A week after the move, an email with three photos
The customer writes to say the mirror is cracked and a table leg is loose. There are three photos attached and a question about what you are going to do. The office forwards it to the manager, who asks the crew leader, who remembers the mirror but thinks it was already cracked.
Now the search begins. Where is the job sheet? Did anyone photograph the mirror? Which terms did the customer accept, and was a declaration returned? What time limit applies to claims under your terms? Meanwhile the customer sends a second, less patient email.
Why claims get messy
Claims are infrequent enough that there is no routine for them, and important enough that getting them wrong hurts. The evidence exists, but in too many places.
- Claims arrive by email, phone, review sites and social media.
- Job sheets, photos and signed forms are stored separately.
- The crew's version of events is collected by phone and not written down.
- Deadlines in your terms or your insurer's process are tracked in someone's head.
- There is no record of how past claims were settled.
What a messy claims process costs
Time is the first cost: hours of searching and rewriting the same story. Weak evidence can mean paying for damage you did not cause. Slow, confused replies turn a small claim into a public review.
And without a record of claims, you cannot see which crews, item types or move types keep appearing.
How we build a claims log around the job
- The customer reports a claim through a form linked from your website or emails, choosing the move and adding photos and a description for each item.
- A claim is opened against the job and pulls in the inventory, the condition notes and photos from the job sheet, the signed terms and any declaration.
- The crew leader is asked for their account through their job sheet app, and it is saved against the claim.
- Key dates are tracked, such as when the claim arrived and any time limits your terms or insurer set, with reminders before they pass.
- Every message to and from the customer is logged on the claim, from email and phone notes.
- The outcome, whether repair, payment, referral to your insurer or rejection, is recorded with the reason, as decided by your team.
| Evidence | Pulled from |
|---|---|
| Condition before loading | Job sheet photos and notes |
| Customer sign-off | Completed job sheet |
| Terms and declaration | Pre-move pack |
| Crew account | Crew leader's reply |
| Customer's evidence | Claim form photos |
We build the record and the workflow. Whether a claim is accepted and how it is settled stays with you, your terms and your insurer.
What handling a claim looks like after
When the email arrives, the office opens a claim and the evidence is already there. The customer gets a clear acknowledgement and a way to add more photos. Decisions are made on facts, and the reply goes out while the customer is still reasonable.
Every few months, the claims report shows what is going wrong and where, which is worth more than any individual settlement.
Are claims taking over someone's week?
- Claims arrive in several places and are handled from email threads.
- Finding the job sheet and photos takes longer than deciding the claim.
- Crew accounts are collected by phone and not recorded.
- Time limits are tracked from memory.
- You cannot see patterns in what gets damaged.