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Reclamos de mudanza en Míchigan: qué dice la ley

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Límite de reclamos menores

Michigan's small claims division handles money claims up to $7,000. MCL 600.8401 provides that jurisdiction 'shall be confined to cases for the recovery of money in which the amount claimed does not exceed the following: ...

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(e) Beginning January 1, 2024, $7,000.00.' Most damaged-furniture and lost-carton mover disputes fit comfortably inside this. Note the trade-off Michigan small claims requires: filing there means giving up a jury trial, the right to appeal, and representation by an attorney, so a larger or document-heavy claim may belong in the regular district court civil division instead.

Regulator

Michigan intrastate household goods movers are licensed by the Michigan State Police, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division (MSP/CVED), Regulatory and Credentialing Section — NOT by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

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The Motor Carrier Act still says 'commission,' meaning the Michigan Public Service Commission (MCL 475.1(e)), but Executive Reorganization Order No. 2015-3, compiled at MCL 460.21, transferred every Motor Carrier Act power and duty of the Public Service Commission and LARA to the Michigan State Police effective May 18, 2015. When you read 'the commission' in MCL 475.1 through 479.49, read it as the Michigan State Police. LARA now appears in this field only for ordinary business-entity filings, not for mover licensing.

E.R.O. No. 2015-3, Section IV.A, transferred authority under 'Motor Carrier Act, P.A. 254 (1933), as amended, being Michigan Compiled Laws, MCL 475.1 to 479.49' from the Public Service Commission, Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, to the Michigan State Police.

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Section IV.D also moved final agency decisionmaking to the Director of the State Police. The compiler's note printed under MCL 475.1 on the Legislature's own site confirms this. A letter that demands action from LARA or the MPSC will be sent to the wrong agency.

Mcpa status

Handle with care — this is genuinely contested and should not be printed as a settled consumer right. The Michigan Consumer Protection Act carves out the Motor Carrier Act but preserves the private suit.

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MCL 445.904(2): 'Except for the purposes of an action filed by a person under section 11, this act does not apply to or create a cause of action for an unfair, unconscionable, or deceptive method, act, or practice that is made unlawful by any of the following: ... (c) The motor carrier act, 1933 PA 254, MCL 475.1 to 479.43.' So a private action under MCL 445.911 is expressly saved from that particular carve-out, and MCL 445.911(2) would give 'actual damages or $250.00, whichever is greater, together with reasonable attorney fees.' BUT a licensed mover will invoke the separate general exemption in MCL 445.904(1)(a), which excludes 'A transaction or conduct specifically authorized under laws administered by a regulatory board or officer acting under statutory authority of this state or the United States' — and Michigan appellate courts have read that exemption broadly against licensed and regulated industries. Because intrastate movers are licensed by MSP under the Motor Carrier Act, that defense is squarely available. One point favors the consumer: MCL 445.904(4) provides that 'The burden of proving an exemption from this act is upon the person claiming the exemption.' Recommended drafting: lead the letter on MCL 479.7 and MCL 477.9, and mention the MCPA only as a secondary, contested theory — never promise the $250 minimum or attorney fees as if they were assured.

Scope limits

MCL 479.7 binds a motor carrier of household goods subject to this act, and the receipt-or-bill-of-lading duty it imposes covers property the carrier receives for transportation under that article (MCL 479.7(1)).

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The liability it creates runs to the person entitled to recover under the receipt or bill of lading, and reaches the actual loss or injury caused by the carrier over whose line or route the property is transported in this state (MCL 479.7(1)). Failure to issue the receipt or bill of lading does not affect that liability (MCL 479.7(1)).

A carrier may not provide, by rule, contract, or otherwise, a period of less than 3 months for filing a claim against it under this section, or a period of less than 2 years for bringing a civil action against it under this section (MCL 479.7(2)). Both are written as floors for claims and actions under that section, not for every dispute a customer might have with a mover (MCL 479.7(2)). The 2-year period is computed from the date the carrier gives the claimant written notice that it has disallowed any part of the claim specified in the notice (MCL 479.7(2)). An offer of compromise is not a disallowance of any part of the claim unless the carrier, in writing, informs the claimant that the part of the claim is disallowed and provides reasons for the disallowance (MCL 479.7(3)(a)). Communications received from a carrier's insurer are not a disallowance unless the insurer, in writing, informs the claimant that the part of the claim is disallowed, provides reason for the disallowance, and informs the claimant that the insurer is acting on behalf of the carrier (MCL 479.7(3)(b)).

MCL 479.7 states no mileage threshold and carves out no local or in-town move; the conditions it writes into its own text are that the carrier be subject to the act, that the property be received for transportation under that article, and that the loss be one caused by the carrier over whose line or route the property is transported in this state (MCL 479.7(1)). That is not the same as a rule that every short move is covered. The article containing MCL 479.7 is headed "ARTICLE V POLICY OF STATE, EXEMPTIONS, LIMITATIONS, GENERAL REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURE; PENALTIES; MISCELLANEOUS" (MCL 479.1 to 479.21), and the exemption and limitation sections that heading names are not set out here. Whether a short local move is exempt from this act is therefore not settled by the statutory text available here: a mileage line cannot be read into MCL 479.7, and it cannot be ruled out of the act's exemption sections either.

