[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 5]
[Revised as of October 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR375.211]

[Page 97]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
                      DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 375_TRANSPORTATION OF HOUSEHOLD GOODS IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE; 
CONSUMER PROTECTION REGULATIONS--Table of Contents
 
           Subpart B_Before Offering Services to My Customers
 
Sec.  375.211  Must I have an arbitration program?

    (a) You must have an arbitration program for individual shippers to 
resolve disputes about property loss and damage and disputes about 
whether carrier charges in addition to those collected at delivery must 
be paid. You must establish and maintain an arbitration program with the 
following 11 minimum elements:
    (1) You must design your arbitration program to prevent you from 
having any special advantage in any case where the claimant resides or 
does business at a place distant from your principal or other place of 
business.
    (2) Before execution of the order for service, you must provide 
notice to the individual shipper of the availability of neutral 
arbitration, including all three of the following items:
    (i) A summary of the arbitration procedure.
    (ii) Any applicable costs.
    (iii) A disclosure of the legal effects of election to use 
arbitration.
    (3) Upon the individual shipper's request, you must provide 
information and forms you consider necessary for initiating an action to 
resolve a dispute under arbitration.
    (4) You must require each person you authorize to arbitrate to be 
independent of the parties to the dispute and capable of resolving such 
disputes, and you must ensure the arbitrator is authorized and able to 
obtain from you or the individual shipper any material or relevant 
information to carry out a fair and expeditious decisionmaking process.
    (5) You must not charge the individual shipper more than one-half of 
the total cost for instituting the arbitration proceeding against you. 
In the arbitrator's decision, the arbitrator may determine which party 
must pay the cost or a portion of the cost of the arbitration 
proceeding, including the cost of instituting the proceeding.
    (6) You must refrain from requiring the individual shipper to agree 
to use arbitration before a dispute arises.
    (7) Arbitration must be binding for claims of $10,000 or less, if 
the individual shipper requests arbitration.
    (8) Arbitration must be binding for claims of more than $10,000, if 
the individual shipper requests arbitration and the carrier agrees to 
it.
    (9) If all parties agree, the arbitrator may provide for an oral 
presentation of a dispute by a party or representative of a party.
    (10) The arbitrator must render a decision within 60 days of receipt 
of written notification of the dispute, and a decision by an arbitrator 
may include any remedies appropriate under the circumstances.
    (11) The arbitrator may extend the 60-day period for a reasonable 
period if you or the individual shipper fail to provide, in a timely 
manner, any information the arbitrator reasonably requires to resolve 
the dispute.
    (b) You must produce and distribute a concise, easy-to-read, 
accurate summary of your arbitration program, including the items in 
this section.

[68 FR 35091, June 11, 2003, as amended at 69 FR 10575, Mar. 5, 2004; 72 
FR 36772, July 5, 2007]