| Access Fee | A fee charged for a shipper to access their goods while in storage. Also known as a platform fee or handling fee. |
| Accessorial Services | Any service performed during the course of the move, other than actual transportation of the goods, e.g., packing, unpacking, appliance servicing. Charges for these services are in addition to transportation costs. |
| Agent | A local moving company authorized to represent and act on behalf of a national carrier. |
| Bill of Lading | A formal document required by law noting clearly all services and charges associated with the contracted for the move and/or storage. |
| Breaks | Any stoppage of the move that is in control of the mover, not the shipper, e.g., coffee break, lunch break, etc. |
| Bulky Goods | Goods of unusual size and low-weight density, often requiring special accessorial servicing, with attending extra charges, e.g., boats, snowmobiles, hot tubs. |
| C.O.D. | A cash-on-delivery payment, whereby payment in full is required at the time and location of actual delivery. |
| Commercial Goods | Generic term for any goods other than household goods. |
| Consignee | The person or entity to which the goods are to be delivered, usually the shipper or the shipper’s duly authorized representative. |
| Consignor | The person or entity that delivers the goods. Also referred to as the mover or licensee or local agent or carrier or hauler. |
| Coverage | Coverage refers to the type of protection selected by the shipper for their goods. |
| Cu. Ft. | Cubic Foot. |
| CWT | Hundred Pound Weight. |
| Delivery Charges | A charge for delivery of packing materials to the point of origin prior to the move date. |
| Estimate | 1. Binding: an approximation made by the mover of the total cost of the move and/or storage, based on a physical survey, to which the mover is bound. Also known as a flat rate or Not to Exceed Estimate. A formal document required by law noting clearly all services to be performed and their respective charged, which is not subject to change. 2. Non-Binding: an approximation made by the mover of the total cost of the move and/or storage, based on a physical survey. A formal document required by law noting clearly all services to be performed and their respective charges, which may be subject to change. |
| Extra Stop | Any stop for pickup or delivery of goods, requested by the shipper, in addition to stops at the point of origin and destination of the contracted for move. |
| Force Majeure | Anything beyond the control of the mover and the shipper which might or actually does impede the contracted for move and/or storage, e.g., a natural, meteorological, civil, or military disturbance. This includes roadwork or construction. |
| Flight of Stairs | When inside a building, the number of stairs leading from one complete floor to the next complete floor. When outside a building, a set of at least ten stairs. |
| Fuel Surcharge | A charge specific to the amount of fuel used by the moving vehicle, usually as calculated by the travel time between point of origin and point of destination. |
| Gross Weight | Weight of moving vehicle with all of the contracted for goods loaded, a full fuel tank, and all equipment necessary for the move, except the crew. |
| Handling In/Handling Out Fee | A fee charged for the movement of goods from a moving vehicle into storage, or the removal of the same out of storage to a moving vehicle. |
| Household Goods | Good normally considered part of a personal dwelling, as distinct from commercial goods. |
| Inventory | A formal schedule of all goods contracted for shipment, which should include notations on any pre-existing damage respective to each item. |
| LBS or lbs. | US pound weight. |
| Long Carry | An accessorial service provided when goods are at an extended distance from the actual unloading point of the moving vehicle to the actual destination, as caused by an obstruction beyond the control of the mover, e.g., narrow street, unfinished driveway. |
| N/C | No charge. |
| N/A | Not applicable. |
| Net Weight | Weight of a moving vehicle as determined by the subtraction of the tare weight from the gross weight, as determined by official weigh tickets, issued and signed by a weigh master. |
| Order for Service | A formal document required by law noting clearly the origin and destination of the move, who is to pay for the cost of the move, with an “Important Notice” receipt acknowledgment. Once signed by the mover and the shipper it becomes the contract for the move, based upon a physical survey and non-binding estimate. |
| Origin to Destination | Travel time as determine from the point of the move where the goods are loaded to the point of the move where the goods are unloaded. See Portal to Portal. |
| Overnight Hold | Goods stored on a moving vehicle overnight in lieu of storage in a formal storage facility. |
| PBO | Goods packed-by-owner for moving, and noted as such on all documentation. |
| Packing/Unpacking | An accessorial service involving the correct and complete packing and unpacking of the shipper’s goods by the mover, at the point of origin and point of destination, respectively, including proper disposal of any materials provided for that service after their use. See PBO. |
| Point of Origin | Location at which the goods are loaded. |
| Point of Destination | Location at which the goods are unloaded. |
| Portal-to-Portal | Travel time as determined from when the moving vehicle leaves its regular base to the point of origin, and when the move is completed, from the point of destination to when the moving vehicle returns to its regular base. This is in addition to travel time from point of origin to point of destination. |
| Regular Time | Monday through Friday, 8:00AM to 5:00PM. Also known as straight time and the standard hourly rate. |
| Special Commodities | Under the Act, goods which are classified as neither household goods nor office goods. See Commercial Goods. |
| Tare Weight | Weight of an unloaded moving vehicle, with a full fuel tank and all equipment necessary for the contracted move, without driver and crew on board, prior to formal weighing at a state certified scale. |
| Travel Time | The time required by a moving vehicle to proceed from the point of origin to the point of destination. See Portal to Portal. |
| Warehouse Receipt | A formal document required by law noting clearly via an itemized inventory all goods passing into the mover’s care and custody for storage. It must also note the exact physical location of the storage facility. |
| Weight & Mileage | A method of cost computation usually reserved for long distance moves, generally considered to be in excess of fifty miles. Determination is by mileage between origin and destination, multiplied by the weight of the goods, as verified by weight tickets and measured by a table of break points. Cubic measurement may also be applied in lieu of actual weight of the moving vehicle and the goods to be shipped. |
| Weigh Ticket | A machine printed ticket produced by a State certified scale, and signed by a duly authorized Weigh Master as verification. Such a ticket denotes the tare weight and the gross weight of a given vehicle. |