Customer Rights & Responsibilities

Article 1 Definitions.

Definitions. The following are terms and definitions for the purposes of this document: “Carrier” is defined as: 1. Seattle's Best Moving and Affiliates ; 2. agent for Simple Movers LLC; “Shipper” refers to any person who is the consignor or consignee of a household goods shipment and is identified as such in the bill of lading contract and owns the goods being transported; “Amount” refers to the total charges listed on the front of this estimate; “Transportation charges” refers to charges normally associated with transporting goods from point to point, including loading, travel, delivery, packing or crating, unpacking, hoisting; “Additional charges” refers to those charges not directly associated with the moving process, including permits, police details, and third party services; “Table of Measurements” (Inventory) refers to the list of items to be moved provided by Shipper to Carrier; “Van” refers to any vehicle used in the transportation of employees to a job site and/or Shipper’s goods to or from point of origin or destination listed on the front of this estimate; “Yard” refers to the point of origin and final destination from which the Carrier’s vehicle(s) and/or employees who have been assigned to a Shipper’s order for service have come from and will return to after completion of service.

Article 2 Charges

The Amount includes only the articles listed on the Table of Measurements (Inventory) and the services ordered by Shipper. This estimate is not a guarantee that the actual charges will not exceed the amount of the estimate. Common carriers are required by law to collect transportation and other incidental charges computed on the basis of rates shown in their lawfully published tariffs on file with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, regardless of prior rate quotations or estimates made by Carrier or their representatives. Charges for loading, transporting, and unloading are based upon the actual hours and materials used. These hours will be calculated from the time the Van departs and returns to Carrier’s yard, or other designated point, and are pro-rated up to the nearest quarter hour. Charges for Additional Services will be added to the transportation charges.

Article 3 Payment

Payment. All C.O.D. charges are to be paid in full upon completion of unloading. Carrier’s crew chief can accept the following methods of payment: certified checks, money order, personal check, cash, and/or credit cards (VISA/MC/AMEX/DISCOVER). No claim can be addressed until payment is received in full.

Article 4 Parking

Shipper is responsible to secure legal parking for each truck. Legal parking is defined as a space of 50 feet in length, or 5 car lengths.

• (a) Shipper will be responsible for any parking violations incurred by Carrier while performing moving services for Shipper.
• (b) When Shipper has not arranged for legal parking, Shipper is responsible for the hourly charges incurred by delay or shutdown of the relocation.
• (c) Carrier will procure, as an additional service upon request, the necessary permits to guarantee legal parking. Carrier requires four business days to perform the required filings and leafleting according to the rules and regulations of each town or city’s Traffic Department. Any permits procured by the Carrier are done so with the intention of obtaining the legal consent from the city to complete the move and do not guarantee that ample parking will be available. The Shipper will be responsible for any parking violations and/orhourly charges incurred by the Carrier due to unauthorized vehicles blocking the permitted area.
• (d) If these permits have been purchased by Carrier and Shipper cancels their arrangements with Carrier, Shipper is still responsible for permit costs.

Article 5 Packaging

Carrier requires that Shipper have all items properly packaged prior to transport. Carrier can package the shipment prior to transport as an additional service upon request. See Sections 7, 8, and 12.

Article 6 Fragile Items

Items of an extremely fragile nature may be required to be crated or boxed by Carrier to ensure safe transport, even if they have already been packed by the Shipper.

Article 7 Storage

For shipments consigned to Carrier’s warehouse, an itemized, descriptive inventory will be prepared. Carrier will also provide a system to retrieve any particular item from the vault(s). Carrier requires a minimum of two business days notice from Shipper to provide access to storage. Charges for storage access will be assessed at $15.00 per vault. In addition, a $35.00 per hour labor fee will be charged for Carrier’s assistance in unloading or re-loading the vault. This labor charge will be rounded up to the nearest quarter hour. If Shipper cancels appointment without 24 hour prior notice, a cancellation fee will be charged to Shipper’s storage account. Carrier requires that all storage charges be paid in full by credit card, certified check, cash, or money order prior to release from warehouse. If Shipper requests their shipment be released from Carrier’s warehouse to a third party, Shipper will be required to produce a letter of release stating so. Monthly rental charges on all storage are automatically charged to Shipper’s credit card. The minimum storage charge is one month.

Article 8 Declared Value

Shipper must select one of the following valuation options prior to the start of the move and sign on the Bill of Lading acknowledging the selection. In the event Shipper does not select an option, the Carrier’s legal responsibility will be limited to the MA state mandated $0.60 per pound per article.

