The Household Goods Bill of Lading
Any industry that transports goods from one location to another via some type of transportation method is going to have something akin to the common Bill of Lading. Auto transport has a Bill of Lading. Apple shippers have Bills of Lading. Pick an industry, and likely you’ll find they have something that works just like it, and this includes household moving as well.
Transporting household goods is a bit different from transporting a vehicle, but that’s alright; like any Bill of Lading, the household moving one acts as a contract between you and the shipping company as well as your receipt for the shipment of your goods. Therefore, understanding the terms in the Bill of Lading – which differ from shipper to shipper, but on the whole are relatively the same – is crucial.
We highly recommend reading your entire Bill of Lading before signing it, and make sure to ask your shipper questions if you have them. Shipping household goods is much more expensive than shipping a regular automobile, namely because there’s usually a lot more weight and a lot more bulk than what normally comes with a car, which makes your understanding the BOL that much more important.
Your Bill of Lading will likely include where you are shipping your goods to and from, and should also list any additional stops that your shipper will make along the way. This gives you a better idea of where your stuff will be at any given time, and will also allow you to better guesstimate how long your household mover will take from pickup to delivery.
Read your Bill of Lading, and ask your household mover if you have any questions. They’re legally obligated to answer, and they are also legally obligated to give you more information – in print – about their various policies, including a detailed handout of the point of the Bill of Lading.
We recommend visiting our household moving articles landing page to learn more about the household moving industry, and you can also gain access to our free household moving quote request form. Fill it out and get a free household moving quote right away. It’s that simple.
If you need to ship a car, you can also fill out our online quote request form right here. It only takes a minute and will get you a free quote to ship your vehicle immediately. We’ve been helping customers ship cars for over 20 years, so we know a thing or two. You can also contact one of our representatives at any time at 800-930-7417. They can answer your questions, give you a quote, book a shipment, and much more.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.