To file a moving damage claim in Quebec, send the mover written notice within 60 days of delivery. Article 2050 of the Civil Code of Québec makes a damages action against a carrier inadmissible without that written notice, whether or not the damage was visible on delivery day. For goods that never arrived, the window is nine months from the shipping date. Photograph everything, list each item, state an approximate amount, and keep the sent copy. A phone call is not notice. An email is.
This article covers three connected things: the mechanism for filing a claim, how a moving company's insurance actually works in this province, and how to tell, before you book, whether a mover understands its own coverage.
A short recap for anyone arriving here first. A Quebec bill of lading states a released value: the amount per kilogram, per article, that the mover is liable for when something is lost or damaged in its care. On a local move that figure is $1.32/kg. On an interprovincial move it is $4.41/kg. It applies unless you declared a higher value in writing before the move. It is a liability limit set by contract, and it is where every claim starts.
Does a mover's cargo insurance mean I get real value if something breaks?
No. A mover's cargo insurance protects the mover, not you. What you receive is set by the contract of carriage and the bill of lading: $1.32/kg per article on a local Quebec move, $4.41/kg per article interprovincially, unless you declared a higher value in writing. A $50,000 cargo policy reimburses the company for what it is legally liable to pay. It does not raise what the company is legally liable to pay.
That paragraph is the whole article in miniature. Here is the long version.
Ask a mover about coverage and a common answer is some version of: "We carry $50,000 in cargo insurance, so if we damage anything we replace it at its real value." It sounds reassuring. It is almost always wrong, and the reason is not dishonesty. It is a category error. Two different numbers, with two different owners, are being run together as if they were one.
The first number is what the mover owes you. That is set by the contract of carriage, and specifically by the bill of lading you sign before the truck is loaded. In Quebec the standard figure is $1.32/kg per article on a local move and $4.41/kg per article on an interprovincial move. If you declared a higher value in writing and paid for added protection, the declared value replaces it. Otherwise, that per-kilo figure is the ceiling on the mover's liability to you.
The second number is what the mover's cargo policy covers. A cargo policy is the mover's own protection against the money it might have to pay out. When a mover holds $50,000 in cargo coverage, its insurer agrees to reimburse the mover, up to $50,000, for amounts the mover is legally liable to pay. The policy sits behind the mover. It never faces you. You are not the insured, you are not a beneficiary, and the $50,000 is not a pool of money set aside for your television.
So the plumbing runs in a set order. Your claim settles against the contract first: the bill of lading, the released value, any declared value. Then, if the mover chooses to involve its insurer, the insurer reimburses the mover against the policy. You never touch the policy.
This is why a company can hold a genuine $50,000 cargo policy and still legitimately owe $30 for a destroyed 50 lb television. Fifty pounds at $0.60/lb (the imperial equivalent of $1.32/kg) is $30. Both facts are true at the same time: the policy is real, and the liability is $30. The customer hears "insured for $50,000" and reasonably concludes they are covered for what the television cost. They are not, unless they declared value in writing.
| What the mover owes you | What the mover's policy covers | |
|---|---|---|
| Set by | The contract of carriage and the bill of lading | The insurance contract between the mover and its insurer |
| Typical figure | $1.32/kg per article (local), $4.41/kg per article (interprovincial), or your declared value | A policy limit such as $50,000 |
| Who receives the money | You | The mover, as reimbursement for what it paid |
| Does it change what you get? | Yes. This is your entitlement. | No. It caps the insurer's reimbursement to the mover, not your claim. |
The honest read on a mover who gives the "$50,000, real value" answer is one of two things. Either the company has not understood its own policy, or it is describing the wrong number in good faith because that is the number printed on its insurance certificate. In both cases, ask the follow-up question: is that liability, or is it insurance?
How long do I have to report moving damage in Quebec?
You have 60 days from delivery to give the mover written notice of a claim for damaged or lost goods. The period comes from article 2050 of the Civil Code of Québec, and it runs whether or not the damage was apparent on delivery day. If the goods were never delivered at all, the notice period is nine months from the date of shipment. Notice is not required if you bring a court action within those same periods.
