ISO Referral For Moving Company For Interstate Move (Houston to TN) (Atlanta: sales, insurance)

[BFFMaya]

I had called Atlas and asked about lead time and explained we needed to be out of here by the 30th and they said no problem and scheduled an agent to come out to give us a in-home estimate. This was about a week or so ago. Today, when the agent came out he said he is not so sure they can have us out of here before the end of the month, which is not an option for us as we are closing on the 31st. In addition to that, we were planning on having them store our property for a month of so until the cabins are finished, but now he says if we have it moved up there to storage we have to call and Atlas agent up there (which appears to be over an hour away) and arrange storage and a separate move with them once we are ready to move from storage to our property. I am currently waiting for his call to let me know if they can get us out of here by the 30th or not, but before he left, he said I might want to start making some calls to make other arrangements. Just lovely. So, the new plan is to purchase a shipping cargo container from a company out of Atlanta and have it delivered to our property and to just get a decent, reliable moving company to get our stuff from Houston to TN. I just spoke to Two Men and a Truck out of Sugarland. They said they could pick our stuff up before the end of the month and are coming out tomorrow morning to give us a quote. Would really appreciate some feedback/recommendations from anyone who has used moving companies based out of Houston for a similar type move. TIA

[Adam Docktor]

For an Atlas agent to tell you to call other agents, that sounds extremely unprofessional!!! Did you tell him he was too expensive or something along that line?

I do not recommend using multiple companies/hands being involved in your move. I recommend an interstate mover to handle your move, storage and re-delivery all in one. That way you have 1 person/ company responsible for the whole move, no one can point the finger, and there won't be any breakdown in communication. Plus insurance is voided if you use multiple companies.

If you want me to try and help, give me your origin city and zipcode and your destination zipcode and I may be able to find someone who could actually do your move handle it all in one, and get you out by the 31st. Of course I need a little bit more details regarding you move.

Your budget will be the main driving factor here.

[BFFMaya]

Hey Doc, thanks for the reply. Here is the update. Two men and A Truck came out Friday morning for the in-home estimate. Really liked the guy, Marcus, the franchise owner, and was hoping to be able to use them, but the first issue was that they use 26 foot trucks and he thought we were bordering on 1 or 2 trucks with around a little over 8K lbs per limit per truck. Of course, there was a big difference between needed 1 or 2. In the meantime, I received email with paperwork from Atlas and they did say they could get us out by the 30th - packing on the 29th and loading on the 30th, however, the drop-off window was 8/2-8/12 and we won't be there until the 4th. I was up front with Marcus about the other company and in the end, it turned out that Two Men and A Truck had scheduling conflicts. So I called Atlas back and told them the only thing holding us back, was the drop off date window. If they could confirm that they would not be there before the 4th we would go with them. He spoke to operations, called us back and said not a problem.

The Atlas estimate is for approximately 9,300 pounds - even without all the furnishings we sold to the buyers = we have too much crap, but it is what it is. There are 83 boxes already packed, by me, to declutter and stage the house for selling. The FRV is $59,100 The quote is $8,703. Breakdown as follows:

Packing Services $1880.54
Unpacking Services $8.50
Transportation (Linehaul) $5172.96
Fuel Surcharge $724.22
Insurance Surcharge $206.92
Origin Service Charge $206.92
Destination Service Charge $154.67
Accessorial Service $349.18 (p/u some stuff from storage unit here/drop off at mini storage there)

I contacted the closest Atlas agent up there and they quoted approximately $3400 for 2 months storage and transportation from storage unit to cabin. So scrapped that idea. Considered dropping a shipping cargo container on the property out of Atlanta for $2000 plus $858 to get it there, but not sure if we really wanted it on the property or not. So secured a 10x30 storage unit in nearby town for $100 a month - great rate. Only downside to that is we won't be able to confirm the condition of our belongings, ie. $4000 auto serta bed at time of delivery and if we use another company to move from storage to cabin Atlas will most likely not be responsible for any damages in the event we have some and that FVP is built in to their price.

Would appreciate your feedback. I'm suppose to sign the docs today and send back. I read all the fine print, some stuff I don't understand, but figure it's all standard jibberish? At this point, I am so over it all and just want to be done with it.

[Adam Docktor]

oh shoot i didn't see your response!!

[Adam Docktor]

OK so I just read everything, and it seems like you are in a good position, as good as it can get considering the situation.

I would ask the Atlas rep how long is the FVP is good for.. you may have up to 30,60,90 days to make a claim.

Also, I would suggest checking all your belongings closely as they are taken out of the truck to inspect. if you see damage, take a picture notate, show driver and call it in that day. Put that item to the front of the storage locker in case they need to come view it. BTW, checking the items has to be done rather quickly, drivers/helpers will get irate if you hold it up too long.

I would also see if there is some type of supplement insurance they will offer you if the amount of time you will be in storage will surpass the maximum time you are allowed to make the claim.

There is 1 more final option: That is call Bakerinternational Baker International - Moving Insurance and get a quote for replacement insurance, i know they offer supplement policy, but you need to ask your sales rep if there is anything that they packed that woudn't be up to baker's standard. Meaninv if someethign was damaged becuase it wasn't crated or packed right, then baker could deny it.

FVP is typically not insurance but valuation, meaning Atlas is basically self insuring the load. Conflict of interest slightly, but also industry standard. Baker is real insurance but now you have to deal with a second company.

You have to weigh all options really. BTW, Atlas is a very reputable company. Some agencies better than others, but def a high quality van line. Good luck with everything!

[Sampaguita]

I am late to this but we used Mayflower for my parents' move last August from NYC to Houston. 180 boxes, 10 room house with heavy solid wood furniture, garage plus full-size basement. They were good. No hidden charges, easy to work with (even their agents) on both ends and very efficient. I flew to NYC for the pack and load and scheduled delivery when I was back in Houston. Mayflower used Armstrong Relocation (houston) locally for storage and delivery/unload and they were amazing. Nothing missing. Nothing broken. I can't remember now what my parents paid but I remember thinking it wasn't outrageous.

Found the info: 14,500 lbs, 1628 miles Quote was for a little over 12k which was actually 1k less than Allied & another national company (I can't remember who the other company was now).

Good luck with your move.