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I'm setting up appointments to get estimates on my move.I've called about 6 places: small, med & large companies. I've been warned to check on brokers vs movers, and I've checked Rikki's links - and been to the fmcsa.gov website checking their complaint history page. but it's still confusing!
It looks like all the major van lines are brokers. You call them and they send you to their local affiliate. isn't that a broker? The smallest company, it was actually recommended by someone from my area moving to my new area, is a tiny family company -that doesn't even list the mc & usdot numbers on their website. he has seemed very personable, (course they all will...) and actually said he may not be the best for the job since I"m moving 500 miles.
I don't know if I'm allowed to list the names of the companies I've set up estimates with - if it's not allowed, please mod, just delete them. I've called Allied, Lee Family, All My Sons, Nationwide & Perry Moving. One of them only does phone estimates which makes me really nervous.
One of them was supposed to come this afternoon. should I be concerned that they knew they were to be here at 3pm, but called around 1:30 to say they had to go an hour away from me and might be late.. then called around 3:30 to say they were still in that location (and now it's rush hour which means it would take probably 3 hours to get here) and so won't make it. traffic is always horrid esp on Fridays and he thinks there was an accident (there's always an accident on the DC beltway!!!). should I just be happy that he called to let me know and reschedule for monday, or be wary because they should know the traffic and he knew he had an appt here?
I just don't want to make a huge mistake with all my stuff. this guy had been a potential top pick (mid-sized company), but now I don't know.
Every single major van line in North America has local moving and storage companies that are authorized to operate as their agent when arranging interstate, interprovincial, or international moves.
Several of your choices should be regarded with caution. The small company that was recommended but didn't list their USDOT and MC#s is actually operating illegally even though they only work within the commercial zone surrounding Washington, DC.
There a plenty of very good, very capable van line agents and independent movers operating inside and around the Beltway or within 30 miles of DC.
Don't get excited about someone not showing up on time. They all overbook or get stuck on a job. It's common. My last move we used one of what I called the big three. I did some research on movers and narrowed it down to the ones that had the least complaints.
You might get rid of what you don't need to downsize the cost and then get 3 or 4 bids. Make sure you have the insurance and read the contract before signing it. There are some scam outfits out there so buyer beware.
Interview at least 3 reps from major movers. Ask all the same list of questions, and really pick their brains. Some use their own people. The United movers we used were obviously not rookies, and they seemed to take good care of our stuff, aside from being amazing workers.
The proof is in the pudding though, and we are awaiting the arrival of our stuff next week. More about this later.
What you want from a mover is a bound estimate. It should be documented and you will need to sign it if you go with the company. You are both bound. But doing this manages the cost.
What you want is a local mover, affiliated with a nationwide moving company, that has a good reputation in the community.
about the bound estimate: can/will they ever come down afterwards on the estimate, or is it what it is? see... we've got 1 more trip to bring stuff up ourselves (mostly oddball stuff that doesn't fit well in boxes, or just we'd rather move them ourselves (my lap harp, some electronics, a big box of dvds but the box is shaped like a coffin [yeah, I'm a dark shadows fan]... and of course we're still throwing things out. so.. we will actually be moving a bit less than what they see now. I hadn't expected the extra trip, it just suddenly came up as an option yesterday. we know we still need to throw things out. so I don't know whether that would affect what they think we need or not.
will they give us the contract to look at before we decide who we're going with?? it takes a while to read them.
ok, about insurance: extra insurance? a policy from them or our homeowners? or something new we need to get?
now how is a local mover affiliated with a national company (for example: I call Allied Van Lines, and they tell me Coleman American will come over) different from what I hear about the brokers??? Isn't this the same problem?
I was thinking of calling Mayflower, but when I looked at their complaints log on FMCSA.gov site, their local affiliate was filled with complaints! mayflower may be good in other locations, but I don't think I want their people here.
thanks, Rikki, I'll look at some of those you suggested. I was thinking about United (at least their local affiliate, Von Parris, isn't full of citations!).
Although the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration only recognizes two types of pricing options on interstate moves - actual weight and binding (fixed price) estimates - most of the major van lines offer some variation of a "not to exceed" type of actual weight estimate.
Basically the tariffs of carriers who offer this internal industry option allow salespeople to guarantee the customer a fixed price on an actual weight estimate with the provision that the price can go down if the weight and services required to complete the move do not meet those recorded on the original in-home estimate.
Movers don't sell insurance. Under Federal law, interstate movers must offer two different transit liability options referred to as valuation coverage1) Full Value Proection and 2) Release Value. https://www.protectyourmove.gov/cons...-insurance.htm
Local affiliates like Coleman American, Von Paris, and Alexander Mobility Services are licensed agents authorized by the national motor carriers like Allied, United, and Atlas Van Lines to perform work under their USDOT and FMCSA MC #'s.
wow, Rikki, thanks for all those links. unfortunately most of them are actually a little far away (you get 20 miles and it takes about an hour around here ). But I've added Wheaton VanLines (DH Movers) and Von Paris to my list. I wonder why DH Movers doesn't list their license numbers anywhere I can find them on their website, and that fmcsa doesn't know their name.