The rule is statutory, not a matter of company policy, and it cuts in both directions. It protects you, because a mover cannot lawfully treat a claim as dead after two days. It also protects the mover, because after 60 days without written notice a damages action becomes inadmissible. That word, inadmissible, is the one to remember: a court will not hear the claim. This is why the single most important thing you do after discovering damage is put it in writing.
The Regulation respecting the requirements applicable to bills of lading (chapter T-12, r. 6, under the Transport Act) reinforces the same structure for goods described in a bill of lading. It requires written notice of a claim within 60 days of delivery, setting out the origin, the destination, the date of shipment and the approximate amount claimed, and it requires the final claim, with proof that the transport charges were paid, within nine months of shipment. The same regulation provides that a carrier is not obliged to transport documents, cash or articles of very great value unless specifically agreed, which is why those items should travel with you, not on the truck.
There is no household-goods exception to any of this. Where a moving job is a contract of carriage and a bill of lading is issued, article 2050 and the regulation govern.
| Situation | Deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Goods delivered with damage or items missing | Written notice within 60 days of delivery | Art. 2050 CCQ; Regulation T-12, r. 6 |
| Damage not visible at delivery, discovered while unpacking | The same 60 days from delivery | Art. 2050 CCQ |
| Goods never delivered | Written notice within nine months of shipment | Art. 2050 CCQ; Regulation T-12, r. 6 |
| Final claim under a bill of lading | Within nine months of shipment, with proof of payment of transport charges | Regulation T-12, r. 6 |
| Court action filed within the notice period | No separate notice required | Art. 2050 CCQ |
Is my move a contract of carriage or a contract of service, and why does it matter?
A moving job is a contract of carriage when its object is moving your property from one place to another. That gives you an obligation of result: under article 2049 of the Civil Code of Québec the carrier must repair damage resulting from carriage unless it proves superior force, an inherent defect, or normal shrinkage. A contract of service carries an obligation of means, and you must prove fault. The 60-day written notice rule attaches to carriage, and the bill of lading is the document that anchors it.
Here is why the distinction matters in practice. Under a contract of carriage, you do not have to prove how the table got scratched. It was fine when the crew loaded it, it was scratched when they set it down, and the law presumes the carrier is responsible for what happened in between. The mover can rebut that presumption, but the grounds are narrow and the burden is on the mover. Under a contract of service, the burden flips. You would need to show the crew failed to act with the prudence and diligence a competent mover would have used, which is much harder about an event you did not witness.
Can a moving job be a contract of service? Arguably, yes, and this is where the law is unsettled rather than clear. A job that bundles packing, loading, furniture assembly and unloading involves work that is not carriage in the narrow sense, and a court will look at what the parties actually agreed to. The contract of carriage is defined at article 2030 of the Civil Code and the contract of service at article 2098; how the contract and the bill of lading are drafted determines which one describes your job. That is why we tell readers to look for one specific document.
Look for a bill of lading. A bill of lading is the document of carriage. It describes what was shipped, from where to where, on what date, in what apparent condition, and at what valuation. Its existence is strong evidence that the parties treated the job as carriage, and it is the document the Quebec regulation on bills of lading expects to see when a claim is made. If a mover offers a quote with no terms and no bill of lading, you are not just missing paperwork. You are missing the anchor for the stronger of the two legal regimes.
Can a mover impose a 24-hour or 48-hour deadline on damage claims?
A mover can ask to be told about damage quickly, and that request is reasonable. A mover cannot shorten the statutory 60-day written notice period in article 2050 of the Civil Code of Québec. A contract clause stating that a claim not reported within 24 or 48 hours is forfeited describes a company preference, not the law. Report promptly anyway, because fresh evidence helps your claim. But a short company deadline does not extinguish your recourse.
A mover that says "please tell us within a few days" is asking for something that helps everyone: the crew remembers the job, the truck has not moved on to other work, the packaging is still in your apartment. A mover that says "claims not reported within 24 hours will not be accepted" is asserting a power the contract does not have. The statutory notice window is 60 days. Fast reporting is in your interest. Losing your rights on day two is not something a contract can do to you.
