Glossary of Moving Terms

Accessorial Services: Services other than transportation which are performed at your request for an additional charge. (Examples: packing and unpacking, storage-in-transit, appliance servicing.)

Agent: The local moving company representing a national van line. May serve as booking, origin, destination and/or hauling agent.

Appliance Servicing: Any service required to prepare major appliances for safe transportation. (Examples: disconnecting and capping the gas line to a clothes dryer, securing the tub of clothes washer, removing the shelves from a refrigerator.) Your moving counselor can provide you with information for having these services performed.

Bill of Lading: Receipt for your belongings and contract for their transportation.

Booking Agent: Agent or person who sells and registers your move. A booking agent does not necessarily have to be located at or near the origin or destination.

Change Order: A form used to amend the amount indicated on the original estimate due to the addition or deletion of items to be shipped or services requested by the customer.

Destination Agent: Agent located at or near your destination who provides necessary services and information at the end of your move.

Estimate: A general calculation of the transportation charges, as well as costs for additional services requested by the customer. Includes an estimation of shipment weight.

Hauling Agent: Agent who owns the van assigned by the van line to transport your possessions.

Inventory: Form on which the van foreman lists each shipping unit (piece of furniture, carton, or other individual item not otherwise packaged) in your shipment and describes their pre-move condition.

Moving Counselor: The agent sales representative responsible for providing the customer with an estimate of the cost of his/her move, as well as for answering any and all questions the customer might have with regard to the moving process.

Order for Service: Document authorizing the van line to perform moving services.

Origin Agent: Agent at origin responsible for performing packing and preparing necessary documentation.

Registration Number: The number assigned by the van line to identify your shipment. Found in the upper right-hand corner of the Order for Service and the bill of lading.

Storage-In-Transit (SIT): Temporary storage (not exceeding 90 days) of a customer's household goods.

Van Line: The national moving company through which affiliated agents are granted the necessary authority to transport interstate shipments. The van line handles dispatching, shipment routing and monitoring, paperwork processing, and claims settlement for all interstate shipments handled by its agents.

Van Foreman: The van driver having overall responsibility for the loading, transport, and unloading of the customer's belongings.