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Moving presents myriad challenges, from selecting real estate brokers, lenders, appraisers, and inspectors to buying, selling and/or leasing. . . to transferring your personal property from one location to another. Moving companies present some of the costliest and most frustrating, just at the time that consumers are least able to deal with stress.

From 1887 to 1995 the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), the country's first regulatory agency, was an independent government agency charged with regulating the economics and services of specified carriers engaged in transportation between states. It's jurisdiction included moving companies doing business across state lines. The regulatory power of the ICC had the effect of providing some protection to consumers against unscrupulous movers.

This is not to suggest that there were no problems, there were plenty of lost, broken or delayed shipments, miscalculated estimates and misunderstandings. No one I know ever experienced a perfect, hassle-free, move, but mostly goods arrived and life soon returned to normal. Missing or damaged property was sometimes replaced by the carrier, an insurer, or by the owner, but eventually Aunt Minnie's china cabinet took its place in the new dining room and annoyances were gradually relegated to dim memory.

Today, however, the ICC no longer exists to enforce laws applying to interstate commerce, and for the most part consumers are on their own. Plenty of laws are on the books to protect consumers...but there is no one charged with enforcing those laws. Worse, most consumers don't know what their rights are or should be in the first place. Standing in the midst of an empty house, while all your worldly goods are locked in a truck and the driver disputes your right to unload them is not the time to learn your rights, or to protect your interests.

ABC's Dateline did a hidden camera investigation last week (January 17, 2003), and if you did not see it, you need to read it: Dateline Investigation: Where's My Stuff?. If you saw it on TV, bookmark the article anyway. One day you will need the information for yourself.

Here are some of the tips Dateline suggests to protect yourself and your property:

• Make plans well in advance. Leave enough time to have movers come to your home and give you a detailed in-home estimate. Contact several movers and compare prices and services.
• Make sure the mover you select is licensed and insured by checking the Department of Transportation Web site, and check the Better Business Bureau rating.
• Check references. Get a recommendation from someone who has actually used the mover...recently.
• Make sure you receive and read "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move." Reputable movers will provide this when giving in-home estimates, but you can and should read it carefully BEFORE you even call a mover (print and read it now!)
• Never sign blank or incomplete documents, especially addenda, and make sure you understand anything you sign.

Most of the consumer complaints (and there are a host of web sites relating horror stories, such as Moving Advocate Team and MovingScam.com) focus on internet moving companies, but the need to be informed applies equally to any company which will have control of your property.

Other resources to help you with your research:

• The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the federal agency which has inherited some of the duties of the former ICC, but FMCSA is not a regulatory agency, and is concerned with issues of highway safety, not the care and feeding of consumers!

• Safety and Fitness Electronic Records System (SAFERSys) can provide license and insurance information about carriers, but it up to you to research any history of complaints or infractions.

• The American Moving and Storage Association (AMSR) is a trade association. They certainly have an interest in protecting the image of the moving industry, but their members are their first concern, not consumers, so use their resources for research, but don't expect any hands on help from the AMSA.

• Rep. Thomas Petri Chairman Subcommittee on Highways & Transit
  U.S. House of Representatives
  B-370A Rayburn House Office Building
  Washington, D.C. 20515
  Toll Free! 800/242-4883
  

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