Household Goods Arbitration Program

Posted by David Piotrowski

All interstate moving companies are required by law to have an arbitration program available to their customers. Failure of a moving company to provide customers with notice of the availability of arbitration is against DOT regulations and may subject the moving company to fines and/or penalties. Beware of movers who claim to have an arbitration program in place but ultimately have no such program. While the DOT requires interstate household goods moving companies to have an arbitration program, the DOT does not require movers to provide them with proof of such program in order to obtain interstate operating authority.

Before a moving company performs a pickup of household goods, they are required to provide the customer with notice of the availability of neutral arbitration, including all three of the following items:
(i) A summary of the arbitration procedure.
(ii) Any applicable costs.
(iii) A disclosure of the legal effects of election to use arbitration.

Upon the request of the customer, moving companies must provide information and forms necessary for initiating an action to resolve a dispute under arbitration.

For more information, read the DOT published brochure on arbitration.

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