The Permanent Change of Station Joint Task Force collaborated with U.S. Transportation Command and its subordinate organizations to help service members and War Department civilians recover and resolve household goods claims that became stalled following the termination of a contract with HomeSafe Alliance earlier this year.
This initiative started after PCSing personnel encountered difficulties communicating with the company, and many service members experienced disruptions in post-shipment claim visibility and response timelines.
Transcom's Directorate of Acquisition immediately engaged HomeSafe to ensure it was still processing household goods shipment claims. However, by early September, the company reported losing full access to all claims information and records and visibility of HomeSafe Connect, the company's information technology software.
The task force stepped up and developed a one-page guide explaining how to file claims directly on the company's website, based on their guidance.
"Our team worked to bridge the gap between service members, civilians and HomeSafe Alliance by facilitating communication and providing status updates with support from our [acquisition] team," said Air Force Master Sgt. Abby Reams, task force personal property subject matter expert.
During this time, Transcom retained the capability to track claims submissions; HomeSafe, however, did not, creating gaps in claims tracking. Through analytics, the Defense Personal Property Management Office identified approximately 180 claims that had been incorrectly filed and were unknown to HomeSafe.
By Oct. 9, HomeSafe Connect had shut down completely. This left phone and email as the only ways for the task force to address claims.
To reconcile these, the Directorate of Acquisition shared the management office's findings with HomeSafe, and the company provided its own list of 90 additional claims that the management office team didn't identify due to internal system issues and differing dates.
Combining both lists — nearly 270 personnel and 10 times as many claimed items — the task force worked with the directorate to create a tracker and centralize inquiries, thereby improving coordination and communication.
"When we reached out, many service members and [War Department] civilians told us they thought they'd been forgotten or that their claims didn't matter," Reams said. "They praised our team for ensuring their claims were valid, submitted and resolved. Our team remains committed to helping everyone who reaches out to the call center, making the moving process a little easier as they transition to their next assignment or new home."
The PCS JTF remains committed to ensuring every claim is addressed and resolved. It continues daily reviews of outstanding claims and ensures coordination continues among the government, HomeSafe and affected service members, DOW civilians and their families.