Request for Relief of Liability for Excess Weight in Transportation of Household Goods

A civilian employee of the Air Force requested reconsideration of a Claims Division settlement holding him indebted to the Government for excess costs incurred incident to a permanent change of station. The claimant stated that he received estimates of 7,300 to 8,900 pounds from prospective carriers for shipment of his household goods. The carrier billed and was paid by the government on the basis of a weight of 15,000 pounds, the lower weight indicated in two weighings. Since the maximum authorized weight for which the Government is liable to pay under these circumstances is 11,000 pounds, the claimant was held indebted to the Government for the remaining 4,000 pounds. Regardless of the reasons for the shipment of the excessive weight of household goods, the law does not permit payment by the Government of charges incurred for shipment of the excess weight. The question of whether and to what extent authorized weights have been exceeded in the shipment of household effects is a question of fact primarily for administrative determination and ordinarily will not be questioned in the absence of evidence showing it to be clearly in error. The record contained two official weight certificates and there was no indication of error or fraud in their preparation. The fact that the certified actual weight was considerably more than the estimated weight does not provide a basis to relieve the claimant of liability for the excess weight of the goods shipped. Accordingly, the Claims Division settlement was sustained.