March 20, 2007


                          CBCA 513-RELO


               In the Matter of JAIME JOS BESTARD


     Jaime Jos‚ Bestard, Fairborn, OH, Claimant.

     Major Tracey L. Birri, Transportation Officer, Transportation Section, Headquarters
88th Air Base Wing, Department of the Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH,
appearing for Department of Defense.

DeGRAFF, Board Judge.

     When an agency authorizes an employee to move his household goods using a carrier
whose charges will be paid by the agency and the employee chooses to move his household
goods himself, the employee must establish that the costs he claims for moving his goods do
not exceed the maximum reimbursement allowed by the agency's regulations.  
          
                            Background

     In mid-2006, the Department of the Air Force hired Jaime Jos‚ Bestard and assigned
him to a permanent duty station approximately 850 miles away from the place he lived when
he was hired.  In connection with Mr. Bestard's move to his permanent duty station, the Air
Force authorized him to ship his household goods (HHG) using a government bill of lading
(GBL), which meant the Air Force would hire and pay a carrier to pack and transport
Mr. Bestard's household goods.  Mr. Bestard's authorization allowed him to move his
household goods himself instead of using a GBL carrier and explained, "When employee
chooses to make own arrangement for shipment of HHGs [household goods], reimbursement
will be limited to actual receipted expenses incurred not to exceed the GBL cost." 

     Mr. Bestard rented a minivan and moved his household goods himself.  An Air Force
website (http://afmove.hq.af.mil/page_scales.asp) shows there are six scales located in the
city to which Mr. Bestard moved, and one of these is located on the base to which he was
assigned.  Mr. Bestard did not take the minivan to be weighed, however, so he does not have
weight certificates to show how much his household goods weighed.  

     Mr. Bestard submitted a voucher to the Air Force and asked to be reimbursed for the
cost of renting the minivan and the cost of gasoline.  Mr. Bestard has receipts to show he paid
$970.50 to rent the minivan for four days and $150.87 for gasoline. 

     The Air Force decided it could not reimburse Mr. Bestard for his claimed costs
because he had not established how much his household goods weighed.  Without knowing
how much his goods weighed, the Air Force could not determine how much it would have
paid to ship his goods using a GBL carrier.  Consequently, the Air Force could not determine
whether the costs Mr. Bestard incurred and claimed were in excess of what it would have
cost the agency to ship his goods using a GBL carrier.  Mr. Bestard asks us to review the Air
Force's decision.

                            Discussion

     When an employee's household goods are shipped using a GBL carrier, the Air Force
pays the carrier a rate per pound as established by the carrier's tariff, up to the maximum
allowed weight of 18,000 pounds.   When an employee moves his household goods himself,
his reimbursable expenses cannot exceed the amount the Air Force would have paid a GBL
carrier to move the same weight of household goods.  Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) C5154,
C5160-C2, -C3.  The regulations provide that the weight of a shipment is established by an
official weight certificate.  JTR C5170-B1.  In addition, the Air Force publishes a guide for
its civilian employees, and this guide requires employees who make their own arrangements
for shipping household goods to provide weight tickets in order to be reimbursed.  Guide for
Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Moves (Apr. 7, 2006) at 4.  

     As the Air Force explained when it denied Mr. Bestard's claim, the applicable
regulations limit Mr. Bestard's reimbursement to the amount the agency would have paid a
GBL carrier to move his household goods.  The amount the agency would have paid depends
upon the weight of Mr. Bestard's household goods, and the regulations provide that the
weight of a shipment of household goods is established by a weight certificate.  Even though
an Air Force web site identified several scales at Mr. Bestard's new location, he did not take
his minivan to be weighed.  Because Mr. Bestard does not have a weight certificate, the Air
Force cannot determine how much it would have paid a GBL carrier to move his goods and
cannot, therefore, determine whether the costs he incurred and claimed exceed the maximum
reimbursement allowed by the regulations.  

     Mr. Bestard understands the problem presented by the lack of a weight certificate, and
he asks whether the Air Force can accept an estimate of the weight of his goods in place of
the certificate.  If the Air Force did not require its employees to obtain weight certificates,
perhaps it would accept an estimate.  However, the Air Force has determined that accurate
weight certificates are necessary in order to determine the maximum amount it can reimburse
its employees when they decide to move their household goods themselves instead of using
a GBL carrier to move their goods. 

     Neither we nor the Air Force can ignore the requirements of the regulations.  Because
Mr. Bestard cannot provide the Air Force with the necessary proof of the weight of his
household goods, the Air Force correctly decided to deny the claim.




                                        _____________________________
                                        MARTHA H. DeGRAFF
                                        Board Judge