One related clause deserves a plain statement. A clause that makes your damage claim conditional on paying the mover's invoice in full is a prohibited practice. Under Quebec's Consumer Protection Act a merchant cannot use its own contract to release itself from the consequences of its own acts, and that is what a pay-first-or-no-claim clause tries to do. The regulation on bills of lading does ask that the final claim, within nine months, be accompanied by proof that the transport charges were paid; that is a document requirement for the final claim, and it does not authorize a mover to refuse your written notice or to sit on a claim because an invoice is in dispute.
How do I file a moving damage claim, step by step?
File a moving damage claim in Quebec by inspecting your goods at delivery, photographing every damaged item the same day, and sending the mover written notice within 60 days that lists each item, the move date, the origin and destination addresses, what happened, and an approximate amount claimed. Attach the photographs. Keep the sent copy. Then compare two numbers before negotiating: the released value on your bill of lading and the actual replacement cost.
Each step below includes the reasoning, because knowing why a step matters is what makes you do it when you are tired, three days into a new apartment, standing over a cracked screen.
1. Inspect at delivery, before the crew leaves
Walk every room while the crew is still there. Open the boxes holding your high-value items: the television, the computer, the china, the mirror. Check large furniture on every side, including the back and the underside of tables. If you see damage, point it out and, where the paperwork allows, note it on the delivery document before you sign. A note on the delivery paperwork, made in front of the crew, is the strongest contemporaneous record you will ever have of the condition of your goods on arrival.
Sign for receipt, not for condition. Acknowledging that the goods were delivered is fine. If the form says the goods were received in good condition and they were not, write the exceptions beside your signature.
2. Photograph immediately: the item, the damage, and where it sits
Take three photographs of every damaged item. One of the whole item, one close enough to show the damage clearly, and one showing where the item is sitting in the new home. Keep the originals, with their metadata, unedited.
Timestamps matter because of how the carrier's presumption of liability works. Under article 2049 of the Civil Code, the carrier is presumed liable for damage that occurred while the goods were in its care. The further from delivery day your report arrives, the more room there is to argue that the damage happened afterward, in your own apartment, during your own unpacking. A photograph taken on delivery day closes that argument before it opens. A photograph taken two weeks later does not, even though your legal window is still open.
If a box arrives crushed, photograph the box before you open it, then photograph the contents.
3. Notify in writing, not by phone
Article 2050 of the Civil Code of Québec requires written notice. A phone call is not written notice. A conversation with the crew chief is not written notice. A text message is open to argument. An email is written notice, and it produces its own dated, sent copy.
Keep the sent message. If a dispute ever reaches a court, the thing you will need to produce is proof that written notice went to the carrier within 60 days of delivery. The sent email is that proof.
4. What the written notice should contain
The Quebec regulation on bills of lading (T-12, r. 6) specifically contemplates a notice that identifies the origin, the destination, the shipping date, and the approximate amount claimed. Build your notice around those four elements and add the practical detail a claims handler needs:
- The move date, the origin address and the destination address.
- The bill of lading or job number, if you have one.
- A description of each damaged or missing item, one line per item, with its approximate weight if you know it.
- What happened, if you know: the crew dropped it, it arrived crushed in its box, it never came off the truck.
- The photographs, attached or linked.
- An approximate amount claimed per item. You can revise it later. The regulation asks for an approximate figure in the notice and a final claim afterward.
Do not write an essay. A short, numbered list with photographs is easier to process and harder to dispute than three paragraphs of narrative.
5. Know your two numbers before negotiating
The first number is the released value on your bill of lading, which caps the mover's contractual liability: $1.32/kg per article on a local move, $4.41/kg per article interprovincially, unless you declared a higher value. The second number is the real replacement cost of the item. The gap between them is the conversation.
Work the arithmetic before you send the second email. A 50 lb television at $0.60/lb (the imperial form of $1.32/kg) is $30. A 100 lb dining table is $60. If you declared value in writing before the move, the declared figure applies instead, and the negotiation is about repair or replacement up to that figure. If you did not, the per-kilo figure is what the contract obliges the mover to pay, and anything above it is a matter of the mover's practice or goodwill. You are not arguing about whether the mover is liable; that is presumed. You are discussing how the mover chooses to resolve a liability whose legal floor you both already know.