Rates charged by household goods carriers are within this act's subject matter. Its title describes giving the commission jurisdiction and authority "to fix, alter, regulate, and determine rates, fares, charges, classifications, and practices of motor carriers of household goods for such purposes," and "to authorize the commission to prescribe minimum rates, fares, and charges, and to require the observance thereof" (1933 PA 254, title). A title states what an act sets out to do rather than operating as the grant of authority itself, and the sections that confer and bound that rate authority are not set out here. Whether an hourly-priced, in-town move is priced free of rate regulation is not answered by this text.

What counts as household goods is defined elsewhere in the act. The definitions sit in "ARTICLE I GENERAL DEFINITIONS AND PURPOSE (475.1...475.5)," and the act's other household goods carrier provisions sit in "ARTICLE III MOTOR CARRIERS OF HOUSEHOLD GOODS (477.1...477.12)"; MCL 479.7 restates neither. Whether a particular shipment — a store or factory delivery arranged for a householder, for instance — falls inside the act's definition of household goods is not settled by the text available here.

Letter detail

Recommended spine for a Michigan INTRASTATE mover letter. (1) Confirm the move was intrastate - if it crossed a state line, stop and use the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. 14706, instead; the federal claim minimum is 9 months, not 3.

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(2) Confirm the mover holds active CVED authority at https://mspcapsearch.state.mi.us/ ; if it does not, say so, because operating without a certificate of authority violates MCL 477.1. (3) Cite MCL 479.7(1) for the duty to issue a receipt or bill of lading and for liability 'for the actual loss or injury to the property caused by the carrier over whose line or route the property is transported in this state,' and quote 'Failure to issue a receipt or bill of lading does not affect the liability of the carrier' if no paperwork was given. (4) Ask whether a written nonbinding estimate was furnished and whether the estimated charges were entered on the bill of lading; if either is missing, cite MCL 477.7b(1) and (2) - but say in the same sentence that the estimate is nonbinding, that for a move over 40 miles the final charge is the filed tariff's, and that damages under MCL 477.9(1) still require loss caused by the violation. (5) If the mover held the goods over a bill above the estimate on a COD shipment for which an estimate was furnished, cite MCL 477.7b(3) and its 110% delivery right - with its four limits: COD only, estimate must have been furnished, the shipper must have requested delivery, and it does not apply to goods warehoused at the shipper's own request. (6) If the mover is relying on a claim window shorter than 3 months, quote MCL 479.7(2) - and confirm the consumer has already filed in writing, because MSP publishes a 30-day figure and no case law resolves the conflict. (7) If the mover claims the time to sue has run, quote MCL 479.7(3)(a) and (b) and demand identification of the written disallowance that supposedly started the clock; most movers cannot produce one. (8) On damages, ask FIRST what the consumer signed. With no written limiting agreement, quote MCL 477.9(2) and demand replacement value, noting its cap at declared value and applicable tariff. With a signed released-value election, argue within it and against its validity, and do not demand replacement value. (9) State the remedy honestly as actual damages - the Motor Carrier Act has no multiplier and no fee shifting. (10) Close with the two complaint routes, emphasizing that MSP/CVED controls the mover's certificate of authority and may assess up to $500 per violation under MCL 479.18(1) (those assessments go to the state's truck safety fund under MCL 479.18(3), not to the consumer). (11) Note the small claims option up to $7,000 under MCL 600.8401, and its trade-offs. Never promise an outcome.

Liability cap

Where the replacement-value default applies, MCL 477.9(2) caps recovery at 'the declared value of the shipment and the applicable tariff.' Where a written limiting agreement applies, the cap is whatever value that agreement established. The Motor Carrier Act imposes no statutory dollar ceiling of its own.

Regulator url

https://www.michigan.gov/msp/divisions/cved/regulatory

Sections read

Read in full and verified: MCL 475.1 (all definitions); MCL 477.1, 477.2, 477.3 (repealed), 477.4, 477.4a, 477.5, 477.5a (repealed), 477.6, 477.7, 477.7a, 477.7b, 477.8, 477.9, 477.9a, 477.10, 477.11, 477.12 - the complete Article III on Motor Carriers of Household Goods; MCL 478.1 through 478.8 (Article IV, fees only, largely repealed); MCL 479.1 through 479.21 (Article V), with close reading of 479.2 exemptions, 479.6 rulemaking, 479.7 household goods claims, 479.9 insurance, 479.16 penalty, 479.18 assessments and 479.21 contract provisions; E.R.O.

