Interstate movers are required by Federal statutory requirements to follow the arbitration program. In 2005, they have expanded to include the following two requirements:
Disputed loss and damage claims are a mandatory requirement if the amount of the dispute is $10,000 or less.
Disputes regarding charges that are billed to the customer after the delivery, that are in addition to the quoted and agreed to amount. This is also a mandatory arbitration requirement if the amount of the dispute is $10,000 or less.
In previous years, from 1996 when arbitration programs were first put in to affect, until 2005, only loss and damage claims were subject to the arbitration regulations. Many disputes can be resolved prior to getting to the level of arbitration. If you have a legitimate dispute, discuss this directly with your moving company’s customer service department and/or the management of the company. However, if this process does not seem to be affective in resolving your dispute, the FMCSA requires that all interstate moving companies have a neutral arbitration program in place to help resolve issues. This is a more informal and less expensive than formal court litigation.
Arbitration Threshold –
The arbitration programs regulations state that the disputes of $10,000 or less on an interstate move and/or shipments must be submitted to binding arbitration, if no settlement can be reached between the shipper and consumer.
Arbitration is not mandatory for claims above $10,000. However, it can be used to settle a dispute of more than $10,000; you are under no obligation to choose this method.
If a dispute arises, that cannot be resolved by the movers claims department, a customer can request arbitration by writing to AMSA (American Moving and Storage Association) within 90 calendar days after the movers last settlement, or denial of the claim.
http://woodlandhills-movers.com/arbitration-program.html