6. If you packed it yourself, expect the packing exclusion
Boxes you packed yourself are treated differently from boxes the mover packed. If an item broke inside a sealed box that you packed, expect the mover to invoke the packed-by-owner exclusion: the mover did not control how the item was wrapped, so it does not accept liability for breakage inside the box. This is standard, it is usually stated on the bill of lading, and it is why professional packing shifts packing-related risk onto the mover.
The exclusion is narrower than it is sometimes presented. Damage to the outside of a box (a crushed carton, a box that was clearly dropped) is evidence of handling, not packing. Damage to furniture is not packing. A missing box is not packing. Read the exclusion for what it actually covers and hold the line on the rest.
7. Keep a damage claim separate from a billing dispute
If you also think the invoice is wrong, deal with that separately. A damage claim is a question of the carrier's liability under a contract of carriage, with its own notice rule and its own evidence. A billing dispute is a question of what the contract price was and what work was done. They go to different places, they are decided on different facts, and mixing them weakens both. A mover reading an email that disputes the bill and claims for a broken lamp in the same breath will treat the whole message as a negotiating position. Send two emails.
If you must pay a disputed invoice to close the job, pay under protest, in writing, and pursue the overcharge afterward. That keeps the damage claim on its own track.
8. If it stalls: the courts, small claims, and the OPC
If the mover stops answering or refuses a claim you believe is valid, the recourse is the courts. For smaller amounts that is the Small Claims Division of the Court of Québec, where you represent yourself and the process is designed for individuals. The 60-day written notice you sent at step 3 is what keeps that door open; without it, the court will not hear the claim. Bring the bill of lading, the photographs, the sent notice, the mover's replies, and proof of what the item was worth.
A formal demand letter (a mise en demeure) sent before filing gives the mover a last chance to settle and shows the court you tried. The Office de la protection du consommateur handles complaints about merchant practices: the prohibited payment clause, the missing written contract on a phone or online booking, the deposit demanded up front. It does not adjudicate your damage claim, but its guidance on moving is worth reading before you book.
What counts as written notice of a moving damage claim?
Written notice under article 2050 of the Civil Code of Québec is any dated writing that reaches the carrier and identifies the claim: an email to the mover's claims or contact address, a letter, or a note recorded on the delivery paperwork and acknowledged by the crew. Registered mail is not required, but it is useful when a mover is unresponsive. A phone call is not written notice. A text message is open to argument. What the notice needs is proof of sending and a date inside the 60 days.
The purpose of the notice, and the reason courts enforce it, is to let the carrier examine the damage and gather its own evidence while that is still possible. That tells you how to write it: identify the shipment, identify the items, describe the damage, and make it easy for the mover to come and look. Keep the damaged item and its packaging until the claim is settled in writing, because the mover is entitled to inspect them. If you reported damage on the delivery paperwork, send an email anyway that refers to it and states the approximate amount. The delivery note proves the condition on arrival. The email proves the claim.
What does the per-kilo liability actually pay on real items?
The released value on a Quebec bill of lading pays by weight, not by value. At $1.32/kg per article on a local move, a 50 lb (22.7 kg) television pays $30 and a 100 lb (45.4 kg) table pays $60. Interprovincially, at $4.41/kg (which is $2.00/lb), the same television pays $100 and the same table pays $200. Light, valuable items are where the gap between released value and replacement cost is widest, and they are the items to declare.
| Item | Weight | Local move at $1.32/kg ($0.60/lb) | Interprovincial at $4.41/kg ($2.00/lb) | Suppose you paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Television | 50 lb (22.7 kg) | 50 × $0.60 = $30 | 50 × $2.00 = $100 | $900 |
| Dining table | 100 lb (45.4 kg) | 100 × $0.60 = $60 | 100 × $2.00 = $200 | $1,200 |
| Laptop | 4 lb (1.8 kg) | 4 × $0.60 = $2.40 | 4 × $2.00 = $8 | $1,500 |
The purchase prices are illustrations, not averages. The pattern is what matters. Weight-based liability tracks the mass of your furniture, so a heavy table yields a figure you can work with and a laptop yields almost nothing. If you own light, expensive things, the released value is not protection in any sense you would recognize. Declared value in writing before the move, or a check with your own home insurer about what your policy covers in transit, is how that gap gets closed. Both have to happen before the truck is loaded.
