How To Hire The Right Mover

Finding The Best Company For The Best Price To Transport Your Possessions

(MarketWatch)  The task of packing up all your things to move to a new place can seem daunting at best. A move, whether it's cross-town or cross-country, is often fraught with anxiety and headaches: Which mover should I use? Am I getting a good deal? Will my belongings be safe?

Because moving expenses can run high, it's smart to do a little research before handing your money — and your hard-earned possessions — to just anyone. Follow this advice from Real Simple on how to hire a mover:

Start by getting recommendations for movers from family and friends. Real estate agents are also a good source. Look for companies that will offer you estimates in person — those are the only ones that will give you a reliable figure.

Once you have a few options, conduct a background check on the Web. It's easy enough: Start with the Better Business Bureau and try the American Moving and Storage Association, as well. If a moving company belongs to AMSA, it has agreed to follow AMSA's published tariffs and to participate in its arbitration program. (Since membership in AMSA is voluntary, don't rule out a company if it doesn't belong.)

You should also visit two Web sites that provide a list of companies that prompt frequent consumer complaints: MovingScam.com and MovingSham.com.

Next, get several in-home estimates, and ask for a written, binding one if you're moving to another state. Remember, a nonbinding estimate is just that — an estimate. The U.S. Department of Transportation warns that final costs are almost always higher. Show the mover everything you have to move (that means stuff hidden in basements and attics, as well), and be specific regarding details that might make the move harder (stairs, cramped spaces). Ask for references, and get the company's USDOT and motor carrier license numbers.

If one company offers a much lower bid than the others, it's smart to be skeptical. You can also negotiate with companies to get a good rate. Once you choose a company, make sure it's licensed to legally move you: Visit Safersys.org and enter the company's USDOT number. Check to see the company's profile matches the following:

You can also call the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration hotline at 1-888-368-7238 to check if there have been any complaints filed against your company.

[frankbowers]

all of the comments may mean to help but as the dad of a driver owner for Bekins Moving and Storage which I ride with often,as I am retired I think the author did not realize the best company or companies out there are only as good as the driver.When you move ask the Company rather it be United,Bekins or any company what the drivers loss ratios is if it is above .01 You will have a problem.Even in the picture with the United Co. here if one loloks close you will see the 3.1 ctn on the dolly upside down my son will not allow this and will not allow it to be loaded like this.His ratio is as of last week.018 which is very good the author must have been listening to some one in the office who had little to do with moving such as the salesman who is only out for his commission the drive always takes it in the shorts for a salesman greed.They ext. the guarantee weight at 3M when it is 4 or 5M. The driver pay.The best of good byes.(512 266 2233)Frank Bowers in Austin,TX

[frankbowers]

(cont0 from above of Frank Bowers.The company will allow any driver to pick up the furniture to get the sale they do not pay.the driver has to pay for his insurance and will not care as the insurance company will have to pay and the majority of the time they pay by weight a few dollars on the hundred weight and it is not adequate for the cost of the actual goods most often.When moving make sure all furniture is empty of all goods regardless of what the salesman may say.Dressers and furnityre is not made to haul cross country with 5 hundred pounds in the drawers it weakens the legs and this willnot show up until later. Never take a guarantee as if it is of less weight than the owner pays for things that are not there.Make sure all cartoons are full to the top and tight by the packers 9packers get paid by the cartoon and the cartoons cost the shipper for a unnecessary cost & other wise it will break the material inside or crush allowing damage to products.

[hbdragon]

I've used MovingSham recently, and would strenuously not recommend it. If you look closely, MovingSham has generic information that can be found in many other places. Their Blacklist is only a list of press releases from the Department of Transportation, but by the time these come to light, the movers have quit and started a new company. MovingSham does not accept complaints itself, has no method of contact, and they hide who owns the site. I tried to ask for more movers to contact me after I'd only heard from one self-service mover, and found I couldn't get to them. I also find it distasteful that MovingSham formats itself around the "Find A Certified Mover" service and still digs on MovingScam for taking referral fees. How hypocritical! And the sole mover that contacted me after I first visited MovingSham? It's the same one that investigations revealed own MovingSham. MovingSham is no better than all those websites that pass you around to the scammers this article seeks to educate consumers about, it just dresses up in sheep's clothing to look like it cares. In the end, its only purpose is to sell your move. Please do NOT call it a consumer education tool, and I%u2019m ashamed to see it painted in that light. The best information, if you want to go straight to the source, is run by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: www.protectyourmove.gov