Fl to Georgia Moving Companies? (Atlanta, Alpharetta: rent, insurance, new house)

[ready2move]

Planning a move from South Florida to Alpharetta area the middle of December. Does anybody have any recomendations for moving companies? I have only done local moves in the last 25 years, and the horror stories I have heard about long distance moving has scared the heck out of me!

Thanks in advance.

[FLPL75]

I would also be interested in this information
The moving is part of the relo package so not sure it they will "tell" us who to use but knowing who to saty away from would be a great help
Karla

[gabound]

bump this since I am also looking into the same thing

[Zelia]

I would caution families moving long distances to do their homework, when hiring a moving company. My brother and sister-in-law moved from California to Atlanta a few years ago. It was not a pleasant moving experience.

The following are just a few highlights of their moving experience from hell:


1. A representative from the moving company came to their house to assess the weight of their furniture. This particular moving company based the cost of the move on the weight of the furniture--their priceless antiques, heirlooms, and assorted junk. An estimate was then given to my brother and sister-in-law: $XXXX dollars based on X,XXX pounds.

2. My brother and sister-in-law then signed a contract specifying the day the furniture would be loaded, and the day the furniture would be unloaded at their new residence in Atlanta.

The estimator said that the moving van would have only a few families' furniture on board--certainly no more than three families' furniture.

3. The moving van arrived at their house on the specified date. The priceless antiques, heirlooms, and assorted junk were then loaded. The moving van was then driven to the weighing station.

4. For some strange reason, the estimated weight was in fact the exact same weight right down to the ounce. A coincidence? I don't think so! The likelihood of that happening is slim to none. My sister-in-law even packed a few dirty dishes of which the estimator didn't see.

5. My brother and sister-in-law arrived in Atlanta at their new residence, but the moving van was not in Atlanta. In fact, it was not even in the State of Georgia. In fact, it was barely east of the Mississippi River.

My brother called the moving company. The moving company representative was quite nasty and rude, when my brother mentioned that the unloading date was X-- specified in the contract. The moving company representative almost inferred that my brother's furniture should be thrilled and excited that they're having a sightseeing tour of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and a few other states. "Hey, we really should be charging you more for the furniture's wonderful sightseeing tour. Go take a hike"

6. The furniture finally arrived two days late. The moving van was finally unloaded, and there's great news: the assorted junk made the move without a scratch or dent. WONDERFUL! Unfortunately, the priceless antiques and heirlooms did not. NOT SO WONDERFUL! There was one dent here, two scratches there, 14 dents here, and 25 scratches there. To put it mildly, the furniture wasn't looking very good. Instead of three families' furniture on the moving van, there were only FIVE families' furniture. The five families' furniture hadn't been thoughtfully packed--it had been CRAMMED to the rafters.


7. Fortunately, my brother and sister-in-law did buy moving insurance. They did get a settlement, but it wasn't enough to cover all of the dents and scratches. Not even close.


From my point-of-view, If your furniture isn't new and it's not all that great-looking, I would consider selling it. I would sell everything including the fridge, washer and dryer. I think you'd be better off in the long-run. The metro Atlanta area has a vast array of furniture and appliance stores, and many have wonderful sales. In addition, Dalton, Georgia has a lot of furniture outlet stores.

The other option is to sell most of your furniture, and rent a truck yourself keeping only the stuff you like--rugs, antiques and heirlooms. Assorted junk, too. When you scratch your furniture, it's a little different than when the moving company scrtaches your furniture.

Z

[SR89racer]

Try ABF they will park a trailer in front of your house and when you finish loading it and they will pick it up and drop it at the new house in 3-4 days from South Fl. I was quoted about 1200.00 from south Fl to South Georgia.

[ready2move]

Okay,

I have been on a roll today gathering info. I found movingscams.com and there is a bunch of great info there. Lists companies by states and peoples reviews of companies. Also looking at ABF and Broadway Express.