Remarks by Anne S. Ferro
FMCSA Administrator
"New Household Goods Consumer Checklist"
National Press Club
Washington, DC
May 23, 2012

Introduction

• Good morning, everyone. Thank you, Linda, for inviting me to speak about our shared commitment to protect consumers during a household move.
  • We want consumers to have all the resources they need at their disposal to plan for a safe and hassle-free move.
  • The American Moving and Storage Association has been a great partner in this mission.
• At U.S. Department of Transportation, safety is our number one priority. And for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that includes consumer protection.

• FMCSA regulates more than 500,000 trucking companies and 5,600 registered interstate companies in the moving industry.
• That is why I am speaking here today - to keep building on our promise to keep motor carriers as safe as possible and to hold rogue and unsafe moving companies accountable.
• Unfortunately, nation-wide household goods consumer complaints have risen in recent years. FMCSA received over 2,800 consumer complaints in 2011 - 411 more than in 2010.

• We are seeing a correlation between unsafe movers and those with high levels of complaints.

• We are strategically using our resources to try to catch the companies that are operating unsafely, intentionally doing harm to innocent people and damaging the industry at large.

Consumer Checklist

• Information is power.
  • An informed consumer is a protected consumer.

• That's why we have prepared tools consumers can use to help choose a responsible interstate moving company.
  • All of this information can be found on the "Protect Your Move.gov" web site.
• The "Protect Your Move.gov" is the place to go.

• Make sure a mover is registered with the federal government to offer interstate moving services.
• Check the company's complaint history.
• Avoid movers that don't show US DOT numbers in their ads.
• Understand your rights and responsibilities...Be empowered.

• And follow our helpful checklist on the important steps consumers should take before hiring a moving company, including how to research the company's consumer complaint history and on-road safety performance records.
  • The web site contains information consumers need before the move and even after. The site provides consumers a list of their rights and responsibilities.
  • An informed consumer is an empowered consumer.
  • If the public has a complaint, we ask them to call our Consumer Safety Hotline - 1-888-DOT-SAFT and report it immediately.

• We ask you to - do your part - PROTECT YOUR MOVE.

  Thank you very much.

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