Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved Information Collection: Practices of Household Goods Brokers

AGENCY:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and approval and invites public comment. FMCSA requests OMB's renewed approval to the ICR titled “Practices of Household Brokers,” which applies to household goods (HHG) brokers who are procured by the public (HHG shippers) to arrange the transportation of the shipper's household goods by HHG motor carriers. This renewal updates wage related costs that have changed since the last approval and revises the previous information collection total respondent hourly and cost burden.

DATES:

Comments on this notice must be received on or before March 22, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments identified by Docket Number FMCSA–2023–0180 using any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.

• Mail: Dockets Operations; U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590–0001.

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Dockets Operations, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590–0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 366–9317 or (202) 366–9826 before visiting Dockets Operations.

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251.

To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods. See the “Public Participation and Request for Comments” portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for instructions on submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Donnice Wagoner, Commercial Enforcement and Investigations Division, DOT, FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor MC–SEI, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590–0001; (202) 366–8045; donnice.wagoner@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Instructions

All submissions must include the Agency name and docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see the Public Participation heading below. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.

Public Participation and Request for Comments

If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this notice (FMCSA–2023–0180), indicate the specific section of this document to which your comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or recommendation. You may submit your comments and material online or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only one of these means. FMCSA recommends that you include your name and a mailing address, an email address, or a phone number in the body of your document so FMCSA can contact you if there are questions regarding your submission. If you want us to notify you that we received your comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that appears after submitting comments online.

To submit your comment online, go to https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FMCSA-2023-0180/document, click on this notice, click “Comment,” and type your comment into the text box on the following screen.

If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8 1/2 by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing.

Comments received after the comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be considered to the extent practicable.

Privacy Act

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy.

Background

As a result of Title IV, Subtitle B of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU) (Pub. L. 109–59) and a petition for rulemaking from the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA), FMCSA amended then-existing regulations for brokers in a final rule titled, “Brokers of Household Goods Transportation by Motor Vehicles,” (75 FR 72987, Nov. 29, 2010), amending 49 CFR part 371 by providing additional consumer protection responsibilities for brokers of HHG.

Section 4212 of SAFETEA–LU directs the Secretary of Transportation to require HHG brokers to provide shippers with information throughout the various stages of their interactions with shippers. The following phases summarize the information collection required by the HHG broker at the various contractual stages by 49 CFR 371.

I. First Phase: “Prospecting”

When a HHG shipper is looking to procure a HHG broker's services, the broker must collect the following information and display it on its websites and solicitation materials:

• Its physical address (§ 371.107a);
• Its U.S. DOT license numbers (§ 371.107b);
• A statement indicating it will not transport the shipper's goods but will only arrange for goods to be transported by a registered motor carrier (§ 371.107c);
• If the broker chooses to publish rates on its website or solicitation materials, the broker must also publish a statement that the rates are based on a motor carrier's publicly available rates (§ 371.107d);
• If broker chooses to publish a list of motor carriers it works with, the list must be a list only of carriers with which brokers have agreements (§ 371.107e); and
• Brokers must publish information regarding their cancellation policies, including information on deposits and refunds (§ 371.117a).

For the exact text of regulations see section 12 part I of this document.

II. Second Phase: “Contact”

When an HHG shipper makes a reasonable request seeking additional information about broker services, the HHG broker must collect the following information and distribute it to the HHG shipper:

• A list of carriers it has agreements with (§ 371.109a); and
• A statement indicating the broker is not a carrier and that the broker is only arranging transportation of shipper's goods (§ 371.109b).

For the exact text of regulations see Section 12 Part II.

III. Third Phase: “Estimate”

When an HHG shipper requests an estimate, the broker must collect the following information and provide it to the shipper:

• FMCSA's published information material: (1) “Ready to Move? Tips for a Successful Interstate Move” and (2) “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move (2022 Update)” (§ 371.111a1, 2, and 3);
• A written estimate based on a physical survey of household items (§ 371.113a) and published carrier rates (§ 371.113b); and
• If applicable, a “Waiver” receipt showing shipper waived their right to a physical survey of their household items (§ 371.113b).

The broker must obtain a signed document showing that FMCSA's published information material was received by the shipper (§ 371.111c). For the exact text of regulations see section 12 part III.

IV. Fourth Phase: “Agreement”

Should the shipper find the estimate(s) and broker services reasonable and wish to book the broker's services, the two parties must enter into an agreement. At this point it is standard practice for shippers to pay a deposit or full payment. Before a deposit is collected, the broker must collect the following information and distribute it to the HHG shipper:

• An agreement document with required specifications as laid out by regulation § 371.115; and
• An agreement document which highlights the broker's and/or motor carrier's refund policy for cancelation of agreements (§ 371.117a).

For the exact text of regulations see section 12 part IV.

V. Fifth Phase: “Delivery”

After the broker confirms delivery of the household goods by the carrier, the broker must collect the following information and distribute it to the HHG shipper:

• A receipt with transaction data, including cancelation details if the agreement was canceled as laid out by 49 CFR 371.3.

The complete collection of information, required by the referenced regulations, assists shippers in their business dealings with interstate HHG brokers. The information collected is used by prospective shippers to make informed decisions about contracts, services ordered, executed, and settled. The HHG broker is often the primary contact for individual shippers and in the best position to educate shippers and prepare them for a successful move. The information collection is intended to combat deceptive business practices; the information helps enforcement personnel better protect consumers by verifying that shippers are receiving information as required by regulations.

FMCSA revises the total annual burden to 86,488 hours. This is an increase of 13,680 annual burden hours from the currently approved 72,808 burden estimate. The increase is due to the following:

(1) FMCSA's records for household goods brokers increased from 652 brokers to 1,256 brokers.

Title: Practices of Household Goods Brokers.

OMB Control Number: 2126–0048.

Type of Request: Renewal of currently approved collection.

Respondents: Brokers of Household Goods.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,256.

Estimated Time per Response: Varies.

Expiration Date: May 31, 2024.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 86,488.

Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information collection, including: (1) whether the proposed collection is necessary for the performance of FMCSA's functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for FMCSA to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of the collected information. The Agency will summarize or include your comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this ICR.

Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.