How to Complain About an Illinois Household Mover
James Brazil lives in Mérida, Mexico. He founded Swift Agent Sites and studied Classics at the University of Mississippi.
Published · Updated
If an Illinois household-goods mover will not fix a bill or a damage claim, write the company and keep the reply. The Illinois Commerce Commission takes mover complaints through its transportation division. The complaint form has a type labeled Household Goods. Mail it, with copies of your papers, to ICC Police, 9511 Harrison Street, Des Plaines, IL 60016.
The Commission's website also offers an online household-goods complaint. A phone call to ask whether a rate is on file is not the complaint. The rate desk is 217-782-6448. The complaint is the form.
What should I gather?
The form asks for your name, phone, email, and address, the company's name, address, and phone, the date and address of the incident, and a description. Attach the estimate, the bill, the bill of lading, photos, and the letter you already sent. Keep originals. The 2026 consumer guide says you can also ask the ICC how many complaints are already on a carrier before you hire. After the move, your own file is what makes a new complaint specific.
Name the company the way it appears on the ICC license, not a nickname from an ad. If you never checked the license, look it up before you file so the form names the right entity. See how the license search works.
What belongs in the description?
Say whether the fight is the price or the damage. For a price, state the estimate, the final bill, what you paid at delivery, and what is still demanded. ICC staff say that if the final amount exceeds the estimate, only 110 percent of the estimated charges is due at the end of the move and the customer has 30 days to pay the rest. See that rule. If the invoice uses a rate you cannot find in the tariff, say so. Staff at 217-782-6448 can verify rates on file. They also say final hourly charges follow actual time.
For damage, quote the valuation line. The default is 60 cents per pound per article unless you paid for a higher value. See how that election works. Asking the Commission to order replacement cost when you released the goods at 60 cents asks for a result the bill of lading does not give. Ask the Commission to look at whether the choice was offered and whether the bill matched the tariff.
Which office is the wrong one?
The Department of Insurance takes written complaints about policies. A mover's tariff is not that filing. Consumer Assistance at the Department of Insurance is (866) 445-5364 for insurance questions. See the insurance complaint only if a homeowners or auto policy is the contract in dispute.
A move that crossed into another state is an FMCSA complaint at 1-888-368-7238. The Illinois form is for the move the ICC regulates. If both addresses are in Illinois, use the household-goods box. If one address is not, say that in the first lines so the file is not opened under the wrong statute. Hourly rates in the seven Chicago-area counties and weight rates on longer Illinois moves are explained in how the state splits those prices.
What the form is not
The form is a complaint to the regulator. It does not appoint the Commission as your lawyer, and it does not unload a truck the same afternoon. Pay 110 percent of a disputed in-state estimate if that is what staff describe as due at delivery, get a receipt, and put the rest of the story on the form. Do not staple a demand that the Commission "make them pay $4,000" on top of a 60-cent release without showing the valuation you actually bought.
What should the first paragraph of the form say?
Write the pickup address, the delivery address, the move date, and the license name. Then one sentence on the dollar dispute or the damaged item. The form's type list also includes towing, repossession, warehousing, and motor carrier. Household goods is the box for this move. Warehousing is a different box if the fight is storage after the truck unloaded. Say which one it is so the file is not bounced. Attach the tariff page if you have it, or write that you called 217-782-6448 and what the staff person said about the rate on file. A complaint that only says "I was overcharged" is harder to match to a tariff line than one that names the hourly rate, the hours, and the estimate.
FAQ
Where do I mail a paper complaint? ICC Police, 9511 Harrison Street, Des Plaines, IL 60016, with copies of the supporting papers. Mark the type Household Goods.
Is there an online option? Yes. The ICC household-goods page links an online complaint, and the complaints page points transportation complaints about movers to that division.
Can staff check the rate while I write the form? Call 217-782-6448. They can verify rates on file. The complaint is still the written form.
Should I complain to the Department of Insurance about the bill? No, unless an insurance policy is what you are disputing. Mover rates and the license are the ICC.
What if the truck went to Indiana? Say so. A cross-border household move is an FMCSA matter. Use 1-888-368-7238 for that route.
Next step
Write the mover, save the answer, and file the ICC form with the estimate and the bill of lading. Use the legal name from the license search. Call 217-782-6448 if you need the tariff page checked before you describe the rate as wrong.
Sources: ICC: household goods movers, ICC transportation complaint form, ICC Police: household goods questions, ICC: file a complaint.
General notes for moves in and out of Illinois. Not a quote or a recommendation of any specific company. Confirm details with the mover you hire.
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