I've been through 4 out of the initial 5 I had contacted. One, nationwide, only does phone estimates... I don't really want my inventory done based on my memory - what if I forget a nightstand, or don't consider those plastic rolling drawer things to be furniture and didn't mention them - but they do??
the company that messed up their appt schedule on Friday, messed up the reschedule on Monday (trainee in the office who doesn't know the area or traffic!!) but he came over right away when I called. I liked him. he was a person, even 3 of the cats came out when he was around. He completely understood about my not being able to do athing about sorting/packing DH's room full of stuff since I don't know what is important to him and what is really trash. However... it's the second day now and I haven't received an estimate, neither did he leave me those papers about movers rights that they're legally supposed to clutter my house with. but I liked him. And... he said the people who come load are the same ones who drive up and unload. And he stressed that their crew are all full time employees, they do not use day-laborers.
the really small company (that's probably illegal with no license numbers) took himself out of the ring feeling I didn't have enough to fill his truck and it would be cheaper to go with a larger company.
Which leaves Allied. They came when they were supposed to, but... sheesh: a walking suit!! no personality. no chatting. no.. I swear when he got back to his car he probably dusted his things off. Only the one nosy cat was about. But... he gave me the papers on rights, he sent me a 4-piece estimate of inventory, packaging, insurance & total costs the next day. didn't care much for him, but he was definitely the most professional. But.. only the driver is the same - the loading crew and the delivery crew change. that makes me a little nervous.
One more moderate sized company coming this afternoon. well, he sounded good on the phone, we'll see.
based on Rikki's list, I've called 2 more big companies: Wheaton Van Lines/ DH Movers coming Monday, and United/Von Paris who has to call me back. Gotta make a decision then.
Dang: one is professional and does everything the website says they're supposed to do, but I don't care for the estimator and I'm nervous about their crew. The other company I like, I like what he says about their crew.. but it's like pulling teeth to get info out of them. maybe today will be better.
Oh, I do have my little list of questions written out to ask them - things like how will they protect the mattress and how will they deal with my grandmother's glass china cabinet!
btw: gotta wonder when there's Coleman American (shipping for Allied) at a particular address & phone number, AND Covar Moving at the exact same address & phone number.
yikes! a friend just emailed me and told me that their United shipper had held their stuff hostage until they paid twice the estimated cost! <sigh> a few years ago.
DH Movers operates under Wheaton Worldwide Moving's motor carrier operating authority. Wheaton's USDOT and MC# should be listed it their advertisements.
Covan World-Wide Moving, Inc is a large independent mover headquartered in Alabama. They are a small, 90+ year-old van line that has 50 company owned offices in 17 states, and more than 400 mostly "military only" agents throughout the world. Coleman-American is their brand through their carrier relationship with Ft. Wayne based Allied Van Lines. They share the same office locations.
Unless your willing to pay a premium for a dedicated corporate mover, your loading and delivery crew will be completely different 99% of the time. If you have a small shipment, it's also quite likely that the pick-up and delivery driver will be different.
United Van Lines is the largest household goods mover in North America.
Unigroup is the parent company of both United Van Lines and Mayflower Transit. These two well-respected national household goods carriers and international freight forwarders operate MoveRescue (MoveRescue) – the first industry-endorsed consumer assistance service aimed at stopping disreputable and unscrupulous interstate movers and move brokers from preying on unsuspecting customers.
ok, but if the packing crew is different from the delivery crew... how do you tip? both sets??
I discovered that Mayflower & United were connected when I called and got the same woman answering both different phone numbers! but... while Mayflower may be nationally known and well-respected, the local affiliate had a tremendous number of citations and complaints. United's local affiliate was much better in that dept, but a little nervous if they held my friends' stuff hostage until an additional 100% was paid. since that was a while ago, maybe the crew has changed... but maybe not. dunno. but, their local - Von Paris will be coming in on Monday for to give me an estimate; as is DH.
just for comparison, Perry Movers was in today, they also gave me the required paper clutter (not that I want it, but if it's legally required, then they need to give it) and was perfectly professional - without being a suit! They will pad wrap, then cardboard, then shrink wrap my glass china cabinet. they did tell me that the moving crew would be the same, but they would have to consolidate the truck, so it might be a week to get my stuff (unless I want to pay the premium to be the only household on it). have to see what their estimate is and figure out the percentage to see if that would still be in budget.
We move all the time. After some real bad moving experiences, we just go with U-PACK-WE MOVE with the best results.
A few tips that if they were covered already, sorry for redundancy . . .
Watch out for movers that want you to estimate sq.ft'age. Most mover scams involve getting your stuff on the truck and then making you get out a credit card and put what they see as a weight / money difference on the card right there.
They will say "Pay" or wait a few days while they get it weighed on the truck. They have your stuff hostage, so they know you will most likely pay the extra 1000.00 or so just to get it over with.
Having them come out and give you a written, binding estimate is much more desirable.
Will they off-load it and move on to another truck before it gets to your location? Again, not desirable at all.
How long/how many states will your things be on the truck before you get it ?
Im sure Ill think of more, but for right now I guess just making sure you get the full price in a contract and some sort of insurance would be the most important.
Best wishes for a successful move
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). But I've added Wheaton VanLines (DH Movers) and Von Paris to my list. I wonder why DH Movers doesn't list their license numbers anywhere I can find them on their website, and that fmcsa doesn't know their name.