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No. 2015-3 at MCL 460.21; MCL 445.903, 445.904 and 445.911 of the Consumer Protection Act; MCL 600.5807 and 600.8401; 49 U.S.C. 14501(c) and 49 U.S.C. 14706(e) at uscode.house.gov; and the complete current Michigan Administrative Code for Motor Carriers, R 460.18101 to R 460.19301, Parts 1 through 13. AUDIT NOTE: the original research pass omitted MCL 477.7b, which sits between 477.7a and 477.8 and carries the nonbinding-estimate duty and the 110% collect-on-delivery right. It has since been read in full and is reflected throughout this row; see correction_pass for the full record.

Claim deadline

File the written claim immediately, and in any event within 30 days - then argue the statutory floor if the mover says you were late. Two things are true at once, and a letter that prints only the first one is misleading the consumer.

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FIRST, the statute sets a FLOOR on how short the mover may make the window; it does not itself grant a deadline. MCL 479.7(2): 'A motor carrier of household goods may not provide, by rule, contract, or otherwise, a period of less than 3 months for filing a claim against it under this section and a period of less than 2 years for bringing a civil action against it under this section.' The mover's own bill of lading or tariff sets the actual claim window; MCL 479.7(2) forbids that window from being shorter than 3 months. Where the mover's paperwork is silent, or was never issued, there is no contractual claim deadline at all.

SECOND - and this must never be separated from the number - the Michigan State Police, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, the agency that now administers this act, publishes on its own household goods consumer page: 'All claims must be filed in writing within 30-days.' No Michigan appellate decision construing MCL 479.7(2) was located, so whether a violating 30-day clause is void, is reformed up to 3 months, or merely exposes the mover to penalty is not settled by any authority this row can cite.

The operational consequence is the whole point: the 3-month floor is a strong argument against a short contractual claim clause, not a safe harbor to sit on. A consumer who waits until day 75 in reliance on it is fighting both the mover's paperwork and the administering agency's published guidance. Never advise a Michigan consumer to delay filing, and never promise that a 30-day clause will be held unenforceable.

Frame it in a letter as: 'Under MCL 479.7(2) you may not provide a period of less than 3 months for filing a claim, so the shorter period you are relying on is unlawful to that extent' - while having actually filed the written claim as early as possible.

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The argument is never 'the statute gives me 90 days.' Because MCL 479.7 sits in Article V and contains no local-move carve-out, and MCL 477.9 contains none either, the 3-month floor reaches short local moves of 40 miles or less exactly as it reaches long ones, even though the RATES on a local move are unregulated. Disclose the conflict rather than hiding it: the Michigan State Police consumer page says 30 days, the statute says a mover may not provide less than 3 months, no case law resolving the two was located, and the safe course is to file now and argue the floor. On the civil-action side the 2-year floor runs only from the date the carrier gives WRITTEN notice disallowing part of the claim, and MCL 479.7(3) sharply limits what counts as such a notice - see disallowance_rule.

Penalty remedy

Penalties under the act run to the State, not to the consumer, and are small. MCL 479.16 makes a violation of the act or of an agency order a misdemeanor 'punishable by a fine of not exceeding $500.00, or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both.' MCL 477.8 covers rebates, concessions, and false bills of lading…

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and is a misdemeanor 'punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00, or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.' MCL 479.18(1) lets the agency assess 'an amount not to exceed $500.00 for each violation of this act, a rule promulgated or an order issued under this act, or a term or condition of a certificate of authority.' MCL 477.9(3) confirms the two tracks are separate: 'A recovery as provided in this section does not affect a recovery by this state of the penalty prescribed for the violation.' A letter can credibly note that a complaint to MSP/CVED exposes the mover to per-violation assessments and to revocation of the authority it needs to stay in business — that leverage is real even though the money does not go to the consumer.

Consumer remedy

Actual damages, and nothing more, under the Motor Carrier Act. MCL 477.9(1) makes the carrier 'liable to the person, firm, or corporation injured to the extent of the actual amount of damages sustained in consequence of the violation, except when liability of the carrier is limited to a value established by written agreement between the carrier and the shipper' — the written-agreement escape must travel with the sentence (see released_value_default).

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MCL 479.7(1) makes it liable 'for the actual loss or injury to the property caused by the carrier over whose line or route the property is transported in this state.' This is a compensatory statute.

Regulator detail

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Disallowance rule

This is the most useful provision in the Michigan statute for a demand letter, because it stops movers from running out the clock with vague brush-offs.

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MCL 479.7(3)(a): 'An offer of compromise is not a disallowance of any part of the claim unless the carrier, in writing, informs the claimant that the part of the claim is disallowed and provides reasons for the disallowance.' MCL 479.7(3)(b): 'Communications received from a carrier's insurer are not a disallowance of any part of the claim unless the insurer, in writing, informs the claimant that the part of the claim is disallowed, provides reason for the disallowance, and informs the claimant that the insurer is acting on behalf of the carrier.' Practical effect: a lowball settlement offer, a phone call, or a letter from the mover's insurer that does not meet these exact requirements does NOT start the two-year clock. A consumer who was fobbed off months ago is very likely still in time.

