If you're also in a dispute over extra charges or damage, ask the mover for its arbitration program. Every interstate mover has to offer one.

Filing an FMCSA hostage complaint

FMCSA says you'll need these to file a hostage complaint:

• Your written estimate
• Your bill of lading
• A receipt for the payment you made or offered
• Proof the company refused to deliver your goods, or to tell you where they are, after payment
• The amount the company is asking for to deliver

You can file online through FMCSA's National Consumer Complaint Database. If you can't provide everything, FMCSA says you can file under a different category, or call 1-888-DOT-SAFT (1-888-368-7238).

What FMCSA can and can't do

Your complaint helps FMCSA decide which companies to investigate. But FMCSA doesn't settle individual disputes, and it says it doesn't have the resources to go to court to get your goods released for you. If you need that, you'd go to court yourself, usually with a lawyer. These federal rules only cover moves across state lines. For a move within one state, check with your state's resources.

Arbitration, briefly

Interstate movers must offer neutral arbitration for disputes about loss and damage and about extra charges beyond what was collected at delivery. You can't be required to agree to it before a dispute starts. If you ask for it on a claim of $10,000 or less, it's binding, and you can't be charged more than half the cost of starting it. The arbitrator has 60 days to decide, though that can be extended if information comes in late.

How to avoid this in the first place

• Check that you're dealing with a real carrier, not just a broker. See carrier vs broker.
• Get a written estimate, and be wary of a lowball quote given over the phone. See red flags of moving scams.
• Read the bill of lading before you sign, including the valuation coverage section.