DPS "PERSONAL PROPERTY" ACCOUNT
DPS ACCOUNT SET-UP/WALK THROUGH
LETTER OF INSTRUCTION FOR PERSONALLY PROCURED MOVE
ITS YOUR MOVE PAMPHLET
PLEASE ALLOW UP TO 6 HOURS FOR A NEW DEFENSE PERSONAL PROPERTY SYSTEM (DPS) ACCOUNT TO BE ACTIVATED DUE TO A HIGH VOLUME OF NEW ACCOUNT REQUESTS.
HOW TO ARRANGE FOR SHIPMENT OF HOUSEHOLD GOODS
The Distribution Management Office (DMO) is open from 0730 – 1600 Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Retirement and Separation classes are given every Tuesday and Thursday at 0800 and last about one hour. We are located on MCBH at BLDG 209 the corner of 2nd and C Street. To arrange for an appointment for members’ PCSing, call (808) 257-3566 to make an appointment.
While filling out the initial paperwork, we ask that you estimate 1000 lbs per room (not including kitchen or bathrooms), be sure to include garage and any storage areas. The regulations and the local moving companies require any shipment under 5,000 lbs can be packed and picked up in one day, shipments 5,000 to 10,000 lbs will take one day to pack and one day to pickup, anything 10,000 or more will require two days to pack and one day to pickup. Your orders determine your household goods shipping entitlement. You should check the weight limit guide contained in the Introduction Section of the It’s Your Move booklet to determine your maximum entitlement.
Shipments in excess of your maximum entitlement are at your expense. Quite often, excess costs can be extremely expensive. Excess costs can be caused by excessive weight or distance. If you are on separation orders and your home of record or place of entry into active duty is (for example) Dallas, TX and you want to ship to Boston, MA…you could have excess costs. For members on separation orders, all excess charges will have to be paid in full, by certified check or money order made payable to U. S. Treasury prior to the property leaving this area. If you are on PCS or retirement orders you can request a “Paying Officer review” which means you receive a letter from TVCB Albany, GA (for Marines) or DFAS for other services, stating you owe the Government excess costs.
Many times excess charges are due to attempted pack/pickup or delivery of your property. If, during a pack out, you or your designated agent are not at the residence…the movers do not have to wait, they can leave and charge you an “attempt” fee. If you must change your move date/delivery date, it is a requirement of this office to change moving/delivery dates in person, you will be required to fill out a form. The military member, spouse or a designated person over the age of 18 must be present at all times during the move. Do not leave pack crews in your residence unsupervised, they are required to leave and your move will have to be rescheduled…and you may be charged an attempt fee.
Some excess charges are due to the military member/spouse not being ready to move or the house is dirty or has an insect infestation. If the packers arrive at the residence and the house is dirty or there is an insect infestation…the member will be charged for an attempt and the move will have to be rescheduled.
If there are any changes to your move, you must contact the DMO at least 24 hours in advance of your move. If you cannot contact this office by phone, it is your responsibility to come into the office and make changes. Most pack crews are dispatched the day before the actual move and leave the moving company yard by 0730. If the crew is enroute to the member’s residence, the member may be charged an attempt fee.
HOW TO COORDINATE DELIVERY OF INBOUND SHIPMENTS
Upon arrival at MCBH Kaneohe call the Joint Personal Property Shipping Office (JPPSO) at (808) 473-7750 for the shipment of your Household Goods.
WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFORE THE MOVERS ARRIVE?
Organize and Plan - Read the It’s Your Move booklet. You should go through your house and dispose/sell/give away unwanted items to ensure you do not exceed your maximum weight limit.
Prior to move day, the local Agent who is packing will contact you for a pre-move survey. Shipments within CONUS estimated 3200 lbs. or more should have a physical premove survey. If you are not contacted three working days prior to your pack date, call DMO (808) 257-3566.
A list of unauthorized items can be found on Page 9 of the It’s Your Move booklet. These items must not be shipped. Scuba tanks must be certified as purged. Effective 01Jul00 propane tanks and MREs may not be shipped under any circumstances.
Items must be clean and free of soil and insect/rodent infestation. If the movers feel your residence is not ready for packing, they can refuse to move you. This result in a delay of your move and you can be charged for an attempted pickup. It is your responsibility to ensure your personal property is ready to be moved.
We recommend you do not ship valuable jewelry or other small pilferable items. Most people put these items in a room and ask the movers to leave this area off limits, but it has been know to get packed anyway. The safest place to ensure these items and important documents (passports, tickets, cash, military documents) are not packed is to place these items in the truck of your vehicle during the packing dates. Remember….reimbursement for expensive and easily pilferable items may be disallowed totally or in part if you decide to ship them without added insurance or if you cannot substantiate ownership, proof of value or prove that they were shipped.
Collections or items that cannot be replaced….they may not be worth a lot of money, but some things are priceless to you. How would you replace your grandmother’s hand held mirror, the knick-knacks from 15 duty stations or the plaque from personnel in your former command? The intent is not to scare you; most moves go extremely well…we suggest protecting yourself you should consider these suggestions before you move….
