What Do I Do If My Moving Boxes Get Lost?

Don't freak out, it will be okay!

One of the biggest fears people have when working with a moving company is wondering what happens if they lose your items. Although this is a rare occurrence for our Denton movers, sometimes your moving boxes do not make it to their destination. That is why it is important to know what to do if a moving company lost your items. Item losses occur more often during a long-distance move but are still possible in a move of any scale. At All My Sons Moving & Storage, we pride ourselves on offering the best relocation services in Denton, which includes making sure our customers have all the information they need such as what to do if a moving company lost your items.

What Happens If Movers Lose Your Items?

Make sure your items are really missing and not hiding

Before filing a claim with a moving company, we recommend that you double check to make sure the moving company lost your items and that they are not just misplaced or stacked. We understand that, coupled with the fast-paced stress and confusion involved with a move, anyone can be so overwhelmed that they simply do not realize that they have everything, that nothing is actually lost. When moving, make sure you work with a moving company that knows the basics, like not placing a smaller box into a larger one, combining the contents of two boxes into one, or splitting one box into multiple boxes. In some cases, feeling like the moving company lost your items comes from forgetting that you may have gotten rid of something prior to moving—we are all human, it happens. Do not work yourself up too much before you are totally certain that you are missing any moving boxes.

Once you are sure that the moving company lost your items, file a claim

Once you are sure that the moving company lost your items, the next thing you should do is file a claim for damaged and lost items. By law, you need to file a formally written claim to be awarded any compensation. Before hiring professional movers, you should have received some information regarding how to go about their claims process. Most moving companies have either an online claims form, a customer help line to call, or both. If you are unsure about how to file a claim, call our Denton residential movers and they should be able to walk you through the process.

Note: Your claim should be filed within nine months following the delivery of your belongings.

Follow up with the moving company

After you have filed a claim, the FMCSA requires that the moving company acknowledge your claim within 30 days. By 120 days, the moving company must respond to the claim that you have filed with either an offer or a denial of said claim. If you are offered financial compensation, replacements for your belongings, or a settlement, but you are reasonably unsatisfied by their offer, you may then proceed to file a complaint outside of the moving company.

File a complaint with a third party

One of the organizations with which you can file a complaint includes the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which is responsible for regulating long-distance moves across state lines. If your move to Denton is from another city in Texas, contact the Texas Attorney General’s office. You may also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, who will file your complaint with the company and act as third-party mediation to help you resolve the issue. The American Moving & Storage Association (AMSA) is another avenue you can take to file a complaint with the moving company who damaged or lost your items. AMSA will contact the moving company on your behalf and attempt to resolve all matters as well. Since AMSA has no legal authority, though, they cannot legally mandate that the company comply with your requests.

When you choose to work with our long-distance movers in Denton, you can trust that we will keep your items safe. If you have found that our moving company lost your items, call our customer care line at 1 (866) 941-1849 and we will work to get all matters resolved and be sure you are satisfied!