Personal Property Shipping Office - PPSO
Base Miami Beach

Transportation Officer- Ms. Maxine Wilson-Bacon (305) 216-8037
Email; D07-SMB-BASEMIAMIBEACH-PPSO@USCG.MIL

Excess Costs Avoidance & Appeals

Excess cost exists when the cost for moving your property exceeds the amount authorized by the Government.  Many factors contribute to excess cost, including attempted pickup and/or delivery, increased valuation, excess storage, excess distance, and excess weight (the most common). In order to avoid excess cost, consider the following suggestions:

• Dispose of unwanted articles - This will lower the weight of the shipment.

• Claim your Professional Books and Equipment (PBP&E) - Declare your PB&E on the Application for Shipment/Storage (DD Form 1299) prior to pickup.  AFTER THE FACT DECLARATION IS NOT AUTHORIZED. Your PB&E must be packed separately, weighed, marked, and identified on the inventory as PBP&E or Pro Gear with the weight and cube included.  Civilian employees have separate requirements, please ask your counselor for details.

• Request a Reweigh - If your shipment is picked up and exceeds your weight allowance, ask the destination Traffic Management Office to have the shipment reweighed. You are welcome to observe the weighing and reweighing of your shipment.  Reweighing the shipment will not cause any increase in excess cost to you as our computations are based on the lower of the two weights.

• Avoid shipping excess Unaccompanied Baggage (UB) - Because of their expedited mode of travel, UB shipments are very costly and may result in substantially higher excess cost per pound.  Avoid shipping unnecessary items in your UB shipment.

• Minimize use of Storage-In-Transit (SIT) - If your shipment exceeds your allowed weight, have it delivered as soon as possible. SIT raises the overall cost of the shipment, thus increasing your excess cost.

• Weight Restricted Areas - If you are moving to, from, or between administratively weight restricted areas, ensure any additional weight allowance authorized is requested, approved, and annotated on your PCS orders.  The transportation counselor will advise if you are affected by weight restrictions.

• Personally Procured Move (PPM) - Consider performing a PPM move.  Under this program you can move as much property as you wish, regardless of your weight entitlement.  The Government will pay you an incentive of 95% of the government constructed cost to move the same property (up to the amount of weight remaining on your entitlement), less actual expenses and applicable taxes.  Your incentive payment is based on the actual weight moved, not to exceed your prescribed weight allowance. See your counselor for details.

• Excessive Packing - If you feel the carrier used excessive packing in your shipment, notify the destination Traffic Management Office prior to delivery.  They will instruct the carrier to completely unpack the shipment and verify the weight of the packing materials. NOTE OF CAUTION: Once accomplished, this weight replaces the standard packing allowance.  Experience has shown that actual packing materials normally weigh less than the standard allowance. Electing this procedure may increase your excess cost.

• Ask Questions - BEFORE you move, no matter how insignificant they may seem!. Correcting deficiencies or problems after the fact is almost impossible.

• Weight Estimates - Remember, weight estimates made by the carrier or the Traffic Management Office are not binding. They are for planning purposes only. Excess cost is based on the actual weight of the shipment obtained on a certified scale.

• Document Loss and Damage - Note any loss or damage on your DD-1840 at time of delivery. Annotate any damage discovered after the carrier has departed on a DD-1840R, which must be submitted within 70 days of the delivery date.  If your shipment is overweight, please file your claim as soon as possible. Your excess cost may decrease because of missing or destroyed items in the shipment.

HOW TO APPEAL EXCESS COST

There is an appeal process open to you.  Hold on to your shipping documents.  Members disputing the HHG shipment excess costs must begin the appeal process through the Traffic Management Office responsible for the delivery your personal property.  (For Coast Guard personnel the CG Personal Property Transportation Manual, COMDTINST M4050.6, Chapter 2, Section 2008.7.d (page 2-18) provides guidance for the appeal process.)

Joint Travel Regulation (JTR), paragraph 5206 and 5652 states that members/employees are responsible for excess transportation cost. However, if the member believes the carrier's weight certificates are clearly in error or are fraudulent, they and the local Traffic Management Office may use a combination of the following to substantiate their claim:

• Reweighs & Constructive weight estimates

• Industry Standard of multiplying 40 lbs per inventory line item

• Carrier packer estimates & TO officer estimates

• Were PB&E declared on the DD-1299 at origin?  If so, were the weight annotated on the inventory and included in the computations?

A useful tool for estimating weights: http://www.move.mil/dod.htm#beforeBegin_dodWeightAllow

Appeal packages must include a memo with Command Endorsement explaining any error or fraud by the shipping carrier in regards to the excess weight transported, the following documentation must also be included with the package:

• DD-139, Payment Adjustment Authorization (PAA) for linehaul

• DD-139, Payment Adjustment Authorization (PAA) for storage

• Government Bill of Lading

• DD-619 & DD-619-1

• DD-1299 & HHG Inventory Sheets

• Counseling Worksheets & All weight tickets (original and reweighs)

• Orders & Estimate forms (DD Form 1701 or SDDC Weight Estimator Form)

You have four avenues of appeal:

• Rebuttal - Your first avenue is submitting a rebuttal to your Service through your local Traffic Management Office. You must state the reasons why you wish to dispute the debt. (Reference JTR).

• Remission - Active duty enlisted members may file for remission of indebtedness in accordance with their Service regulations. Only the uncollected portion of a debt can be considered for remission.

• Board for Correction of Military Records - If you feel an injustice exists, your next step is a review by the Board for Correction of Military Records. Process a DD-149 (Application for Correction of Military Records) as prescribed by your parent Service. Responses to your rebuttal and remission must accompany this application.

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