Moving from NY to CA (packing, moving company, job, Allied)

[kiwilover70]

I am moving back to CA some time from September to December. We used a moving company that was awful and I am looking for a decently priced, efficient company. This company took 2 1/2 days to load the truck in CA ,after saying they could do it in one. Then took over 2 weeks to arrive in NY , after they said it would be about 10 days.Then we found out that they had left several large items in CA. Also they took apart many, many things to "fit in the truck",which was gigantic, they put items back together incorrectly or not at all, 4 bikes,a computer desk etc... This was an agent of Allied so we had faith in hiring them. I REALLy want to avoid this nightmare again, but really have to watch by budget. Any suggestions?

[RikkiTikki]

Based on your description, it sounds like the contents of your home took up more room than the 4200 cu ft of space of most Allied Van Lines trailers. If that's the case, then the 2 1/2 days spent dismantling, disassembling, packing and loading it's all that uncommon. If the company disassembled the items for transport, it their responsibility to reassemble them correctly. You should insisted that the driver and/or company complete the job properly.

Your options are going to be limited by the size of your home. The cost won't be cheap and is likely to get even more expensive as the price of fuel increases. Most of the national interstate household goods carriers had fuel surcharges in force during the last fuel spike that added 18-20% to price of a move.

You can start getting your estimates now for budget purposes but most are only good for 30-60 days. Most of the larger national van line agents are located in Newburgh or Poughkeepsie. You might find some estimators willing to come over from Connecticut to provide an estimate for an off season move happening later in the year.

Don't close the door on the local Allied agent just because of your previous expeience with the van line. A successful move is well managed by the local agent representative and your driver. You might also want to check my blog for some professional tips on 'How to Find a Reputable Mover'.

[kiwilover70]

Actually our house was very small,1190 square feet.It fit into the truck with many other family's things.
The driver told us he lived in DC and would be to our place then to his home in DC. When the Company called us to say he was going to be late they said he ws in DC then he would be to our house.
The driver was the same at pick up and drop off but his helper was different and did not know what all what was to be put together.
I called the company after discovering so many things were not put together and they sent the driver back up. He brought a girl with him who hung out with him in our basement and then sat in his van,as the driver was there for over 8 hrs.There were still couple of things not done but I said just go because he had been there for so long and I felt bad for his friend in the van.
I have called around for a few quotes of semi large comapanies and they have all been cheaper then our first trip.I did an internet search and am called daily by these companies. I cannot talk to another one until I have some feedback somewhere from somebody besides the company rep.

[Dark of the Moon]

This link, Moving Scam, was posted a couple pages back. It has some valuable tips on how to find/choose a reputable mover.

Best of luck!