What protections apply when booking and paying a mover in Quebec?
Quebec consumer rules give you three protections at booking: avoid large deposits, pay by credit card to keep dispute and chargeback rights, and, for a move booked by phone or online, insist on the written contract the merchant must send within 15 days. That contract must include the company's details, the dates, the rates and payment terms, the services included (including insurance), and the cancellation and claim terms. A mover that books by phone and never sends a written contract has broken the rule.
The Office de la protection du consommateur publishes this guidance, and each item matters later, at claim time. A large cash deposit is money with no recovery mechanism if the mover does not show or does not pay a valid claim. A credit card payment carries the card network's dispute process. The written contract on a distance booking is where the claim terms are stated before the move, not discovered on moving day.
How CNS Logistics handles coverage and damage claims
CNS Logistics, a Montreal moving company operating since 2017 under NIR permit R-160041-1 from the Commission des transports du Québec, states its released value on every bill of lading: $1.32/kg per article on local Quebec moves and $4.41/kg per article interprovincially (Option A). Clients can declare a higher value in writing on the bill of lading and arrange added protection (Option B). CNS asks for damage reports in writing within 72 hours, and the statutory written notice window remains 60 days under article 2050 of the Civil Code of Québec.
This section is the worked example of everything above.
CNS's insurance, and why it is not your entitlement
CNS carries commercial insurance with a cargo limit of $50,000, civil liability of $2,500,000, and a $500 deductible. Those are real figures and clients are welcome to ask for the certificate. They are also the company's policy, not the customer's entitlement. The cargo limit is the insurer's ceiling for reimbursing CNS; it does not raise CNS's liability to a client above the released value or the declared value on the bill of lading. The civil liability figure covers the company's liability for injury or property damage to third parties, such as damage to a building during a move. The deductible is CNS's to pay, not the client's, and it never appears as a reduction on a client's settlement. A mover that answers the insurance question this way, by giving its numbers and immediately explaining whose numbers they are, is giving the answer this article teaches readers to test for.
72 hours is a request. 60 days is your right.
CNS asks clients to report damage in writing within 72 hours of the move, to info@cnslogistics.ca. That is a request, and it has a practical reason: within 72 hours the crew still remembers the job, the packaging is still on site, and the situation can be assessed while the evidence is fresh. It is not a bar on the client's rights. The statutory written notice window under article 2050 of the Civil Code of Québec is 60 days from delivery, and CNS says so on its own page.
| What CNS asks for | What the law gives you | |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting damage | In writing, within 72 hours, to info@cnslogistics.ca | Written notice within 60 days of delivery (art. 2050 CCQ) |
| Goods that never arrived | As soon as you notice | Written notice within nine months of shipment (art. 2050 CCQ) |
| Missing the company window | The claim is harder to assess; it is not extinguished | Missing the 60 days makes a damages action inadmissible |
| Who pays the deductible | CNS | Never the client |
How damage is often resolved in practice
Certain damage is covered or repaired directly by CNS rather than run through an insurance claim. That is a practice, not an entitlement. It depends on the job, it is not promised in advance, and it is not quantified here.
A careful reader will notice an apparent tension: the bill of lading states a per-kilo figure, and CNS nonetheless resolves certain damage directly. The two are not in conflict. The per-kilo figure is the legal floor. It is what governs if a claim is ever litigated, and it is what the contract obliges CNS to pay. Direct handling is a matter of practice on jobs where it fits: a repair arranged rather than a cheque calculated by weight, a replacement sourced rather than a file opened with the insurer. The floor is stated in writing so that everyone knows the minimum. The practice sits above it, case by case, and it is not written into the contract precisely because it is not a promise.
