Template: File a Federal Complaint Against Your Mover (Copy and Adapt)

Section 14704 of the Interstate Commerce Act gives consumers a private right of action for damages from carrier and broker regulatory violations. Unlike an FMCSA complaint (which goes to a database), a Section 14704 filing is an adjudicatory complaint that asks a federal body to find a violation and order a remedy.

FMCSA was supposed to write the implementing rules. In 31 years, it has not. A retired transportation attorney created the process himself. He recovered $9,500 in his own case. A sample of a filed Section 14704 complaint is publicly available at regulations.gov/docket/FMCSA-2026-0069.

The template below is adapted from actual filed complaints. Customize it with your facts.

BEFORE THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OF HEARINGS, WASHINGTON, DC

[YOUR NAME], Complainant,

v.

[CARRIER OR BROKER NAME], [USDOT NUMBER], Respondent.

VERIFIED SHIPPER COMPLAINT Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 14704(c)(1) For Secretary of Transportation Adjudication of Damages and Regulatory Relief

Date Filed: [Date]

Complainant [Your Name], a resident of [Your State], brings this complaint against Respondent [Company Name], a [state] business entity operating as a household goods [broker/carrier] under USDOT [number], for violations of 49 U.S.C. Subtitle IV, Part B, and implementing regulations.

JURISDICTION

This complaint is filed pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 14704(c)(1), which provides that a person injured by a carrier or broker providing transportation or service subject to jurisdiction under Subtitle IV, Part B may bring a civil action to recover damages before the Secretary of Transportation.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

1. On [date], Complainant contracted with Respondent for the transportation of household goods from [origin] to [destination].

2. Respondent provided a binding estimate of $[amount] for [volume/weight].

3. [Describe what happened: different carrier showed up, price was inflated, goods were held hostage, items were damaged/missing, etc.]

4. The total amount paid by Complainant was $[amount], which exceeds the binding estimate by $[overcharge amount].

VIOLATIONS

Respondent violated the following federal statutes and regulations:

A. [49 USC 14104 / 49 CFR 375.401]: [Describe: estimate not honored, no physical survey, etc.]

B. [49 USC 13702 / 49 CFR 371.103]: [Describe: estimate not based on carrier tariff, no tariff provided]

C. [49 USC 14901(d)(3)]: [Describe: unauthorized brokering if carrier brokered without authority]

D. [49 CFR 371.109]: [Describe: failure to provide carrier list]

E. [49 CFR 371.3(c)]: [Describe: failure to provide transaction records]

F. [49 USC 14915]: [Describe: hostage goods if applicable]

[Add or remove violations as applicable to your case]

DAMAGES

Complainant seeks the following damages:

1. Refund of overcharges: $[amount] 2. [Property damage if applicable: $amount] 3. [Storage costs, alternative housing, other consequential damages] 4. Attorney fees pursuant to 49 USC 14704(e) [if applicable]

Total damages claimed: $[amount]

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

Complainant requests that the Secretary of Transportation: 1. Find that Respondent violated the statutes and regulations cited above 2. Award damages to Complainant in the amount of $[amount] 3. Order such other and further relief as the Secretary deems just

Respectfully submitted,

[Your Name] [Your Address] [Your Phone] [Your Email] [Date]

Check which of these happened during your move. Each one is a citable violation in your complaint.

PRICING: [ ] The final charge exceeded the binding estimate (49 USC 14104, 49 CFR 375.401) [ ] No written estimate was provided before the move (49 USC 14104) [ ] The estimate was not based on the carrier's published tariff (49 USC 13702, 49 CFR 371.103) [ ] The carrier has no published tariff or refused to provide it (49 USC 13702, 49 CFR 1310) [ ] Charges exceeded 110% of a non-binding estimate at delivery (49 USC 13707(b)(3)(A)) [ ] Charges were inconsistent with or exceeded the governing tariff (49 USC 14903: felony, up to $205,375 per violation)

BROKER VIOLATIONS: [ ] A different company showed up than the one you hired (unauthorized brokering: 49 USC 13902(a)(6), penalty $25,000+ per violation) [ ] The broker did not disclose it was a broker (49 CFR 371.111) [ ] The broker did not provide a carrier list when requested (49 CFR 371.109) [ ] The broker did not provide broker-carrier agreements when requested (49 CFR 371.115) [ ] The broker did not provide transaction records when requested (49 CFR 371.3) [ ] No written broker-carrier agreement exists for the carrier dispatched (49 CFR 371.115, 49 USC 14901(d)(2)) [ ] The broker did not provide required consumer protection information (49 CFR 371.111)

HOSTAGE GOODS: [ ] The carrier refused to deliver until you paid more than the estimate (49 USC 14915: $16,279+ per violation, 12-36 month suspension) [ ] The carrier threatened to auction your belongings (49 USC 14915)

DOCUMENTATION: [ ] No Bill of Lading was provided at loading (49 CFR 375.505) [ ] No inventory list was provided (49 CFR 375.503) [ ] No physical or virtual inventory survey was conducted before the estimate (49 CFR 375.401) [ ] The carrier did not provide a revised estimate before loading additional items (49 CFR 375.401(g))

WEIGHT/VOLUME: [ ] The carrier falsified the weight or cubic footage (49 USC 14912: felony, up to 2 years imprisonment) [ ] The volume charged exceeds the physical capacity of the truck used

OTHER: [ ] False Bill of Lading (49 USC 80116: up to 5 years imprisonment) [ ] The carrier was not authorized by FMCSA to transport household goods (49 USC 14901(d)(3): $37,400+ per violation) [ ] Deceptive business practices or false representations (49 USC 14901(d)(1))

Copy the violations that apply to your case into the VIOLATIONS section of the complaint template above. Each checked item becomes a separate count.

1. Mail the complaint to: Secretary of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.

2. Upload electronically to the OST docket system at transportation.gov/dockets/how-file-docket-submissions (use the 'shell docket' process).

3. Send by certified mail with return receipt. Keep copies of everything.

4. You may also file simultaneously with the Surface Transportation Board (stb.gov) for rate reasonableness claims against carriers (not brokers).

A sample of a filed and docketed Section 14704 complaint is publicly available at regulations.gov/docket/FMCSA-2026-0069. Use it as a reference for formatting and content.

Be realistic about timing. After the first Section 14704 complaint was filed with the Secretary of Transportation in March 2025, it took 10 months for referral to the Office of Hearings and assignment to an administrative law judge. A second complaint filed in June 2026 waited over two months for docketing.

The process works but it does not move quickly. File anyway. The complaint creates a federal record of the violation and your claim. It supports any subsequent court action. And it adds pressure on FMCSA to write the implementing rules Congress directed it to create 31 years ago.

If the carrier or broker hires an attorney and files a motion to dismiss, do not panic. This is a common tactic. Read trunk.lorea.ai/insights/legal-remedies for guidance on the pro se reality of filing without a lawyer.