Review desk · PAYMENT 09
Deposits and delivery payment: separate the sales hold from collect-on-delivery rules
Compare a sales deposit with federal collect-on-delivery limits for binding and non-binding interstate estimates, including accepted payment forms.
Review standard
Federal record + written contract
Updated
Bottom line
A booking deposit is a commercial hold. Delivery is a federal collection event: 100 percent of a binding estimate, or up to 110 percent of a non-binding estimate, plus listed extras. Do not let a large prepaid 'deposit' erase those limits.
- Binding at delivery
- The written estimate amount
- Non-binding at delivery
- Up to 110% of the estimate
- Payment form
- Must match the estimate
- Unpaid remainder
- Billed after delivery
Write down what the first payment actually buys
Sales teams often ask for a deposit to reserve a date. Federal household-goods rules focus on estimates, bills of lading, and collect-on-delivery limits, not on a universal cap for every broker booking fee. That means you must make the deposit terms explicit: amount, refund conditions, which legal company receives it, and whether it is credited against transportation charges.
Pay the company named on the estimate, not a personal account or a newly introduced entity. If the seller is a broker, ask whether the deposit stays with the broker or is forwarded to the assigned carrier. Keep the receipt with the estimate. A deposit that cannot be mapped to a legal company is a due-diligence failure, not a scheduling convenience.
Know the delivery ceilings before the truck leaves
On a binding estimate, the maximum collect-on-delivery amount is the exact estimate, plus charges for additional services you requested after the bill of lading, plus impracticable-operations charges limited at delivery to 15 percent of other charges due. You cannot be required to pay more than the binding amount for the listed job in order to take possession.
On a non-binding estimate, the maximum at delivery is 110 percent of the estimate, plus the same classes of extras. If actual charges exceed 110 percent, the mover must relinquish the shipment when you pay that 110 percent and bill the rest later, with at least 30 days before those remaining freight charges are due under the rights handbook. Have funds and the agreed payment form ready; unpaid charges can send the shipment into storage at your expense.
Evidence to retain
- Deposit amount, payee, and refund terms are on paper.
- Estimate states accepted payment forms for delivery.
- You can pay 100 percent of a binding estimate or 110 percent of a non-binding estimate at delivery.
- Any prepaid amount is credited on the delivery invoice.
Compare the route before the sales calls
See a modeled cost range first, then use this review file on every company you interview.
- No email required to see your route's cost range
- Verify every provider's USDOT number before hiring
- Your estimate is yours to keep either way
Prefer to talk it through? Call (561) 220-0117, free, no obligation.
Lock the payment method on the estimate
The mover must specify acceptable payment forms when it prepares the estimate and must honor that form at delivery unless you agree in writing to a change. Do not assume a credit card will be accepted because a website mentions one. If the crew will take only cash or a cashier's check, that restriction belongs on the estimate, not in a text the night before delivery.
A last-minute demand for a different form of payment is a contract change. Ask for it in writing. If you cannot meet a newly announced cash-only demand, you risk storage charges. The due-diligence move is to confirm the method weeks earlier and carry a backup that is already listed as acceptable.
Prorate when only part of the shipment arrives
If only part of the shipment is delivered, the mover may not demand full payment of the estimate. Collection is limited to a prorated percentage based on the weight delivered relative to the total shipment weight. A 2,500-pound delivery of a 5,000-pound shipment supports 50 percent of a binding estimate, or 50 percent of not more than 110 percent of a non-binding estimate, plus listed extras.
If the entire shipment is lost or destroyed in transit, the mover is forbidden from collecting freight charges unless the loss was due to an act or omission by you. Do not prepay a 'balance' for goods that have not arrived. Match payment to delivered weight and to the documents in your file.
Questions on this check
Frequently asked questions
On a binding estimate, delivery collection is capped at the estimate plus listed extras. On a non-binding estimate, the cap at delivery is 110 percent of the estimate plus listed extras. Remaining charges are billed after delivery.
Primary sources
Federal guidance can change. Open the current source before making a hiring or dispute decision.
Price the move, then audit the company
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