FOR RELEASE Contact: Dennis Watson
Wednesday, February 5, 1997 (202) 927-5350
No. 97-9 TDD (202) 927-5721
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
ADOPTS REGULATIONS FOR
HOUSEHOLD GOODS CARRIER TARIFFS
Surface Transportation Board (Board) Chairman Linda J. Morgan announced today that the Board has adopted regulations for the household goods carrier tariffs required by the ICC Termination Act of 1995 (ICCTA). The ICCTA eliminated the requirement that moving companies file their tariffs with the Federal government; however, in recognition of the fact that many individual householders change their residences only infrequently, the ICCTA requires movers to publish tariffs containing their rates and service terms, and to make those tariffs available to shippers for inspection.
The regulations adopted by the Board require that household goods carrier tariffs include an accurate description of the services offered to the public, and that they clearly provide the applicable rates, charges and service terms for household goods moves. The regulations do not prescribe specific formats for the tariffs; rather, carriers are given the flexibility to devise --MORE--
publications that will best fulfill their needs and the needs of their customers. Carriers must maintain a complete set of their tariffs at their general offices and must make them available for public inspection at other offices upon request.
To ensure that household goods shippers are made aware of their liabilities and other responsibilities during a move, the regulations require that shippers be explicitly informed whenever the provisions of a tariff are incorporated into the bill of lading (a document establishing the terms of a contract between a carrier and a shipper) or other documents embodying the contract for transportation, and that such provisions are available for inspection. The regulations contain even more detailed public notice and explanation requirements when the incorporated tariff includes terms related to claims and liability (e.g., how much the carrier will pay for loss or damage).
The Board's decision in the proceeding entitled Household Goods Tariffs, STB Ex Parte No. 555, issued to the public on February 3, 1997, will be effective March 6, 1997.
###