Terms to Know
Sometimes moving companies may use terminology that might sound like cryptic code to ordinary people. For better understanding, we have listed below a few terms used in the moving industry.
- Shipper: The person shipping its belongings. For a moving company, this is you (the customer).
- Hauler: The person or company that transports belongings for a shipper (in this case, a moving company).
- Household Goods: Belongings from inside someone’s home.
- Moving Company: A company that owns trucks and has employees that will use those trucks to haul customer belongings.
- Move Broker: A company or person who neither performs moves nor owns any trucks but acts as a middleman between shippers (customers) and haulers (moving companies). They make money by charging a customer extra on top of the moving company charges.
- Tariff: A list of rates used to calculate a price for a shipment (in this case, a move).
- Inventory: A list of all belongings being shipped (in this case, your belongings).
- Estimate: Sometimes called the “Order for Service”. A detailed explanation of pricing for shipping your belongings. It also includes details about the work that will be performed.
- Claim: A process that shows the damage that occurred during a move and gets rectified, if possible.
- Valuation: The liability coverage of your shipment that explains what will happen if you need to file a claim and what will/will not be covered.
- Bill of Lading: A document showing what’s getting shipped, who owns it, and where it’s going. It helps authorities understand the relationship between the person hauling something and the recipient of the haulage.
- Freight Bill: A document showing the shipping charge to haul belongings.
- Weight Ticket: A document showing the weight of your shipment. Because moving companies are hauling more than one box, it’s silly to weigh every box and prepare many weight estimates. Instead, this document will show the empty weight of a truck and the heavy weight (once loaded with your belongings). The difference between the both is the weight of your shipment, and this document is legal proof of that weight if required.
