Furniture Arrived Damaged? Concealed Damage, Freight Claims and How to Protect the Order

When furniture arrives damaged, what you do in the first hour decides whether anyone pays for it. Visible damage gets written on the delivery receipt before the driver leaves. Concealed damage, the kind hidden inside a carton that looked fine at the door, has to be reported fast, with photos and the packaging kept. Then a freight claim, filed by whoever owned the goods while they were on the truck, asks the trucking company to pay. This guide walks through each step for interior designers and for homeowners buying high-end furniture, then covers how to set up an order so damage is caught early.

What to do the moment you see damage

1. Stop unpacking. Leave the piece and its packaging where they are. The packaging is evidence: an inspector can often learn more from a crushed corner or a puncture than from the piece itself.
2. Photograph everything. The carton from every side, the shipping labels and any sidemark, the damage close up and from a distance, and the inner packaging. Keep the original files, with their dates.
3. Write it on the delivery receipt. If the driver is still there, describe the damage on the receipt (the proof of delivery, or the delivery copy of the bill of lading) and ask the driver to initial it. What to write is below.
4. Keep all the packaging. Cartons, foam, corner blocks, crates and pallets, until the seller or the carrier says you can throw them away.
5. Tell the seller in writing, the same day. Email the vendor or the store with the order number, the photos and a copy of the receipt. A phone call is a fine start; the written record is what counts later.
6. Don't repair, use or send it back yet. A touch-up or a return trip arranged on your own can make the damage impossible to prove.

Visible damage vs concealed damage

Freight carriers sort damage into two kinds, and the difference decides how hard the claim will be.

That last row is why concealed damage causes the most trouble. A clean signature tells the carrier the shipment arrived in good order. Many freight carriers follow a rule in the National Motor Freight Classification, NMFC Item 300135, that asks for notice of concealed damage within five business days of delivery, so the goods and the packaging can be inspected while the evidence is fresh. Your carrier's own rules may set a different window, so check them, and report the damage the day you find it rather than counting the days.

What to write on the delivery receipt

Write what you can see, not a general worry. A specific note holds up; a vague one gives the carrier little to go on.

• Specific: "Carton 2 of 3 crushed at top corner, table leg broken." "Crate split on left side, contents not checked." "Received 4 cartons, bill of lading shows 5."
• Vague: "Subject to inspection" or "possible damage" with nothing else. A claim built on a note like that is far weaker than one built on a description.
• If the driver won't wait while you look, write that on the receipt too.

Know what the note is not. Under the federal rules on cargo claims, a damage note on a delivery receipt does not count as a claim on its own (49 CFR 370.3). It is evidence. The claim comes afterward, in writing.

Should you refuse the delivery? Only after asking the seller. When a piece is plainly destroyed, some sellers want it refused so it goes back on the carrier's account; others want it accepted with the damage noted so they can send a replacement or a repair technician. Refusing without asking can leave a piece sitting in a carrier's depot while everyone argues about who has it.

Who files the freight claim?

The right to claim belongs to whoever suffered the loss, which usually means whoever owned the goods while they were on the truck. That comes down to the terms of sale, not to who opened the box.

• Retail purchases delivered to your home. The seller usually books the carrier and deals with it. Your claim is with the seller, under its damage policy and your purchase terms, and the seller files the freight claim.
• Trade orders shipped to a designer or a receiving warehouse. Check how the vendor sells. Under "FOB destination" terms the seller carries the risk until the goods arrive, so the vendor files. Under "FOB origin" or "FOB factory" terms the risk passes to the buyer once the goods are handed to the carrier (UCC 2-319), so the claim may be yours or your client's to file, even though the vendor booked the truck.
• Freight you booked yourself. If you hired the trucking company directly, you are the shipper and you file.

Whoever files, the claim can go to the carrier that picked the freight up, the carrier that delivered it, or the carrier that issued the bill of lading. The delivering carrier is usually the simplest choice, because it holds the delivery records.

How a freight claim works

Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's cargo-claim rules, a claim must be in writing and must do three things (49 CFR 370.3):

• identify the shipment: the bill of lading number, the carrier's tracking (pro) number, the dates and the pieces;
• say the carrier is liable for the loss or damage;
• ask for a specific amount of money.

