Car shipping contract checklist
Before you pay, find ten lines in the car shipping contract. The legal name, the price, when the price can change, the deposit refund, the cargo limit, personal items, the carrier's name, pickup timing, the claim deadline, and the payment method. If a line is missing, ask for it in writing. This list is a reading aid. It is not a legal review of your form.
Key facts
- Ten lines, then payment
- Do not pay while the price-change sentence, the refund sentence, or the cargo limit is still blank.
- Broker status
- A broker's contract and ads must show that it is a broker. It may not describe itself as the carrier.
- Source: 49 CFR 371.7
- Claim note versus claim
- The deadline you write down is for a written dollar claim. A note on the bill of lading is not that claim by itself.
- Source: 49 CFR 370.3
- Statutory floor
- If 49 USC 14706 applies, the carrier may not set a claim period under 9 months or a lawsuit period under 2 years from disallowance. Confirm with a lawyer if the contract is shorter.
- Source: 49 USC 14706, 2023 edition
The sources are listed on this page.
Find these ten lines before you pay a car shipping company. Print the page. Write the answer next to each line, or the page number where you found it. A blank is a question, not a default. This list does not review the contract for you. It shows you what to read. It is not legal advice.
Company:
Date you read it:
The ten lines
- [ ] 1. Legal name, and broker or carrier. The name matches a federal record. If they are a broker, the contract says so. 49 CFR 371.7 requires that.
- [ ] 2. Price, and what it includes. Open or enclosed, door or terminal, running or not, and the dates.
- [ ] 3. When the price can change. Only until a carrier is assigned, or also after. Quote the sentence.
- [ ] 4. Deposit amount, and whether a refund goes back to the same card if you reject a new price or they never book a carrier.
- [ ] 5. Cargo limit per vehicle, deductible, and exclusions. Not the 750,000 dollar truck-liability figure from 49 CFR 387.9 unless the certificate says that figure is cargo, which it usually is not.
- [ ] 6. Personal items. Whether anything may stay in the car, and who pays if it is lost.
- [ ] 7. Carrier that will load the car, or the date that name and USDOT number will be sent to you.
- [ ] 8. Pickup window. What happens if they miss it, and what happens if you miss it.
- [ ] 9. How many days to note damage, and how many days to file a written claim for a dollar amount.
- [ ] 10. How you will pay. Credit card, not a wire, a gift card, or a payment app you cannot dispute.
Initial here when all ten have an answer: ______
How to mark a problem
Line 1 fails if the SAFER snapshot shows a different legal name. Stop. The lookup steps are how to check FMCSA authority.
Line 3 fails if you cannot tell whether the price locks when a carrier is named. Read the change clause and do not pay yet.
Line 4 fails if the deposit is due before line 7 has a date, or if the only refund is a credit on a future trip you do not want. The BBB alert of July 21, 2023 is the reason line 10 exists. Wallet deposits, wires, and prepaid cards are the payment pattern in that alert.
Line 5 fails if the only number they will say is the federal liability minimum. Ask for the cargo certificate. The difference is insurance on file.
Line 9 fails if you cannot find a number of days. Ask them what date they will enforce. 49 CFR 370.3 says the damage note on the bill of lading is not the claim by itself, so the deadline has to be for the written dollar demand. 49 USC 14706(e) says a carrier may not set that period under 9 months, or the time to sue under 2 years from a written disallowance, for a claim under that section. If the contract is shorter, ask a lawyer which date controls, and meet the earlier one until you know.
Quote checker
After the price on line 2 is filled in, compare it with the range. The checker does not tick the other nine lines. You do. The narrative version of this list is how to read a car shipping contract. Questions to ask on the phone, before the PDF arrives, are questions to ask before you pay. The curb document is how to read a bill of lading.
The shipping checklist is for pickup day. This page is for the day you are asked to pay. Use both. Do not pay RideShipper to complete either one. RideShipper does not take a deposit and is not a party to the contract.
Questions
Is ten lines the whole contract?
No. It is the set that changes the decision to pay. Read the definitions and the cancellation section around those lines. If a sentence conflicts with what the salesperson said, the sentence you sign is the one to believe unless they initial a change.
The contract is a link they will not open until I pay. What do I check?
You check nothing, because you have not seen it. Ask for the file first. A payment to unlock terms is the deposit problem described on the red-flag page.
Can I use this list at the curb too?
Use it before you pay. At the curb, use the bill of lading checks. The price on the clipboard should still match line 2 and line 3 of this list. If it does not, do not sign a new total to get the keys.