The bill of lading and the inventory: your contract and your evidence

These are the two documents that matter, and they are usually handed over in a hurry while a crew waits. It is worth slowing down for four minutes.

The bill of lading

This is the contract. The carrier is required to prepare one and give it to you, and you should have it before the truck leaves with your belongings. Never sign a blank or partially completed one.

• The carrier's name and USDOT number. Check it matches the company you hired — if the name is different, ask why before loading starts.
• Which type of estimate applies, and the amount.
• The liability level: released value, or full value protection. This is the line almost nobody reads and it decides what a claim is worth.
• Pickup and delivery dates, or the agreed delivery window.
• Payment terms and accepted methods.

The inventory

The crew tags each item with a number and records its condition using abbreviations — scratched, dented, marred, soiled, chipped. This is the baseline against which any later damage is measured, which makes it the most important piece of evidence in a claim.

At delivery

You will be asked to sign again, confirming receipt. This is your last uncomplicated opportunity to note damage. Check the inventory numbers off as items come in — missing items are found by number, not by memory — and write specific exceptions on the delivery receipt before signing.

If something is clearly damaged, write it down with the item number and a description. "Item 114 dresser, cracked top-right corner" is evidence. "Some items damaged" is not, and it will not help you in four months.

Keep everything together

The bill of lading, the inventory, the estimate and every receipt end up referenced in a claim. Photograph all of them on your phone the day they are issued, because paper copies get packed into the very boxes you are trying to make a claim about.