Send the paperwork with it. The carrier will want the bill of lading, proof of the freight charges and the invoice for the goods (49 CFR 370.7), and your case is stronger with the photos, the noted delivery receipt, any inspection report and a repair estimate if the piece can be fixed.

The law behind most of these limits is 49 U.S.C. 14706, the federal cargo liability statute often called the Carmack Amendment. These are the minimums for trucking between states; your bill of lading, the carrier's tariff or a contract can change the details, so check your terms. Don't wait for a deadline either. The longer a claim sits, the harder it is to prove.

One more thing to check before anything ships: how the freight is valued. A carrier can limit what it pays to a "released value" set in its tariff or written on the bill of lading (49 U.S.C. 14706(c)), and under the standard bill of lading terms that limit is worked out from the weight of each damaged piece, not from what the piece cost. For a light, expensive piece, the payout can be far below the invoice. Ask the vendor what valuation or cargo cover the shipment carries before you approve the order.

My furniture was delivered damaged. What are my rights?

For a homeowner, the answer starts with the seller, not the trucking company. Your contract is with the store or brand you bought from, and so are your rights to a repair, a replacement or a refund. The seller deals with its carrier.

What helps most: report the damage in writing as soon as you find it, inside the seller's reporting window (it is in the order confirmation or the terms of sale, and some windows are only a few days); send the photos and the noted delivery receipt; keep the packaging until the seller tells you otherwise; and ask what they will do, and by when. If the seller won't put it right, your state's consumer protection office can explain your options. This guide is general information, not legal advice, and for a large loss it is worth talking to a lawyer.

On a white glove delivery, the crew unpacks and places the piece in the room, so damage is usually found while the crew is still there. Point it out before you sign anything, and photograph it with the crew present.

How designers protect the order before it ships

Damage is cheaper to prevent, or to catch early, than to claim. Before a trade order ships:

• Ask how it is packed. For a fragile or one-off piece, ask whether it travels crated, boxed or blanket-wrapped. If it will move again later, custom crating is worth pricing.
• Ask how it is valued. Released value or declared value, and whether the vendor carries cargo cover, as above.
• Put the sidemark on every carton. The project name and room on each carton, so the receiver can match it and a damaged carton can be traced to its line item.
• Send the receiver your list. Line items, quantities, vendors and expected dates, so a short or damaged arrival is spotted the day it lands.
• Ask for the bill of lading. It shows what the vendor put on the truck, which settles arguments about what arrived.
• Leave room in the schedule. A replacement can take as long as the original order. Damage found the week a piece arrives can be fixed before install day; damage found on install day usually means a second trip.
• Ask for an inspection on the pieces that matter. A custom sofa or a stone table that waits months for the room to be ready should be opened and checked on arrival, not on install day.

A carton that sits sealed in storage for three months cannot be checked within five business days of delivery. If a piece is going to wait, have it opened when it arrives.

What a receiving warehouse changes

Designers send orders to a receiving warehouse for many reasons, and damage is one of the main ones: a dock team, not your client, meets the truck. This is how it works at our receiving warehouse for interior designers:

• Every delivery is photographed in its packaging as it comes off the truck and condition-checked against the list you sent us.
• If the packaging arrives damaged, we tell you before anything is stored, and you decide whether we open it.
• When you ask, we open the cartons and inspect each piece, at no charge. That is how concealed damage gets found in the first days, while it can still be reported, instead of on install day.
• We ask for the bill of lading, so we know what the vendor actually shipped.
• If something arrives damaged, we document it and file the claim with the vendor, with the arrival photos behind it, so a replacement can be ordered early.
• Pieces wait in climate-controlled storage, and valuation cover applies to goods in storage.
• On delivery day the crew protects the route in, places and assembles each piece, and takes the packaging away. Each piece is photographed at delivery, and you are asked to report any damage before you sign off. We can book the freight elevator and provide the certificate of insurance; our building prep guide explains what buildings ask for.

The same steps apply on hotel and commercial projects, where FF&E arrives from dozens of vendors over months. Our warehouse shipping and receiving page explains the whole receiving process.

Elite Anywhere takes deliveries at 34 warehouse locations, 10 of them our own staffed hubs, from 9am to 3pm on weekdays, by appointment. Tell us what is on the way, and we'll respond within 24 hours.