News

Helping to make your next PCS a “smooth move”

  • Published
  • By Major Daniel Olson
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Judge Advocate
COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. --  PCS season is rapidly approaching, and we all know that a PCS almost always involves at least some degree of damage to household goods. Whether you're PCSing for the first time or are a seasoned veteran, the following tips will help ensure that if any of your property is lost or damaged in shipment, you can file a well-documented claim.

The inventory just may be the most important step in the entire process. The carrier's inventory proves your property was tendered to them, in a certain condition, for delivery to your new home. While it is not possible to totally control the packing and inventory of every piece of your household goods, you must exercise some control over how your property is inventoried. If items are not listed on the inventory, you may not be paid for them when you file a claim.

Before the packers arrive, gather all of your most valuable and most easily stolen items, such as jewelry, money, coin or stamp collections or baseball cards, and lock them inside a vehicle; do not ship them. Leaving them unsecured on dresser tops or in drawers is an invitation for them to be taken. Next, gather your next most expensive items into one room, make an inventory of these items, and record the serial numbers and descriptions of each one; prepare your own personal inventory and gather substantiation of your major items. Include the major items you own, such as furniture, electronic equipment, art objects and expensive rugs. Also, when the shippers arrive, we encourage you to turn on your electronic equipment and have the shipper notate on your inventory that the device was working just prior to packing. This will help make sure that you are more fully reimbursed should the need arise.

You should also make a complete list of all rare books, DVDs, CDs and licensed software. Again, it's a good idea to bring this with you. But if you're shipping them, be sure to save the purchase prices and dates for these items, and collect related documentation to prove it, such as purchase receipts, paid bills, credit card slips, canceled checks, pre-shipment appraisals and insurance policies. . High-value items absolutely must be listed on the inventory.

Finally, take photographs to show the condition of your property. Keep this information separate from your household goods. Carry it with you or mail it to your next duty station. If you are so overwhelmed by the packers or movers that you cannot observe your property being packed or listed on the inventory, call the Traffic Management Office to complain. If you cannot be present, make sure your spouse or agent knows what to do and arranges for help if necessary. If all else fails, make a statement on the inventory describing the problem.

Make sure that the packers write adequate descriptions of the contents on the boxes themselves, and later on the inventory. While the packers do not have to list every item packed inside a box, they should write the greatest quantity of the container's contents, like "pot/pans/crockery." The location of the items in your home is not a sufficient description; broad general categories such as "kitchen items, bathroom items, garage items," should not be used as the sole description to describe the contents of any container. Additionally, make sure that items that would not logically be packed in a certain box are specifically listed. For example, tools should not be packed in a box marked "clothes"; a lamp should not be packed in a box marked "garage items". If you later file a claim for an item that would not reasonably be expected to be found in a certain box, you may not be paid for it.

Also make sure you accompany the carrier's agent while he or she completes the inventory; check to see that those items you have pre-identified as valuable are sufficiently described and listed on the inventory to positively identify them in terms of both quality and quantity. If you disagree with any condition or description recorded on the inventory by the carrier's agent, record your disagreement, by inventory number, at the bottom of the inventory sheet.

With good personal and carrier inventories, and substantiation of ownership and value, you will be in good shape. However, after delivery you still must promptly fill out the DD Form 1840/1840R to report any loss or damage. Remember to file the form with the base legal office within 70 days to ensure a maximum recovery. After you've filed the "pink" form, you'll have two years to file your claim with the Claims Service Center. For more information, call the Base Legal Office at 434-7030.