Extra moving charges: stairs, long carries, shuttles, and what a mover can add at delivery

One of the most common moving complaints goes like this: the quote looked fine, then on moving day the crew says there's a stair fee, a long-carry fee, or that the big truck can't reach your street and you'll need a shuttle. Some of those charges are legitimate. But for interstate moves, federal rules control when a mover has to price them, how it has to ask you, and how much of them it can demand before handing over your things.

What these add-on charges are

Movers call them accessorial or additional services. They're charged on top of the line haul, which is the cost of actually driving your goods to the new place. FMCSA's moving glossary lists the usual ones:

Rates for all of these come from the mover's tariff, its published list of prices and rules. FMCSA says every mover has to give you its tariff if you ask.

The mover is supposed to price them before moving day

Under the federal estimate rules, a mover has to work out charges for services like elevators and long carries before it prepares your bill of lading, whether your estimate is binding or non-binding. If it never asked you about them and didn't figure them in, it still has to deliver your goods, and it can only bill you for those extra charges afterward, 30 days after delivery.

This is a big reason the in-person or video survey matters. A mover that sees your third-floor walk-up or your narrow street during the survey should put those charges in the estimate. See the survey rule and what an estimate has to include.

Your job is to tell the mover about anything that affects access at both ends: stairs, elevators, building rules, long walkways, parking limits, and tight streets. A binding estimate only covers the goods and services written on it, so leaving things out gives the mover room to reprice.

Before loading: the mover can re-quote, but it has to happen then

If you show up with more stuff or need services that weren't on the estimate, the mover doesn't have to honor the original price. Before it loads, it can keep the original estimate, write a new one that lists the added goods or services and have you sign it, or, for a binding estimate, agree with you in writing to treat it as non-binding. Once the truck is loaded without a new estimate, the original one stands. Estimates can't be changed after loading.

After the bill of lading: the one-hour rule

Sometimes a mover decides, after the bill of lading is signed, that an extra service is needed, like a shuttle at the delivery end. Federal rules say it has to:

  1. Tell you what the extra service is before doing it.
  2. Give you at least one hour to decide whether you want it.
  3. If you agree, put it in a written attachment to the bill of lading that you sign. That can be done by fax, email, overnight courier, or certified mail.

If you say no, the mover should do only the extra work that's actually required to finish the delivery. Either way, it bills you for those added services after 30 days from delivery. It can't make them a condition of handing over your goods, with one exception, below.

If you ask for extra services after the bill of lading is issued, that's different: the mover has to tell you the added cost, and it can require you to pay for those services at delivery.

The 15 percent cap on "impracticable operations"

The one type of surprise charge a mover can collect at delivery is for what its tariff calls impracticable operations. That's tariff language for situations where the normal way of doing the job won't work; the exact definition is in each mover's own tariff, so ask to see it. Even then, the most it can demand at delivery for these charges is 15 percent of all the other charges due at delivery. Anything above that gets billed later.

What you can be asked to pay at the door

Putting it together, at delivery an interstate mover can require:

If you offer to pay that and the mover still won't unload, the rules treat it as failing to deliver with reasonable dispatch, which opens the mover up to a delay claim. If that's happening now, see what to do when a mover holds your goods hostage. The mover also has to accept the form of payment named in your estimate unless you agree in writing to change it.

How the leftover bill works

Charges that couldn't be collected at delivery come on an invoice. The mover has 15 days after delivery, not counting weekends and federal holidays, to send it. You then get 7 days to pay. If you don't, the credit period automatically stretches to 30 days, and the mover's tariff must add a service charge of 1 percent of the invoice, with a $20 minimum, for each 30-day extension. Check the invoice against your bill of lading, any signed attachments, and the tariff rates before you pay.

A quick checklist

  1. During the survey, point out stairs, elevators, long walks, parking limits, and narrow streets at both homes.
  2. Make sure every add-on you expect is written on the estimate, with its price.
  3. Ask for the mover's tariff, or at least the pages covering shuttles, stairs, long carries, and impracticable operations.
  4. If the crew re-quotes on moving day, get the new estimate in writing and signed before anything is loaded.
  5. If a new service comes up after the bill of lading, ask for the written attachment and take your hour to decide.
  6. At delivery, know your number: the binding amount or 110 percent of the non-binding estimate, plus only the add-ons the rules allow.
  7. Keep every document. You'll need them if you dispute the bill or file a complaint.

Sources

This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. These federal rules cover interstate household goods moves; for a move within one state, check your state's rules.