Most estimate disputes and bad reviews in the moving industry trace back to one root cause: a verbal or rough-guess estimate that turns out to be wrong once the truck is loaded. FMCSA Item 411 exists specifically to police this — it governs binding and binding-not-to-exceed (BNTE) estimates for interstate household goods moves, and requires the estimate be in writing, based on an actual or reasonably thorough survey of the shipment, and cite the specific tariff line items used to build the price. There are three estimate types. Non-binding is a moving target that can go up after the fact — the type most disputes come from. Straight binding locks one number no matter what, which is risky for the mover if the underlying inventory was wrong. Binding-not-to-exceed (BNTE), also called guaranteed-maximum, is the middle ground: the customer never pays more than quoted, but pays less if the actual move comes in lighter. Movers should default to BNTE because it protects the customer from surprise bills while still protecting margin, provided the inventory it is built on is accurate. A compliant estimate cites specific tariff items, not one lump number: Item 135 for linehaul, Item 16 for the fuel surcharge (indexed to the DOE weekly diesel price, not a flat guess), Item 60 for insurance/valuation, and Item 105 for packing labor and materials, with the mover's MC/DOT number displayed on the customer-facing quote. This level of detail is what makes an estimate defensible if a customer disputes the final bill — a single unexplained total is not. The survey requirement behind Item 411 does not specify an in-person visit — it requires a reasonably thorough survey of the shipment. A customer-filmed video walkthrough, with the AI recognizing every item and matching it to industry-standard volume tables, satisfies the same requirement an estimator's clipboard visit does, as long as the resulting inventory is accurate and the mover reviews it before the quote locks. This is the mechanism that lets a small mover write a compliant BNTE estimate without sending anyone to the house. Getting paid what was quoted, not what a customer decides to pay after the fact, comes down to two things: a properly built BNTE estimate with no ambiguity in the number, and a signed agreement with a deposit collected before the move, not after. MoveBlueprint pairs the AI video survey with binding-not-to-exceed estimates, e-signature, and Stripe Connect deposits (100% to the mover, no platform fee) so the price is locked and partially paid before the crew shows up.