Choosing a Moving Company

Moving house is usually known as being one of the most demanding experiences. The entire process of packing up our things, leaving our apartment and moving to a completely new environment is stressful enough. What’s even worse is that we have to depend on the trustworthiness and professionalism of strangers to move our personal belongings! Unless you’re someone who moves a lot, we don’t usually “practice” moving out, and so we have to make the whole process flawless. Below are some tips on how you can choose the right moving company for you, so that you won’t have any more headaches just thinking of entrusting your belongings to movers you’ve never done business with before.

First, select the type of mover you require—there are a number of them, and each may specialize in certain types of services. For instance, you have the option to go with a relocation service, local mover, interstate moving company, household shipper, trucking service or pack-and-stack service. Ask for recommendations from your friends, family, neighbors and colleagues for tips and warnings. Your next step is to contact many of the suggested moving companies. Inquire how long these companies have been dealing with consumers, their profile, the skills of their packers and drivers, and if they provide storage, and if called for, if they’re licensed for interstate transport.

Confirm that the mover is both licensed and insured. You can do this by requesting information on any particular company from state agencies, DOT, PUC or Better Business Bureau. It’s always better if the moving company is a part of the trade organization, like the American Movers Conference. Narrow down your list and shop around among your top moving companies for estimates.

Do Your Homework

It is highly essential that your research on the top moving companies you’ve selected for yourself. It’s a common horror story where a consumer has let a company load all his or her stuff in the truck, only to be told that additional charges have been incurred, which are way more than the estimate stated over the phone. And when the customer is unable or unwilling to pay for the much larger amount, the truck would have already left.

Most moving companies have websites that indicate their services, locations they are able to transport items to, service experience and approximately how much it will cost. This is a good sign that a company is willing to lay it all out on the table for their customers (stay cautious, though, as not everything claimed online is always true). Good moving companies will also indicate contact information rather than incomplete information (This should be suspicious enough). You should be able to ask as many questions as you want and get the answers you expect. The Better Business Bureau is a good place to start asking about certain companies. You’ll be able to find out if a certain moving company has had several past complaints and if they’ve dealt with those complaints accordingly.

Finally, get to know the red flags that indicate a company scam. Scams in this case usually involve a mover not willing to do an onsite inspection of your items, demanding cash or a very big deposit, not willing to give you a copy of your rights and responsibilities when you move, mentions only “movers” or “moving company” over the phone upon answering instead of the company’s name, and has a non-existent address.