Prepare a list of small pilferable items. Complete a detailed list of items, do not just annotate a 35mm camera…list it as it is….a Canon AE1 program with 55mm lens. Do this for all you small items or high value items. Many people videotape their belongings to show proof of ownership or take pictures of your property prior to the move…. This will also show the condition of the property prior to packing. You should have a list of all your music CDs, videos, etc.
Photo Albums with great sentimental value, even though the purchase price of the pictures and albums can be repaid if they are lost, the sentimental value of such a loss cannot. Think how badly you would feel if you lost those baby pictures of your children or your wedding pictures. If you cannot carry the albums with you, then carry negatives or send them home with a relative or friend who visits before your move.
Once items are on the truck, it can cost you money to get them off. Putting items in a room or closet could mean that particular room or closet doesn’t get packed out….the trunk or your car or at a friend’s house has usually worked best.
You must disconnect your washer and dryer, the refrigerator must be defrosted, all appliances must be disconnected, and items in hard to reach places must be taken down. This is not the responsibility of the packers/movers; they are not required to move items from attics or crawl spaces. Packers can pack stereo equipment in original cartons if you have them and these cartons are serviceable. If you have any items requiring special disassembly, ensure you identify them during the DMO counseling and during pre-move survey.
All outdoor play equipment, TV antennas, storage sheds, dog runs and other such items must be disassembled by the military member….this is not a requirement of the movers.
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS PAPERS AND EQUIPMENT
If you are declaring professional gear, it must be annotated on the application for shipment (DD1299). Pro gear does not count against your weight entitlement provided it is declared on your application and identified on the inventory. Pro gear includes reference materials, books, special clothing (such as flight gear or specialized medical uniforms), it includes plaques and memorabilia. It does not include your basic uniform issue or your spouse’s professional books, papers and equipment. You should stage pro gear together so it can be packed and marked as such, it must be annotated as “pro” gear or books, papers and equipment.
Claiming professional items after the move is usually not approved and could result in your shipment exceeding the weight allowance.
WHAT SHOULD I DO ON MOVING DAY?
The movers can arrive anytime between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. You can call the local agent the day before the move to get an approximate show time, they are only obligated to advise you either morning or afternoon…but it is your responsibility to be at your residence or place of pack out between 8:00 a.m. and 5p.m.
It makes the day go smoother if you have your children and pets stay at a friend’s house during the packing and loading of your shipment.
When the movers arrive ask who the Crew Leader is. Take him/her around the house and show them what needs to be packed. While doing this, point out any items of concern. Show them which bathroom the pack crew may use and where to put their belongings if needed.
You may have a different crews show up on pack and pickup dates, so again show the Crew Leader the bathroom they may use and where they can put their belongings if needed.
Your job is to supervise the move… the movers will pack everything. You should not impede their progress. If you are organized it will make it easier to unpack at destination. If you and the movers disagree on something, call DMO Quality Control. The movers are required to comply with the provisions of the contract, sometimes that means you are asking for something not in the contract or a service that is not required of the movers.
The inventory is your most important document. It is your proof of tender to the carrier…that you had an item that the movers packed and moved. Ensure the model and serial numbers of high value items and all electrical equipment is listed on the inventory. If it's not on the inventory, you didn't ship it. Pay close attention to the exception symbols used by the carrier to describe the condition of your household goods. If you disagree with the inventory, there is a space for exceptions on the bottom of each page. Annotate the inventory number with the name of the item and that you disagree with the condition of the item… DO NOT GET INTO AN ARGUMENT WITH THE MOVERS, IT DOESN’T SOLVE ANYTHING….call DMO Quality Control. Do not pack your moving documents (DD1299, inventory, GBL) you will need these when you arrive at destination, you must call the destination DMO when you arrive and let them know you are in the area, give them your contact information so you can be notified when your shipment arrives. Take these and your other important documents (school records, medical records, bank records, etc) with you along with your original orders.
Prior to the driver leaving, ask when he plans on getting to destination and if the Carrier has an 800 number for “in-transit visibility”. His response will only be an estimate as something could come up and re-route him. You should communicate with the Carrier’s Operations Center (at the 800#) if you are attempting a direct delivery. The RDD is the date the carrier should have your shipment at destination without incurring a penalty, it can get to destination sooner and unfortunately….it could arrive late. Quite often the driver arrives before the RDD and the shipment is placed into storage.
You will be required to sign several forms on behalf of the government. These forms are used to verify packing material used, and any “special requirements” needed for the movement of your shipment. Please do not sign these forms until you have read and agree with these material counts and services.
Temporary Storage (SIT) is authorized at destination for 90 days in connection with your move unless you are shipping from a Government storage location (NTS) or performing a local move. The destination DMO may approve additional storage on a case-by- case basis. You must request additional storage prior to the expiration of your storage entitlement. If your shipment is coming out of permanent storage (NTS) the temporary storage entitlement is not authorized except for extremely unique circumstances.