Enforcement agency

Two complaint routes, and both are worth naming in a letter. PRIMARY: Michigan State Police, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, Regulatory and Credentialing Section — phone 517-284-3250, option 4 then option 1; email [email protected].

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This is the office that issues, renews and revokes the mover's certificate of authority, and MSP states that it 'receives numerous complaints regarding hostage freight, cargo theft, and property damage.' SECONDARY: the Michigan Department of Attorney General, Consumer Protection Team, which accepts complaints online and mediates with the business; consumer line 877-765-8388. The MSP route carries the sharper threat because it touches the license the mover needs to operate.

Entity scope limit

MCL 475.1(s) defines a covered mover as 'a person that, either directly or through any device or arrangement, packs, loads, unloads, or transports household goods upon or over a public highway for the general public in exchange for payment.' Note that packing, loading and unloading alone are enough — a labor-only crew that never drives can still fall inside the act.

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MCL 479.2 lists exemptions, which are mostly irrelevant to residential moves (government vehicles, mail, farm products, dump trucks, logging, newspapers, recyclables), but one is worth checking: MCL 479.2(1)(n) exempts 'A vehicle transporting property for, or on behalf of, a nonprofit charitable institution or for a house of public worship.'

License verification

Anyone can check whether a Michigan mover actually holds active intrastate authority at the state's CVED Authority Carrier Search, https://mspcapsearch.state.mi.us/ .

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MSP warns on its household goods CONSUMER page (not on the regulatory landing page) that 'A United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) number, alone, is not proof of authority to move HHG,' and points to that same search tool: 'Carriers with active authority in Michigan is available online at the following website: https://mspcapsearch.state.mi.us/'. Verifying the mover's authority before sending a letter is worth doing: an unlicensed mover has both a weaker negotiating position and an additional statutory violation against it under MCL 477.1.

Civil action deadline

MCL 479.7(2) also forbids a mover from providing 'a period of less than 2 years for bringing a civil action against it under this section,' and specifies when that clock starts: 'The period for bringing a civil action is computed from the date the carrier gives a claimant written notice that the carrier has disallowed any part of the claim specified in the notice.' Read the limit correctly: this is a floor on what the CARRIER may contractually provide, not an independent 2-year statute of limitations imposed by the state.

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Where the mover's paperwork imposes no suit deadline at all, the general limitations period governs instead - 6 years for breach of contract under MCL 600.5807(9). And where a contractual 2-year period does apply, it does not begin at delivery, at the date of damage, or when the claim was filed; it begins only when the mover delivers a written disallowance meeting MCL 479.7(3).

Claim deadline detail

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Licensing requirement

A mover may not operate intrastate in Michigan without a certificate of authority from the state. MCL 477.1: 'A motor carrier of household goods shall not operate within this state without first having obtained from the commission a certificate of authority for the operation.' MSP/CVED confirms on its own page that…

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'The Motor Carrier Act, Public Act 254 of 1933, requires all intrastate for-hire carriers to obtain intrastate operating authority, or CVED Authority, prior to operating a vehicle on any public roadway in Michigan.' Household goods carriers must additionally file a Form H from their insurer, provide copies of any continuous contracts, and hold tariff membership if moving more than 40 miles and not operating under a continuous contract. Authority must be renewed every year between October 1 and December 1; failure to renew by January 1 revokes it. A mover operating without current authority is operating unlawfully, which is worth stating plainly in a letter.

No multiplier no fees

One section of Michigan's Motor Carrier Act, 1933 PA 254, is available here in full and speaks to damage to a household goods shipment: MCL 479.7.

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Under MCL 479.7(1), a motor carrier of household goods subject to the act must issue a receipt or bill of lading for property it receives for transportation under that article, and that carrier, along with any other household goods carrier that delivers the property subject to the act, is liable to the person entitled to recover under the receipt or bill of lading. The liability that subsection imposes is for the actual loss or injury to the property caused by the carrier over whose line or route the property is transported in this state, and it also applies to property reconsigned or diverted by a tariff under the act. A carrier's failure to issue a receipt or bill of lading does not affect that liability. To that measure MCL 479.7(1) attaches no multiplier, no statutory minimum and no fee award; the claim rules that follow at MCL 479.7(2) and (3), which set the shortest periods a carrier may allow for filing a claim and for bringing a civil action under that section and define what counts as a disallowance, create no double or treble damages, no minimum damages and no attorney fee award either.

