The short version
- Film everything before the crew arrives, while items are unwrapped and accessible.
- Record serial numbers and existing marks on anything valuable, close enough to read and to see.
- Film the property too — doorframes, banisters, floors, the lift — at both ends.
- At delivery, film the unwrapping, item by item, before anything is moved into position.
- Note damage on the delivery paperwork before you sign, and film the note you wrote.
- Report it in writing immediately, with the clips attached.
Why transit claims fail
A carrier handling a damage claim has one obvious defence: the item was already like that. Without a dated record from before the move, that defence is unanswerable — and most people's evidence is a photo of the damage, taken after the fact, which establishes only that damage exists now.
The second defence is the signature. A delivery note signed clean is a statement that the goods arrived in good order, and unpicking it afterwards is difficult. Both problems are solved with a phone and about twenty minutes of effort spread across the move.
Before the move
Furniture
- Each large item, all sides, before wrapping
- Existing chips, scuffs, wobbles and repairs
- Legs and feet — where transit damage lands
- Disassembly: film it coming apart, and the fixings bag
Electronics and appliances
- Model and serial numbers, readable
- Screens, powered on if possible
- Cables and remotes packed with the item
- Appliances: drained, and the drum secured
Fragile and valuable
- Artwork and mirrors, front and back, in the frame
- Instruments, in and out of their cases
- Glass, marble and stone tops
- Anything you would claim more than a few hundred for
The properties
- Doorframes, architraves and skirting at both ends
- Floors, stair treads, banisters
- Lift interior and communal corridors
- Driveway, gateposts, parking area
The property clips matter more than people expect. A landlord or building manager will bill you for a gouged doorframe, and the crew will say it was there already. Film both ends before the van is loaded.
At loading
If the crew wraps items, film a few going into the wrapping so the wrapped shape is tied to a known item. For a container or a shared load, film the container's interior before loading, the loaded stack, and the seal number as it is fitted. On an international move, the packing list and the seal number are the two things every subsequent conversation refers to.
At delivery — the critical twenty minutes
- Film the unwrapping. This is the single most valuable clip in the whole process, because it shows the item emerging from packing that the carrier applied.
- Inspect before items are placed. Once a wardrobe is against a wall, its back is unexaminable and a claim is much weaker.
- Do not sign a clean note. Write what you found, and if you have not been able to check everything, write that you are signing subject to inspection and that the goods are unexamined.
- Film the note you wrote, including the driver's copy, before it leaves.
- Keep the packaging. A crushed corner on the carton is evidence about how the damage happened, and carriers often ask to inspect it.
After delivery
Report in writing the same day, even if the list is incomplete, and say that further damage may emerge as unpacking continues. Claim windows for transit damage are short and are enforced. Attach the before clip, the unwrapping clip and a photo of the damage, and quantify each item with a receipt, a like-for-like listing or a repair quote.
Doing it with CompareAI Inspect
- A project per move, with a scan per item or per room, named so the before and after pair up automatically.
- Before is the pre-move record; After is the unwrapping at delivery, so the AI reports what changed rather than describing a sofa.
- Findings with location and severity, which becomes the itemised list the claim needs.
- SHA-256 on every clip and on the report, verifiable at compareai.work/verify — useful when a claim is contested weeks later.
- Works offline, which matters in a stripped house with the broadband already cancelled, or at a warehouse loading bay.
Not legal advice. Carrier liability, claim windows and the effect of signing a delivery note vary by company, by contract and by whether the move is domestic or international. Read your contract and your insurance before you rely on any deadline here; notice periods for transit damage are often measured in days.
Questions people ask
How long do I have to report transit damage?
Short, and set by your contract rather than by custom — frequently a handful of days from delivery for domestic removals, and sometimes shorter for international carriage. Report in writing on the day you find it and say that unpacking is continuing, rather than waiting until you have a complete list.
Should I refuse to sign the delivery note?
Signing is normal; signing it clean is the problem. Write what you have found, and add that you are signing subject to inspection because the goods are still packed. Then film the annotated note. A note that records a reservation is far easier to build on than one that says everything arrived in good order.
Do I really need to film the unwrapping?
It is the most useful clip you will take. It shows the item emerging from the carrier's own packing, which removes the argument that the damage happened before or after their custody. If you film nothing else at delivery, film this.
What if I find damage days later, after unpacking?
Report it immediately and point back to your written reservation on the delivery note. Damage found late is harder to sustain, which is why the reservation matters: it establishes that the goods were unexamined when you signed. Film the item as found, with its packaging.
Does my insurer need itemised values?
Almost always, and usually with evidence — receipts, listings for equivalent items, or a valuation for anything unusual. A pre-move video makes this straightforward because the item, its condition and often its serial number are already recorded together.
What about damage to the house rather than the furniture?
Same method, and it is the claim people forget. Film doorframes, floors, banisters and the lift at both properties before loading begins. Without that, a deposit deduction or a building-management charge for a scraped corridor is very hard to push back on.