Household Goods Regulations

Posted on February 11, 2008 
Filed Under GENERAL, HORROR STORIES

FMCSA has a whole set of ‘other’ regulations, which really have nothing at all to do with safety. These are holdovers from the defunct Interstate Commerce Commissioin (ICC), and they protect the public from unscrupulous moving companies. The fines attached with these regulations are outrageously high, done so intentionally by the Congress, as they try to get at the moving companies who are nothing more than scam-artist criminals.

For example, a common scam is a mover sets up a website. You get a free quote on your move, based on where you’re going, how much stuff you have, etc. The scammer purposely gives you a lowball estimate. The naive customer says, “wow, that’s half of what everyone else is charging me, what a deal, aren’t I clever?” Then the mover comes along, packs up the mark’s things, and down the road he goes. When it comes time to deliver the furniture, the mover tells the mark there’s been an unexpected snag, and it will now cost 3-4 times as much to complete the move, and he won’t get his stuff back until he comes up with the cash. The mark is now stuck, basically ransoming his own stuff which is being held hostage.

FMCSA has all sorts of rules prohibiting this. Unfortunately, FMCSA’s main remedy in these situations is a monetary fine, which is almost 100% useless against hardened criminals. A true scammer will simply throw DOT’s fine in the trash can, and by the time the government gets ready to take real action against the scammer, he’s already moved across town, is calling himself something else, and the scam continues.

The problem is, there are legitimate Mom-and-Pop moving companies out there who are honest businessmen, who simply are not all that well versed on the household goods regulations. As I said, the penalties associated with these regulations are exorbitant, whether you are a criminal or an honest man who’s paperwork wasn’t exactly right. I was contacted a few weeks ago by an attorney who represents a small 2-3 truck operation. His client took a shipment from PA to NJ, something he normally doesn’t do, as a favor to a customer. Somehow, FMCSA found out about it, and discovered he is not registered as an interstate household goods mover. The fine? $25,000!!!! And FMCSA tells him there’s nothing he can do about it, as that’s the statutory minimum set by Congress. So now this poor guy is out of business, simply because he failed to file some paperwork with DOT.

While most of us are not household goods movers, probably at some point you, or someone you know will hire a mover. NEVER do business with a fly-by-night company you find on the Internet. Myself, I’m happy to pay the extra money for a reputable company who actually has an office with people in it, so if there’s a problem I’ve got somewhere to go, not just a cellphone number. Do some research on who you’re giving all your lifetime possessions to…. it could save you some real headaches.

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Eric Arnold is a Former Enforcement Agent with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and a leading expert on USDOT compliance for small businesses. Do you have a question for Eric Arnold? Email him at eric@arnoldsafety.com.

Arnold Safety simplifies D.O.T. Compliance for commercial vehicle operators. Get Eric Arnold’s USDOT Compliance Guide, DVD, & Regulations at ArnoldSafety.Com.

Learn more about Arnold Safety compliance consulting services at ArnoldSafety.Com.

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