When a move leaves unfinished business
Some moves end with every box in place and every paper signed. Others leave things to sort out: an estimate with no certificate number, a scratched dresser, a charge nobody mentioned, a pile of broken-down cartons and an old couch in the garage. Each of those can be handled in its own way, and the steps below start with a paper you already hold or one you can ask for.
What Ohio law asks of certificate holders
Ohio law requires each holder of a household goods certificate to make its current certificate available for public inspection during normal business hours, give each customer a commission-prescribed written outline of consumer rights, and include its certificate number on all advertising, written estimates and contracts.
What the certificate rests on
To get a PUCO household goods certificate, an applicant pays a fee and certifies that its workers' compensation and unemployment compensation coverage are current and that its financial responsibility meets commission rules; the certificate is valid for one year and renewable annually.
The certificate question, asked again
Whether or not you asked before booking, ask now, in writing: "Does this move call for a PUCO household goods certificate, and if so, what is your certificate number?" Keep the reply with the date and the name of the person who sent it. If you would like to check a number, ask the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio how to do that.
Papers that never arrived
Gather what the company gave you: the ad or listing you answered, the estimate, the contract, the inventory and the delivery receipt. Look at each for a certificate number and write down what you find. If the company says it holds a household goods certificate and you have no written outline of consumer rights, or are unsure whether a paper you have is one, ask the company about it by email and keep the reply.
Damage found after the crew left
- Cartons that arrived dented, damp or retaped are the ones to open first, with pictures taken as each flap comes up.
- A damaged piece gets two photos: one still in its wrap, one unwrapped.
- Set the broken item and its wrapping aside in a corner rather than throwing them out.
- Check the floors, stair rails and door frames of the old home and the new one, with a picture of every mark the move left.
- List everything in one message to the company, and ask it to explain its claims process and the deadline for a claim.
Boxes that did not show up
Run down your numbered list and circle each number that never came through the door. Email those numbers to the company and ask where your things were held between the two homes, whether the truck and any warehouse have been searched, and when you will hear back. If a box stays lost, add it to the claim with what was inside and any receipt or photo that shows it.
A bill that does not match
Read the final bill with the estimate and the contract open beside it. Make a short list of charges you did not expect, with the amount of each. Ask the company, by email, how each one was worked out and which term of the contract covers it. Whatever you pay, pay by a method that leaves a record, and keep the receipt.
What goes to the curb
Lima residents may place up to 3 cubic yards of material at the curb with their trash containers at no extra charge, excluding unauthorized items such as tires, paint and auto parts; material over 3 cubic yards is removed and charged to the resident. Materials may not go out before 6:00 p.m. the day before pickup.
If you are unsure whether something counts as an unauthorized item, or how to handle a pile that may be large, ask the city's Utilities Department before you set it out.
The containers stay with the house
Lima's city-provided garbage (35 or 95 gallon) and recycling (35 or 65 gallon) containers are supplied at no cost to residents and are to remain at the property when a resident moves.
Questions about the containers at either address go to the city's Utilities Department.
Writing to the company
When emails have not settled things, gather everything into one letter. Open with the move date and both addresses. Then set out the quoted price and the billed price, the charges you question, the damaged or missing items, and what you are asking the company to do, with a reply date. Enclose copies of the estimate, the contract, the bill and your photos; the originals stay with you. Use a delivery method that gives you a dated receipt.
No reply by your date? A brief reminder with the letter attached gives the company one more chance. After that, you can ask the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio whether it takes complaints about household goods movers. Separately, put the damage list to your homeowners or renters insurer and ask whether your policy pays toward any of it.
Keep the file until it closes
Keep the ad, the certificate answer, the estimate, the contract, the consumer rights outline, your inventory, the delivery receipt, photos, emails and receipts in one folder, in date order. Hold on to it until every claim and question is settled.