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What Should You Do If Your Belongings are Lost During Your Move?



Photo by: David Castillo Dominici (Freedigitalphotos.net)One of the most stressful parts of moving is worrying about whether or not all of your treasured belongings arrive at your new home safely. However, sometimes unfortunate circumstances happen, and some of your items may not make it to your final delivery. There are many reasons this can occur, including:

  • Misplaced goods. Your possessions may be mistakenly delivered to another customer, left behind at your old house, or lost while being transferred from one truck to another.
  • Stolen goods. Some less trustworthy movers actually hire day-labourers to work during peak moving season. This means these workers are not trained moving professionals, nor permanent employees of the company. They are likely not screened before they are hired. They have very little chance of getting caught stealing your items, and not much to lose if they are.
  • Unguarded shipments. Movers may leave your goods unsupervised in your driveway or in front of your home. This makes it easy for untrustworthy neighbours or passersby to help themselves to your things. Furniture or boxes sitting at the curb may be mistaken for trash. Leaving the moving truck open and unwatched can also lead to stolen goods.

What should you do?

  • Search for your items thoroughly. Before calling the moving company with claims of lost items, make sure you have completely and carefully checked every box. Even if you have a meticulous inventory, occasionally boxes get mislabelled or items packed in the wrong carton. Once you have opened each box and reviewed its contents, go back to your old home (if plausible) and make sure it wasn’t left behind. If you still cannot locate the item or box, then call your mover.
  • Tracking. The movers can sometimes track the whereabouts of your lost boxes or belongings and return them to you safely. If your misplaced boxes were accidentally delivered to another customer’s home, it may not be very difficult to locate them, unless the customer calls the company to report receiving items that are not theirs.
  • File a claim. If your belongings cannot be located, you can receive compensation. Ask your mover about their claims process--sometimes you can do it online right on their website. By law, you must file a formally written claim to be awarded compensation--within nine months of the date your shipment was delivered. The movers are then required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to acknowledge your claim within 30 days, and to either deny your claim or make an offer within 120 days.

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