Professional packing and the packing exclusion
When CNS packs a client's boxes, packing-related risk sits with CNS rather than the client. Owner-packed boxes carry the standard packed-by-owner exclusion for breakage inside the sealed box. Clients who want that exclusion off the table for fragile items can have them professionally packed.
The deposit CNS asks for at booking
The booking section above tells you to avoid large deposits. CNS takes a deposit on moves of $3,000 or more, and that deposit never exceeds $300, whatever the size of the move. Below $3,000 there is no deposit. The balance is paid on delivery.
CNS's team can answer every question in the next section, before booking, in writing.
Eight questions to ask any mover about damage coverage, and how to read the answers
Before booking a mover in Quebec, ask eight questions: the liability per kilo and whether it differs interprovincially; whether that figure is liability or insurance; what a damaged 50 lb television actually pays; how to raise coverage and how it is recorded; the company's claims window versus the statutory 60-day window; whether a bill of lading is issued; who pays the deductible; and how owner-packed boxes are treated. A solid answer has numbers and documents. A weak answer has reassurance and no mechanism.
Weak answers are signs of confusion or missing information, not evidence of dishonesty. Ask the follow-up and see whether the answer improves.
1. What is your liability per kilo, and is it different interprovincially?
Why it matters: this is the number that caps what you receive.
A solid answer: a specific figure, such as $1.32/kg per article, and awareness that interprovincial moves carry a higher figure, $4.41/kg.
A weak answer: no number at all, or a number quoted as if it were the insurance policy.
2. Is that liability, or is it insurance?
Why it matters: this is the category error from the top of this article, and it is the single most useful tell you have.
A solid answer: distinguishes them without hesitating. Something like: "Our liability to you is $1.32 per kilo per article unless you declare value. Our cargo policy is separate. It covers us."
A weak answer: treats them as the same thing.
3. If you damage a 50 lb television, what do I actually receive?
Why it matters: this forces the arithmetic into the open before anything is loaded.
A solid answer: walks the math honestly (50 lb at $0.60/lb is $30), volunteers that basic coverage is low for light, valuable items, and explains how to raise it.
A weak answer: "we'll take care of it," with no number. Taking care of it is not a figure, and it is not a term you can enforce.
4. How do I raise my coverage, what does it cost, and how is it recorded?
Why it matters: declared value is the mechanism that replaces the per-kilo figure with a real one, and it works when it is written down.
A solid answer: declared value in writing on the bill of lading, a real price for the added protection, and a real process for recording it before the move.
A weak answer: no process, or a verbal assurance with nothing written. A verbal assurance about coverage is worth exactly what you can prove it was.
5. What is your claims window, and what is my legal window?
Why it matters: a mover that knows the difference respects it.
A solid answer: gives the company's request (for example, 72 hours in writing) and acknowledges the statutory period (60 days under article 2050 of the Civil Code) in the same breath.
A weak answer: presents a short company deadline as though it ends your rights.
6. Will I get a bill of lading?
Why it matters: the bill of lading is the document of carriage. It anchors the contract of carriage, the presumption of liability under article 2049, and the valuation.
A solid answer: yes, and it names the valuation.
A weak answer: no document, or a quote with no terms attached.
7. Who pays your deductible?
Why it matters: a deductible is a term of the mover's insurance contract, and it belongs to the mover.
A solid answer: the company does.
A weak answer: any answer that puts it on you. If a mover deducts its own insurance deductible from your settlement, you are subsidizing the mover's policy.
8. What happens with boxes I packed myself?
Why it matters: the packed-by-owner exclusion is standard, and the time to learn about it is before the move, not after.
A solid answer: explains the exclusion clearly and in advance, and tells you what professional packing would change.
A weak answer: silence, or a discovery that happens for the first time when you file a claim.
The red flags, as a group
None of these is attached to anyone in particular. Together they describe a booking you should not make without more information: a large deposit demanded up front; refusal to accept a credit card; no written contract on a phone or online booking; no bill of lading; and a claim window presented as extinguishing your rights.
This article is general information about moving damage claims and moving-company insurance in Quebec. It is not legal or insurance advice. Confirm the details of any coverage with your mover and your own insurer before relying on them.