That is what one section says, not what the whole act says. The article that carries this section is headed "ARTICLE V POLICY OF STATE, EXEMPTIONS, LIMITATIONS, GENERAL REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURE; PENALTIES; MISCELLANEOUS" (MCL 479.1 to 479.21), and the sections behind that heading are not set out here, nor is the text of the earlier articles. So whether some other section of the act qualifies the measure in MCL 479.7(1) — by allowing a carrier's liability to be limited to a value set by written agreement, for instance — is a question the text does not answer in either direction. What can be said is narrower, and it is what MCL 479.7(1) gives on its own terms to the person entitled to recover under the receipt or bill of lading: the actual loss or injury described above, within the limits described above.

The act does prescribe penalties for violations. Its title states that the act is "to provide for the enforcement of this act; and to prescribe penalties for its violations" (1933 PA 254, title), and the Article V heading names penalties as well. Who collects those penalties is a separate question, and the statute does not settle it on this text: the wording is enforcement wording, the penalty sections within MCL 479.1 to 479.21 are not set out here, and MCL 479.7 directs no penalty to a shipper. A penalty payable to the customer under this act can therefore be neither asserted nor ruled out.

Where the text available here speaks of fees, it means carrier fees rather than a customer's legal costs. The act's title covers giving the commission authority "to require registration, conduct audits, and assess fees for motor carriers for unified carrier registration" and providing for "the levy and collection of certain privilege fees and taxes for motor carriers and the disposition of those fees and taxes" (1933 PA 254, title), and one article is headed "ARTICLE IV FEES (478.1...478.8)." No fee-shifting provision appears in the household goods liability and claim section, and the word attorney appears nowhere in the act's title, in its article headings, or in MCL 479.7. Whether a fee-shifting provision, a damages multiplier or a minimum damages figure appears in an article whose text is not set out here is not something this text answers.

Whether a Michigan statute outside this act — the Michigan Consumer Protection Act is the one usually raised in a moving dispute — supplies minimum damages or attorney fees against a licensed, regulated mover is a separate question. The Motor Carrier Act's text does not reach it, and nothing on this page decides it.

Enforcement agency url

https://www.michigan.gov/msp/divisions/cved/regulatory

Released value default

Michigan's statutory FALLBACK is replacement value - but it is a fallback, not a guarantee, and the mover's paperwork usually takes it away, so the two conditions that defeat it belong in the same breath as the rule.

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MCL 477.9(2): 'Unless the liability of a motor carrier of household goods is limited as provided in subsection (1), the maximum liability of a motor carrier of household goods for household goods that are lost, damaged, destroyed, or otherwise not delivered to their final destination is equal to the replacement value of those goods, not to exceed a maximum of the declared value of the shipment and the applicable tariff.' Both limits are inside that one sentence: it applies only 'Unless the liability ... is limited as provided in subsection (1),' and even when it applies it is capped at the declared value of the shipment and the applicable tariff.

Subsection (1) is what normally defeats it. MCL 477.9(1) makes the carrier liable for 'the actual amount of damages sustained in consequence of the violation, except when liability of the carrier is limited to a value established by written agreement between the carrier and the shipper.' A signed bill of lading or valuation election containing a released-value limitation is that written agreement. Separately, MCL 479.7(1) makes the carrier liable 'for the actual loss or injury to the property caused by the carrier over whose line or route the property is transported in this state.'

MSP/CVED tells consumers what the paperwork normally does: 'Your options for valuation protection through the mover are as follows: Accept limiting the carrier's liability to 60 cents per pound at no extra cost. Accept a valuation of your items at $6 per pound and pay a premium for that coverage,' and warns that 'If you waive your right to valuation protection greater than 60 cents per pound and you do not pay a charge for extended coverage, you will not be able to collect replacement value for any damaged items.' Publish both and say which is which: the 60-cents-per-pound and $6-per-pound figures come from movers' FILED TARIFFS and the agency's consumer guidance, not from Michigan law - neither figure appears anywhere in the Motor Carrier Act or in the current Michigan Administrative Code. Note also that 60 cents per pound binds only if it became a written agreement between carrier and shipper under MCL 477.9(1); it is what movers offer at no charge, not a default the statute supplies.

So the first question in any Michigan mover letter is what the valuation election on the bill of lading actually says. With no written limitation, lead on MCL 477.9(2) replacement value, capped at the declared value and the applicable tariff. With a signed 60-cents-per-pound election, a replacement-value demand is not supportable, and the correct demand is the released-value figure plus any separate statutory violations - no bill of lading, no written estimate, estimated charges never entered on the bill of lading, an unlawful claim window, or a refused 110% delivery.

Statute of limitations

Where the mover's paperwork imposes no valid shorter period, an ordinary breach-of-contract claim in Michigan runs 6 years.

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MCL 600.5807(9): 'The period of limitations is 6 years for an action to recover damages or money due for breach of contract that is not described in subsections (2) to (8).' Layer that with MCL 479.7(2): the mover may contractually shorten the suit window, but never below 2 years, and that 2-year period runs only from the date of a written disallowance meeting the requirements of MCL 479.7(3). A consumer who filed a claim and got only silence or an informal lowball may well have far more time than the mover suggests.

