Sec. 643.153. MOTOR CARRIER TRANSPORTING HOUSEHOLD GOODS. (a) The department shall adopt rules to protect a consumer using the service of a motor carrier who is transporting household goods for compensation.

(b) The department may adopt rules necessary to ensure that a customer of a motor carrier transporting household goods is protected from deceptive or unfair practices and unreasonably hazardous activities. The rules must:

(1) establish a formal process for resolving a dispute over a fee or damage;

(2) require a motor carrier to indicate clearly to a customer whether an estimate is binding or nonbinding and disclose the maximum price a customer could be required to pay;

(3) create a centralized process for making complaints about a motor carrier that also allows a customer to inquire about a carrier's complaint record; and

(4) require a motor carrier transporting household goods to list a place of business with a street address in this state and the carrier's registration number issued under this article in any print advertising published in this state.

(c) Repealed by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 281, Sec. 6.06, eff. June 14, 2005.

(d) A motor carrier that is required to register under Subchapter B and that transports household goods shall file a tariff with the department that establishes maximum charges for all transportation services. A motor carrier may comply with this requirement by filing, in a manner determined by the department, a copy of the carrier's tariff governing interstate transportation services. The department shall make tariffs filed under this subsection available for public inspection.

(e) The department may not adopt rules regulating the rates, except as provided by this section, or routes of a motor carrier transporting household goods.

(f) The unauthorized practice of the insurance business under Chapter 101, Insurance Code, does not include the offer of insurance by a household goods motor carrier, or its agent, that transports goods for up to the full value of a customer's property transported or stored, if the offer is authorized by a rule adopted under Subsection (b).

(g) A motor carrier may designate an association or an agent of an association as its collective maximum ratemaking association for the purpose of the filing of a tariff under Subsection (d).

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 30.150(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 17.19(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 603, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1276, Sec. 10A.555, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 281 (H.B. 2702), Sec. 6.02, eff. June 14, 2005.

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 281 (H.B. 2702), Sec. 6.06, eff. June 14, 2005.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 703 (H.B. 3254), Sec. 6, eff. January 1, 2018.