Tell me if this sounds familiar: You arrive at a customer’s home for a pickup. The customer unexpectedly now asks your crew to pack and ship double the pieces/volume than what they had advised for the Original Estimate. Now you are strapped for time and running late, so you add these items on the descriptive inventory list, grab a Revised Estimate and write “additional Items – 500 cu ft” and have the customer sign. This is illegal!
The DOT requirements state that no matter what, if there is an increase in the price of the move then there absolutely must be a Revised Estimate listing every item which increased the price of the move. If this is not completed and you just have the customer sign the Revised Estimate stating “additional items” then you are leaving yourself subject to pay the customer back the difference between the quoted price on the Original Estimate and the total amount you charged them (in addition to fines for being noncompliant).
The proper way to complete a Revised Estimate is to list how many of each additional item, the cubic feet for each one of those items, then the the total cubic feet for the total of those items. For example 15 medium boxes, 3 cu ft each box, 45 total additional cubic feet. This must be done for each and every item that increases the size of the shipment.
Keep in mind, in cases where the customer wants to move more items and the value of the shipment is changed, so did the cost of an FVP coverage change. Therefore, the law requires that you will provide the customer with the new cost of the FVP coverage and sign the customer on the coverage they select.
Even if the inventory sheets show the number of items in the move increased substantially, if every item that increased the price is not itemized on the Revised Estimate then you are completing this paperwork wrong and will have to pay the price.
To learn more about claims services, household goods compliance, training and to learn about required legal documents, send us a note or call us.