Interstate out of scope

A move that crosses a state line falls outside these Michigan rules. Interstate household goods moves are governed by federal law — the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. 14706, which preempts state-law cargo claims against interstate carriers — and by the FMCSA consumer rules at 49 C.F.R. Part 375.

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Michigan's own act defers: MCL 477.10 provides that "This act shall apply to persons and motor vehicles engaged in interstate commerce, except only insofar as it may be inconsistent with, or shall contravene, the constitution or the laws of the United States." The 3-month claim floor in MCL 479.7 is therefore not the deadline that governs an interstate mover. On an interstate move the federal floors apply instead: a claim period of no less than 9 months and no less than 2 years to bring suit, with Carmack supplying the claim itself. The reason Michigan's intrastate rules survive at all is 49 U.S.C. 14501(c)(2)(B): the FAAAA preemption of state laws "related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier" in 14501(c)(1) "does not apply to the intrastate transportation of household goods." The Michigan rules described on this page govern moves that begin and end within the state; an interstate move is answered by the federal rules instead.

Written estimate status

Michigan DOES require a written estimate for an intrastate household goods move. MCL 477.7b(1), added by 2014 PA 493 and effective April 1, 2015, provides: 'A motor carrier of household goods that transports household goods in both statewide and local moves shall provide a nonbinding estimate of the approximate cost of the transportation.

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A nonbinding estimate described in this subsection shall be reasonably accurate and is not binding on the motor carrier of household goods. For a move of greater than 40 miles, the final charge for a shipment for which a nonbinding estimate has been prepared under this subsection shall be that appearing in the motor carrier of household goods tariffs applicable to the transportation. A motor carrier of household goods shall furnish a nonbinding estimate without charge and in writing to the shipper or other person responsible for payment of the freight charges. For a move of household goods, the motor carrier of household goods shall retain a copy of the nonbinding estimate as an addendum to the bill of lading. A motor carrier of household goods shall clearly indicate on the face of a nonbinding estimate prepared under this subsection that the estimate is nonbinding and that the charges shown are the approximate charges that will be assessed for the services identified in the estimate, and shall clearly describe the shipment and all services to be provided.' MCL 477.7b(2) adds: 'A motor carrier of household goods furnishing a nonbinding estimate under subsection (1) shall enter the estimated charges on the bill of lading.'

What the consumer can therefore demand: that the estimate existed, was in writing, cost nothing, was reasonably accurate, described the shipment and every service, said on its face that it was nonbinding, was kept as an addendum to the bill of lading, and had its dollar figure entered on the bill of lading itself.

THE LIMITS MUST BE STATED IN THE SAME BREATH, because they are large. (1) The estimate is expressly NONBINDING and 'is not binding on the motor carrier of household goods' - it does not cap the price, and a final bill higher than the estimate is not by itself a violation of this section. (2) For a move of more than 40 miles the statute says the final charge is the one appearing in the mover's filed tariff, not the one on the estimate. (3) For a local move of 40 miles or less, rates are not regulated at all - MCL 477.9a(3): 'The commission shall not regulate or determine reasonable and sufficient rates, fares, charges, or classifications, or require the filing of tariffs and schedules, for local moves'; MCL 477.5(4) and MCL 477.7(5) each read 'This section does not apply to a local move' - so an hourly local rate is freely negotiated and there is no regulated rate to measure the estimate against. (4) Note the duty-holder wording: the section is addressed to a carrier 'that transports household goods in both statewide and local moves,' so a mover that does only local work has a genuine textual argument that MCL 477.7b does not reach it. No Michigan authority resolving that wording was located, and MSP/CVED's consumer page presents the estimate duty under its 'Regulated rates' heading for moves over 40 miles ('The customer must be given a non-binding estimate, which may change depending on any special circumstances that occur during the move'), which is a narrower framing than the statutory text. (5) Michigan has NO binding-estimate statute and no estimate rule in the current Michigan Administrative Code - the duty is statutory only.

Remedy, stated honestly. A mover that furnished no written estimate, or that never entered the estimated charges on the bill of lading, omitted an act required by the act, and MCL 477.9(1) makes such a carrier 'liable to the person, firm, or corporation injured to the extent of the actual amount of damages sustained in consequence of the violation, except when liability of the carrier is limited to a value established by written agreement between the carrier and the shipper.' Two caveats that must travel with that: the consumer still has to show damages caused by the violation - the missing estimate is the violation, not the measure of loss - and MCL 477.9(1)'s own written-agreement exception applies to this claim too. A blown estimate on its own is not a promised recovery.

Agency guidance conflict

One genuine conflict between the statute and the regulator's published guidance, and one agency statement that is often mistaken for mere federal practice but is in fact Michigan law.