CUSTOMER’S DECLARATION OF VALUE

THIS IS A TARIFF LEVEL OF CARRIER LIABILITY - IT IS NOT INSURANCE

On the Bill of Lading you must select in your own handwriting, one of the following options for your shipment and complete a Declaration of Items of Extraordinary Value. The option you select establishes Seattle's Best Moving’s maximum liability for your goods, subject to the rules contained in Seattle's Best Moving’s tariff and the terms and conditions on the back of the Bill of Lading. For the items that are excluded from the claims, please see “Exclusions” in section 11 below. If any article is lost, destroyed or damaged while in Seattle's Best Moving’s custody, Seattle's Best Moving will cover the lesser of the following amounts, depending upon the option selected:

• Option 1 Full (Replacement) Value. 1) repair the article to the extent necessary to restore it to the same condition as when it was received by Seattle's Best Moving, or pay you the cost of such repairs; or 2) replace the article with an article of like kind and quality, or pay you the cost of such a replacement. An additional charge applies to this option.
• Option 2 Actual Cash Value. 1) the cost to repair the article to the extent necessary to restore it to the same condition as when it was received by Seattle's Best Moving, or pay you the cost of such repairs; or 2) the actual cash value of the property immediately before the move. An additional charge applies to this option.
• Option 3 Released Value. 1) Seattle's Best Moving has a maximum liability under State Law for the loss or damage to your property of $0.60 per pound, per article up to a maximum of $2,000.00. There is no additional cost for this option. You may increase the liability for the loss or damage by paying additional valuation charges.

Declared Value is NON-REFUNDABLE once purchased.

The minimum Declared Value must equal $6.00 times the estimated weight of your shipment.

Article 9

All claims must be submitted to Carrier in writing within 15 days of completion of move with supporting documents of repair or proof of value. In the event that no appraisals are available, the burden of proof will be upon the owner of the goods to provide proof of value.

Article 10 Exclusions.

(a) The Carrier or party in possession of any of the property herein described (“Property”) shall be liable as at common law for any loss thereof or damage thereto, except as herein provided.

(b) No Carrier or party in possession of all or any of the Property (Carrier) shall be liable for any loss, damage or delay caused by act of God, flood, earthquake, public enemy, war (declared or undeclared), acts of public authority, quarantine, riots, labor trouble, strikes, loss of market or use, perils of navigation, weather, act or default of Shipper or owner, wear and tear, gradual deterioration, latent defect, or any condition of or within covered property which causes it to destroy itself, nature of Property or defect or inherent vice, moths, vermin or other insects, rust, water, leakage, heat, changes in temperature, fumigation, deterioration, dampness of atmosphere, occurrences in customs warehouse, or for any loss or damage to paintings, statuary, ornamental items, works of art, articles of unusual nature or value, photographs or pictures, antiques, dishes, glassware, musical instruments, vases, mirrors, marble or enamel pieces, lamps, lamp shades or other fragile articles, unless such loss or damage was caused by negligence of the Carrier, except where arrangements have been made for the packing and unpacking of such articles by the Carrier or its agent. No carrier shall be held liable for the internal malfunction of any computerized, electrical or mechanical item or piece of equipment, whether or not such articles are packed unpacked, or packed and unpacked by the Shipper or his agent or Carrier or its agents. No Carrier shall be liable for damage to or loss of contents of pieces of furniture, crates, bundles, cartons, boxes, barrels or other containers unless such contents are open for Carrier’s inspection and then only for such articles as are specifically listed by the Shipper and receipted for by the Carrier or its agent.

(c) No Carrier shall be liable for delay caused by obstructions, faulty or impassable highways, lack of capacity of any highway, bridge, ferry, or caused by breakdown, or mechanical defect of vehicles or equipment.

(d) Carrier’s liability shall be that of a warehouseman, only, for loss, damage or delay caused by fire occurring after the arrival of the Property at destination or at the port of export and tender of delivery of the Property to the party entitled to receive it has been made. Except in case of negligence of the Carrier, Carrier shall not be liable for loss, damage, or delay occurring while the Property is stopped and held on the request of the Shipper, owner, or party entitled to make such request, whether such request was made before or after Carrier came into possession of the Property.

(e) No Carrier shall be liable for any of the following:

• 1. Items of extraordinary value not listed on the High Value Inventory form.
• 2. Lamps, lampshades, artwork, pictures, mirrors, artificial plants and statues which are not boxed by Seattle's Best Moving.
• 3. Any marble or glass which is not crated or boxed by Seattle's Best Moving.
• 4. Items found broken in boxes that have not been packed and unpacked by Seattle's Best Moving.
• 5. Missing hardware for disassembled items, unless Seattle's Best Moving disassembles them.
• 6. Gold leaf plaster frames and chandeliers that are not crated by Seattle's Best Moving.
• 7. Furniture Pressboard or particle board furniture; Previously damaged and repaired items; Previously damaged or loose veneer; Furniture where original glue has dried out.
• 8. Documents (no valuable papers of any kind), Deeds, Drafts, Notes, Bank Bills, Currency, Stamps.
• 9. Jewelry; other than costume jewelry.
• 10. Any small, loose items such as keys, remote controls, etc. which are not in a box.
• 11. Live Plants.
• 12. If one item in a set is damaged, only that one item is covered by insurance, not the entire set.
• 13. Mechanical or electrical derangement of musical instruments, including but not limited to piano, harpsichord, organ, television, radio, refrigerator, freezer, washing machine, dryer, sound recording or playing equipment, including parts or components thereof, electronic or mechanical game(s), computers, or like similar articles unless evidenced by external damage.

Article 11 Hazardous Materials and Firearms

Carrier is prohibited by law to transport any article of an explosive or flammable nature. Every party whether principle or agent shipping such goods shall be liable for and indemnify Carrier against all loss or damage caused by such goods and Carrier will not be liable for the safe delivery of the shipment.