RELO Roundtable…a gathering place

Following the example of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), several states now require all moving companies and property brokerage outfits to be licensed to operate in local or intrastate commerce. Pennsylvania is one of them.

Household goods movers in the Keystone State are required to be licensed by the Public Utility Commission (PA PUC) and must maintain adequate levels of insurance coverage. The PUC also functions to review and approve the fees that these personal property relocation companies are allowed to charge for their intrastate services.

To ensure compliance, all movers operating within Pennsylvania are required by law to display their PUC number in all of their advertisements. Until recently, however, there was no way for a consumer to easily or quickly confirm a potential carrier’s credentials without contacting one of the commission’s regional offices.

Thanks to a very responsive PUC staff, beginning October 1, 2009 residents can now review the most current Household Goods Carrier list at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s website. Eventually the PA PUC list will include the ‘Date Certificated’ in the information displayed.

While there, don’t forget to ‘read and heed’ the Information for Shippers form before making any commitments.  This form provides the following information to Pennsylvania residents:

• Mover must provide a written estimate.
• Estimate is based on applicable tariff charges (hourly rate if distance is 40 miles or less) or on a weight and mileage basis (if distance is over 40 miles).
• If the actual bill exceeds the estimate by more than 10% you must pay the estimated charges plus 10% of the estimate or $25 (whichever is greater). You have up to 15 days after delivery to pay the balance).
• Loss or damages automatic protection is insured up to 30 per pound per article. (If additional protection is desired, consumer must purchase it through the moving company or private insurer.)

A direct link to the carrier list is can be found at http://www.puc.state.pa.us/transport/motor/pdf/HHG_Operators.pdf .

To find a more comprehensive list of other states that regulate household goods carriers, visit RELO Roundtable and look under the wiki-research tab where you’ll find several useful resources for anyone involved in relocation planning.