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THE GENUINE CONFLICT - publish both numbers and say which is which. MSP/CVED's household goods consumer page states: 'All claims must be filed in writing within 30-days.' MCL 479.7(2) forbids a mover from providing 'a period of less than 3 months for filing a claim.' The statute is the statute; the 30 days is the administering agency's published consumer guidance; no Michigan case law resolving the two was located. Never draft a Michigan letter that concedes a 30-day claim deadline, and equally never advise a consumer to rely on the 3-month floor by delaying - see claim_deadline.

THE 110 PERCENT RULE IS MICHIGAN LAW, NOT JUST FEDERAL PRACTICE. The same page states that if charges exceed a non-binding estimate 'you must pay 110 percent of the estimate at the time of delivery and then pay the balance within 30-days of the move,' and introduces it with the words 'Pursuant to the Motor Carrier Act.' The Michigan source is MCL 477.7b(3). Although the rule closely parallels the federal provision at 49 C.F.R. 375.407, it does not depend on it: an intrastate Michigan consumer can cite the Michigan statute directly. See hostage_freight_110_percent_right for the operative text and the four limits that must travel with it.

STILL NOT STATE LAW: the 60-cents-per-pound and $6-per-pound valuation figures on that same page. Searching the full Motor Carrier Act and the full current Michigan Administrative Code for motor carriers (R 460.18101 to R 460.19301) returns no such figure anywhere; they are filed-tariff and agency-guidance numbers. Report them as what movers offer, not as what Michigan requires.

Disclosure booklet status

Michigan has NO statutory requirement that an intrastate mover hand the consumer a rights-and-responsibilities booklet.

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MSP/CVED's page says a copy of 'Your Rights and Responsibilities' or 'Shipper's Information Guide' 'should be given to you at the time of the estimate or no later than the day of the move (before the truck is loaded)' — note the permissive 'should,' and note that the page links to the FEDERAL FMCSA publication at fmcsa.dot.gov, not to any Michigan document. Do not print this as a Michigan legal duty.

Written documents required

Michigan imposes several statutory paper duties running to the consumer, not one.

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(1) A receipt or bill of lading. MCL 479.7(1): 'A motor carrier of household goods subject to this act shall issue a receipt or bill of lading for property it receives for transportation under this article. That carrier, as well as any other motor carrier of household goods that delivers the property subject to this act, is liable to the person entitled to recover under the receipt or bill of lading. The liability imposed under this subsection is for the actual loss or injury to the property caused by the carrier over whose line or route the property is transported in this state and applies to property reconsigned or diverted by a tariff under this act. Failure to issue a receipt or bill of lading does not affect the liability of the carrier.' That last sentence defeats the most common mover excuse: a mover who gave you no paperwork cannot use that gap as a defense.

(2) A free written nonbinding estimate, furnished to the shipper or other person responsible for the freight charges, retained as an addendum to the bill of lading, labeled nonbinding on its face and describing the shipment and all services (MCL 477.7b(1)) - subject to the scope limits set out in written_estimate_status, including the 'both statewide and local moves' duty-holder wording that a local-only mover may argue puts it outside the section.

(3) The estimated charges entered on the bill of lading itself (MCL 477.7b(2)).

(4) For any move that is NOT a local move, rate schedules available on request. MCL 477.5(1): 'Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4), before engaging in business, a motor carrier of household goods subject to this act shall print and file with the commission and have available upon request schedules showing all rates, fares, and charges for transportation of household goods, and shall keep its facilities and the schedules described in this subsection open for public inspection.' The carve-out is in the same section: MCL 477.5(4), 'This section does not apply to a local move.' So a mover doing a job of 40 miles or less owes the consumer no rate schedule. And even for longer moves the paper may be hard to get: MCL 477.6(1) exempts the rate filings of a mover operating under a contract with a manufacturer, store or other organization from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act unless the agency has brought a complaint.

Michigan does NOT require a rights-and-responsibilities booklet - see disclosure_booklet_status, which is correct as written.

Administrative rules status

Important and easy to get wrong: the consumer-facing administrative rules are GONE. Michigan's Motor Carrier rules, now issued by the Department of State Police under MCL 479.6 and E.R.O. 2015-3, run R 460.18101 to R 460.19301.

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The 2018 AACS revision rescinded all of Part 7 (Shipping Documents and Payment of Freight Charges), including former R 460.18701 (bill of lading and cargo inspection) and R 460.18703 (freight bill contents), and rescinded all of Part 11 (Insurance). What survives is licensing, tariff-filing, accounting and rate-justification machinery aimed at carriers, not consumers. Searching the current official rule text for 'claim,' 'released,' 'valuation option,' 'cargo,' '60 cents,' 'per pound,' and '110' returns nothing operative. So there is no administrative-rule hook for a consumer letter; the hooks are MCL 479.7 and MCL 477.9 only.

Enforcement agency url secondary

https://www.michigan.gov/consumerprotection/complaints

Hostage freight 110 percent right

Michigan law gives the consumer a direct statutory answer to hostage freight - the mover refusing to unload until an inflated bill is paid.

