Terms of Carriage

Below is the terms of carriage that appear on the bill of lading that Braymore uses for moving your piano, which all our trucks show you upon arrival.  This is a legal document that we use for moving pianos that has been custom tailored to our company and the special freight we handle.  Most carriers have similar conditions depending on the part of the freight industry that they are catering towards.  When there is none supplied, the government has some generic rules which it will enforce when none are provided, which means you are NOT fully insured.  Unfortunately some companies have copied our terms off our website, to use on their own website and confuse the general public.  Unless these terms are part of the bill of lading that is being used on moving day, you may have a big surprise if there are any problems during your move. 

Please note that if any mover tells you, you are fully insured without asking you for the declared value to put on the bill of lading.  It is not likely fully insured unless the weight exceeds the dollar per pound coverage amount.  Most pianos move for $500 to $1500 insurance less deductible depending on the weight of the piano.  This is the industry norm.

CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE

  1.  Liability of Carrier
    The carrier of the goods herein described is liable for any loss of or damage to goods accepted by the carrier or the carrier’s agent except as hereinafter provided.
  2. Liability of Originating and Delivering Carriers
    Where a shipment is accepted for carriage by more than one carrier, the carrier who issues the bill of lading (hereinafter called the originating carrier) and the carrier who assumes responsibility for delivery to the consignee (hereinafter called the delivering carrier), in addition to any other liability hereunder, are liable for any loss of or damage to the goods while they are in the custody of any other carrier to whom the goods are delivered and from which liability the other carrier is not relieved.
  3. Recovery from Connecting Carriers
    • i. The originating carrier or the delivering carrier, as the case may be, is entitled to recover from any other carrier to whom the goods are delivered the amount that the originating carrier or delivering carrier, as the case may be, is required to pay for the loss of or damage to the goods while they were in the custody of such other carrier.
    • ii. If there is a concealed damage settlement and the goods were interlined between carriers so that it is not clear as to who had custody of the goods when they were damaged, the originating carrier or delivering carrier, as the case may be, is entitled to recover from each of the interlined carriers an amount prorated on the basis of each carrier’s revenue for carriage of the damaged goods.
  4. Remedy by Consignor or Consignee
    Nothing in Article 2 or 3 deprives a consignor or consignee of any rights the consignor or consignee may have against any carrier.
  5. Exceptions from Liability
    The carrier shall not be liable for:
    • i. loss, damage or delay to any of the goods described in the bill of lading caused by an act of God, the Queen’s or public enemies, riots, strikes, a defect or inherent vice in the goods, an act or default of the consignor, owner or consignee, authority of law, quarantine or difference in weights of grain, seed or other commodities caused by natural shrinkage.
    • ii. mechanical quality of any electronics or appliances
    • iii.  acoustical quality of any musical instruments
    • iv. damage to articles made of press board, Particle board or wafer board or similar structured materials
    • v. damage to glass, marble or similar materials in or part of articles being moved
    • vi. damage caused by or due to peeling veneer of any sort
    • vii. deterioration of any article due to aging, temperature, humidity or moisture
    • viii. loss or damage to used electronics.  All used electronics are transported at owner’s risk unless individually declared on the face of this bill of lading.
    • ix. loss or damage to articles that are being moved internally that are not part of pickup or delivery at either shipper or consignee location.
  6. Delay
    • i. No carrier is bound to carry goods by any particular public truck or in time for any particular market or otherwise than with due dispatch.
    • ii. Failure by the consignee to accept delivery when tendered within the time specified on the Bill of Lading shall render him liable for reasonable storage in transit, handling and re-delivery charges incurred by the carrier.
  7. Routing by Carrier
    If the carrier forwards the goods by a conveyance that is not a public truck, the liability of the carrier is the same as though the entire carriage were by public truck.
  8. Stoppage in Transit
    If goods are stopped and held in transit at the request of the party entitled to so request, the goods are held at the risk of that party.
  9. Valuation
    Subject to Article 10, the amount of any loss or damage for which the carrier is liable, whether or not the loss or damage results from negligence, shall be the lesser of,
    • i. the value of the goods at the place and time of shipment, including the freight and other charges if paid, and
    • ii. $4.41 per kilogram computed on the total weight of the shipment.
  10. Declared Value
    If the consignor has declared a value of the goods on the face of the bill of lading, the amount of any loss or damage for which the carrier is liable shall be or shall not exceed the declared value.  The declared value by shipper shall in no event exceed $100,000.00 Canadian.
    • Deductible
      A deductible of $200.00 must be paid on all claims of loss and/or damage prior to the claim proceeding for Valuation.
  11. Consignor’s Risk
