A mover can make or break the ease of a move. When a mover is knowledgeable, honest, and experienced, a move is generally a much better experience for the homeowner or renter as opposed to the experience offered by a mover who is none of those things. In 2009 alone, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) reported 8,400 complaints against moving companies for reasons including lost items, damaged items, and price increases after estimates were issued.
To ensure that the person hiring a moving company is given the best experience possible for their money, the following rules should be applied during the moving company search:
–Contact the BBB at BBB.org to see if the moving company considered for the job has any complaints against it. The BBB issues letter grades to businesses with “A” being the highest grade a company can receive, and “F” being the lowest.
–Aside from the various regulations that must be complied with for local movers, interstate movers must also comply with federal regulations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issues licenses to interstate movers that the client should request to see.
–The American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA) issues a seal of approval to moving companies that operate within a set of basic and honest business principals. The ProMover seal is the letter “M” above the word “ProMover” and can be found on the website and advertising material of approved moving companies. It is the goal of the AMSA to protect individuals from unlicensed and unregulated moving companies referred to as “rogue operators” within the moving industry.
–Leave enough time before a move to start receiving estimates from different companies. Experts recommend that individuals looking for a mover should get at least three in-person moving estimates. In-person moving estimates are firm, legally-binding, estimates, while phone and web estimates are not. A legitimate moving company will not issue a firm estimate via the web or phone. If an estimate is increased, many unethical moving companies will hold the household goods of their client hostage until the increased rate is paid.
–Movers should know their rights as they relate to their goods and their move. For those moving across state lines, the person moving should research their rights as a client of a business and as a client of a moving company for the state that they start in and the state that they end in. An educated client is much more difficult to take advantage of.
Following this simple advice can have a huge and positive impact on the move of any distance. Whether a person is moving in town or across state lines, steps should be taken to protect against unethical and dishonest business practices. While many professional companies are more expensive than unregulated movers, the term “you get what you pay for” couldn’t bemore true when discussing moving companies. A person’s property is too important to trust to an unregulated, unlicensed, and inexperienced company. Individuals should avoid a potentially nasty situation and go with a company that they have researched and they know they can trust.