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MCL 477.7b(3): 'At the time of delivery of a collect on delivery shipment for which a motor carrier of household goods has furnished a nonbinding estimate under subsection (1), the shipper may request delivery of the shipment upon payment in a form acceptable to the motor carrier of household goods of an amount not exceeding 110% of the estimated charges. Upon request of the shipper, the motor carrier of household goods shall relinquish possession of the shipment upon payment of not more than 110% of the estimated charges and shall defer a demand for payment of the balance of any remaining charges for a period of 30 days after the date of delivery. This subsection does not apply to a shipment that is delivered to a warehouse for storage at the request of a shipper. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a motor carrier of household goods may collect payment in excess of 110% of the estimated charges if payment is tendered by the shipper within 30 days after the date of delivery.'

FOUR LIMITS, AND THEY BELONG IN THE SAME SENTENCE AS THE NUMBER. (1) It reaches only a COLLECT ON DELIVERY shipment for which the mover actually furnished a nonbinding estimate under MCL 477.7b(1) - no estimate, no 110% right under this subsection. (2) The shipper has to ASK: the mover's duty to relinquish arises 'Upon request of the shipper.' (3) It does not apply where the goods were delivered to a warehouse for storage at the shipper's own request. (4) The 30 days is a DEFERRAL, not a discharge - the balance is still owed, and the closing sentence lets the mover collect more than 110% if the shipper tenders it within 30 days after delivery.

MSP/CVED states the same rule to consumers and attributes it to the statute: 'Know the payment requirements: Pursuant to the Motor Carrier Act, the mover is allowed to request payment before the truck is unloaded. If the charges are more than the non-binding estimate, you must pay 110 percent of the estimate at the time of delivery and then pay the balance within 30-days of the move.' The same page reports that 'Each year, the CVED receives numerous complaints regarding hostage freight, cargo theft, and property damage,' so a letter invoking MCL 477.7b(3) is invoking the regulator's own stated enforcement priority. This provision is not a damages multiplier and awards nothing; it is a right to possession of your goods on payment of a capped amount.

Released value defeasible warning

DRAFTING RULE, not a separate legal proposition - the substance is stated inside released_value_default so that it cannot be quoted away from the rule it limits.

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Never print the MCL 477.9(2) replacement-value rule without both defeat conditions attached: the written-limiting-agreement escape in MCL 477.9(1), and the cap 'not to exceed a maximum of the declared value of the shipment and the applicable tariff' that sits inside 477.9(2) itself. The intake question that decides the entire damages theory is: 'Did you sign anything choosing a valuation or liability level, for example 60 cents per pound?' Ask it before drafting. If the answer is yes, do not demand replacement value.

Lee esto antes de confiar en los datos de arriba

SOURCES. The statutory text behind this page is the Michigan Legislature's own compilation of the Michigan Compiled Laws, in two parts: the act page for the Motor Carrier Act, 1933 PA 254, which carries the act's title, its enactment history and the headings of its articles; and the section page for MCL 479.7, the household goods receipt, liability, claim and disallowance section, which is available in full. Both carry the currency line "Michigan Compiled Laws Complete Through PA 91 of 2026." MCL 479.7 was added by 2007 PA 33 and amended by 2014 PA 493, effective April 1, 2015. This version of the page was checked against those two sources on 2026-09-06.

WHAT THIS TEXT DOES NOT SETTLE. Only MCL 479.7 is available here in full; the act's other articles appear only as headings, so several questions a moving dispute turns on remain open, and nothing on this page decides them:

- Whether a short local move is exempt from the act. Article V, which contains MCL 479.7, is headed to include exemptions and limitations (MCL 479.1 to 479.21), while MCL 479.7 itself states no mileage threshold and no local-move carve-out. The text neither creates such an exemption nor excludes one. - Whether a given shipment is household goods. The act's definitions sit in Article I, General Definitions and Purpose (MCL 475.1 to 475.5), which is not available here. - What duties Article III places on household goods carriers, including any estimate or collect-on-delivery limit (MCL 477.1 to 477.12). That article's text is not available here. - Who collects the penalties the act prescribes. The act's title states that it prescribes penalties for its violations and Article V's heading names penalties, but MCL 479.7 directs no penalty to a shipper and the penalty sections themselves are not available here. - Whether the Michigan Consumer Protection Act supplies minimum damages or attorney fees against a licensed, regulated mover. That question lies outside this act and is not resolved by its text.

No Michigan appellate decision construing MCL 479.7 is relied on for anything stated on this page.

AGENCY GUIDANCE AND TARIFF FIGURES. Where this page describes Michigan State Police consumer guidance, that guidance is not statutory text, and where it differs from the statute the statute governs: a carrier may not provide a period of less than 3 months for filing a claim against it under MCL 479.7 (MCL 479.7(2)). Per-pound valuation figures that appear in carrier tariffs or in consumer guidance are likewise not set by this act; no valuation rate appears in MCL 479.7.

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