    • i. If it is agreed that the goods are carried at the risk of the consignor, such agreement covers only such risks as are necessarily incidental to the carriage and the agreement does not relieve the carrier from liability for any loss or damage or delay that results from the negligence of the carrier or the carrier’s agents or employees.
    • ii. The burden of proving absence of negligence shall be on the carrier.
  12. Notice of Claim
    • i. No carrier is liable for loss, damage or delay to any goods carried under the bill of lading unless notice thereof setting out particulars of the origin, destination and date of shipment of the goods and the estimated amount claimed in respect of such loss, damage or delay is given in writing to the originating carrier or the delivering carrier within seven days after delivery of the goods or, in the case of failure to make delivery, within nine months from the date of shipment.
    • ii. Exterior cosmetic damage on unboxed merchandise caused by carrier must be recorded on bill of lading upon delivery.  Inspection of unboxed merchandise is the responsibility of the consignee and failure to inspect can not be claimed against the carrier after the delivery.
    • iii. The final statement of the claim must be filed within nine months from the date of shipment, together with a copy of the paid freight bill.
    • NOTE: bill of lading charges must be paid in full before any bill of lading claim can be considered.  The carrier reserves the right to repair first.  Any repairs done without the carrier’s consent or knowledge are done at owner’s expense. That expense can not be claimed back against carrier under any conditions.
  13. Articles of Extraordinary Value
    • i. No carrier is bound to carry any documents, specie or articles of extraordinary value unless by a special agreement to do so.
    • ii. If such goods are carried without a special agreement and the nature of the goods is not disclosed on the bill of lading, the carrier shall not be liable for any loss or damage in excess of the maximum liability stipulated in Article 9.
  14. Freight Charges
    • i. If required by the carrier, the freight and all other lawful charges accruing on the goods shall be paid before delivery.
    • ii. If upon inspection it is ascertained that the goods shipped are not those described in the bill of lading, the freight charges must be paid upon the goods actually shipped with any additional charges lawfully payable thereon.
    • iii. If a consignor does not indicate that a shipment is to move prepaid, or does not indicate how the shipment is to move, it will automatically move on a collect basis.
  15. Dangerous Goods
    Every person, whether as principal or agent, shipping dangerous goods without previous full disclosure to the carrier as required by law, shall indemnify the carrier against all loss, damage or delay caused by the failure to disclose and such goods may be warehoused at the consignor’s risk and expense.
  16. Undelivered Goods
    • i. If, through no fault of the carrier, the goods cannot be delivered, the carrier shall immediately give notice to the consignor and consignee that delivery cannot be made and shall request disposal instructions.
    • ii. Pending receipt of disposal instructions,
    • A. the goods may be stored in the warehouse of the carrier, subject to a reasonable charge for storage, or
    • B. if the carrier has notified the consignor of this intention, the goods may be removed to and stored in a public or licensed warehouse at the expense of the consignor, without liability on the part of the carrier, and subject to a lien for all freight and other lawful charges, including a reasonable charge for storage.
  17. Return of Goods
    If a notice has been given by the carrier pursuant to paragraph i of Article 16, and no disposal instructions have been received within ten days from the date of such notice, the carrier may return to the consignor, at the consignor’s expense, all undelivered shipments for which such notice has been given.
  18. Alterations
    Subject to Article 19, any limitation on the carrier’s liability on the bill of lading and any alteration to the bill of lading shall be signed or initialed by the consignor and the originating carrier or their agents and unless signed and initialed shall be without effect.
  19. Weights
    • i. It shall be the responsibility of the consignor to show correct shipping weights of the shipment on the bill of lading.
    • ii. If the actual weight of the shipment does not agree with the weight shown on the bill of lading, the weight shown on the bill of lading may be corrected by the carrier.
  20. C.O.D. Shipments
    • i. A carrier shall not deliver a C.O.D. shipment unless payment is received in full.
    • ii. The charge for collecting and remitting the amount of C.O.D. bills for C.O.D. shipments must be collected from the consignee unless the consignor has instructed otherwise on the bill of lading.
    • iii. A carrier shall remit all C.O.D. money to the consignor, or person designated by the consignor, within thirty days after collection.
    • iv. A carrier shall keep all C.O.D. money in a trust fund or account separate from the other revenues and funds of the carrier’s business.
    • v. A carrier shall include the charges for collecting and remitting money paid by consignees as a separate item in the schedule of rates.
  21. Delivery
    • i. The carrier reserves the right to request full payment prior to completion of offload.  All charges must be paid in cash, certified cheque, money order or agreed terms of credit.
    • ii. If consignee fails to pay invoice prior to offload, the carrier reserves the right to bring goods back to the warehouse.  The consignee will then be liable for all storage, handling and re-delivery charges.
    • iii. The carrier reserves the right to refuse any movement that could be considered unsafe or may cause damage to articles being moved, personal property or personal injury.  In this case it will be deemed an estimate and any new charges based on estimate plus estimate charge would be applicable.