The paper side of a move
A local move leaves behind a small stack of pages: an estimate, an order or contract, an inventory, a delivery receipt and a final bill. If anything about the move is questioned later, those pages are what both you and the company can point to. Reading each one before you sign, and keeping your own copy, can turn a disagreement into a matter of comparing what was written.
Asking for a written estimate
The LPSC says moving household goods from one location within Louisiana to another is regulated by the LPSC, that the mover retained should be registered and in good standing with the LPSC, and that customers have the right to a written estimate from their household goods mover under the LPSC's General Order dated July 12, 2013.
Ask every company for its estimate on paper or by email, and put the same question to each one: "Does this move call for a Louisiana Public Service Commission common carrier certificate, and if so, what is your certificate number?" Write the answer across the top of that company's estimate.
Reading an estimate before you sign it
Go through each estimate with a pen and check for:
- your name, both addresses and the move date, written correctly;
- a list of what is being moved, or a reference to the inventory the company took;
- whether the price is a fixed figure or an hourly rate, and what can change it;
- how travel time, stairs, packing materials and furniture taken apart are charged;
- the number of workers and the truck the company plans to send;
- the deposit, how it is paid and the terms for changing or canceling the date;
- what the company pays if something is damaged or lost, and how that amount is figured.
If a line is blank or unclear, ask for it to be filled in before you sign. A promise made over the phone is easy to lose track of, so ask for it to be written onto the estimate itself.
When the estimate changes before moving day
Adding a room, a piano or a stack of boxes after the estimate can change the price. Tell the company in writing, ask for a revised estimate, and keep both versions. Clip the newer one on top, so you always know which terms you agreed to last.
The papers handed over on moving day
The crew lead may ask you to sign papers before loading starts: an order for service, an inventory or a bill of lading. Take a few minutes with each one. Check that the price terms match the estimate in your folder. If an inventory marks scratches or dents on a piece, look at that piece and write down any note you disagree with. Ask for a copy of every page you sign before the truck pulls away.
The delivery receipt
At the new address, count the boxes against the inventory or your own list as they come off the truck, and look over each piece of furniture as it is carried in. Before you sign the delivery receipt, write any damage or missing item in plain words beside the line it concerns. If there is no time to check everything, ask the crew lead how the company wants later findings reported, and write down the answer.
Matching the final bill to the estimate
Take the hours, the crew size and the materials on the final bill one at a time, and find the place on the estimate, or on a change you approved in writing, that sets each one. Where you find none, copy that line onto a separate page. Send the company that page and ask which written term each line rests on.
Paying and getting receipts
Pay the deposit and the balance in a way that leaves a record, and ask for a receipt that says what each payment covers. Staple each receipt to the estimate or bill it belongs to.
Shreveport station figures from NOAA
NOAA engineering weather data for Shreveport, LA (elevation 259 feet) gives a 1% summer design dry-bulb temperature of 95°F with a mean coincident wet-bulb temperature of 77°F, and a 99% winter design dry-bulb temperature of 26°F. In an average year at Shreveport, NOAA counts about 1,839 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 3,365 hours above 67°F.
Shreveport's census count
From Census QuickFacts: the U.S. Census Bureau counted 187,593 people in Shreveport city, Louisiana in the Census of April 1, 2020.
Papers to hold on to afterward
- every version of the estimate, with the certificate answer written on it;
- the order for service and the inventory;
- the bill of lading and the delivery receipt, with your notes;
- the final bill, your page of unmatched lines and the receipts;
- photos taken before wrapping and after unloading;
- emails and texts with the company.
Store them together until every question about the move has been answered.
A paperwork habit for next time
- Ask for the estimate in writing before you book.
- Read every page before you sign it.
- Take a copy of each signed page the same day.
- Turn any change to the job into a revised estimate.
- Note damage on the delivery receipt itself, not only in an email afterward.