Wednesday, July 23, 2014 / by Vanessa Saunders
Avoiding Moving Pains
If you are going to be moving soon you most likely will be hiring a moving company. Here are five tips to remember when you interview and before you hire a moving company.
- Does the mover have liability and worker’s compensation insurance? If not, you (or your homeowner’s insurance) will be on the hook for any damage or injuries. Go to the New York
DOT’s website to check if your mover is correctly insured. - Does the mover have a sound reputation for reliability and service? If not, you could end up with movers who don’t show up on time (or worse), charge “extras” on the day of the move, or abscond with your stuff. Check out CityMove.com, Yelp.com, and The Better Business Bureau for consumer generated reviews about good (and bad) movers.
- Did the mover give a binding quote or merely an estimate? Usually a mover will be unwilling to give a binding quote unless you’ve identified all your inventory in detail. Otherwise, the mover will likely give you an estimate and may charge up if there’s more stuff than they (or you) realized.
- How long has the company been in business? Avoid fly-by-night operations and movers operating off craigslist. Unless you have super-simple jobs or your stuff just isn’t worth very much, movers who’ve been in business longer are generally, as a group, more reliable and trustworthy.
- Who does the packing (and unpacking)? Unless you specify, most movers assume that you will pack up everything and all they need to do is provide the transport. Be sure to specify ask whether packing/unpacking is included in any price if that’s what you are looking for.
Be sure to have all these boxes checked before signing on the dotted line.
One more thing to be aware of in any moving contract: insurance for your stuff. Generally, movers will offer very basic, state-required moving insurance at $0.60 per pound. If you want more, you’ll need to buy moving insurance separately.
We have several moving companies that our clients were happy enough to ask us to add them to our useful links page.
