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What exactly should you lookout for when you intend to hire a long distance moving company?
It is easy to assume that a long distance move will be a difficult one. But a long distance move could be as easy as a short distance move if you hire the right professional moving company. But the question is how would you know if the moving company you’ve hired is the right one for your move?
How To Pick The Right Long Distance Moving Company
1. Plan Early
Don’t wait until the last few weeks or days before you start planning for your long distance move. Your moving would be easier if you don’t leave any part of it to chance. You’ll have to plan things like picking the right moving company, what to pack, how to pack, traveling, how to change your address, disconnecting and connecting utilities etc.
If you start planning very early, you’ll have a crystal clear picture of how your entire move will turn out. Also, you’ll have enough time to consider several options, make changes and make the best decisions that can make all your plans work out.
2. What Type of Movers Should You Hire?
There are different types of moving companies. Some are local or short distance moving companies, while others are long distance moving companies. If you’re moving across state lines, you’ll have to hire a long distance moving company.
But before you hire any, carefully consider your needs. How far are you moving to? Are you moving with your family and child or moving all alone? Do you have pets or plants and how many household goods are you moving? These are some of the questions you’ll have to ask yourself before hiring any moving company.
Also, you’ll have to ask any moving company you intend to hire some crucial questions. Read more about critical questions you need to ask your moving company. When its time to pick the best option, budget shouldn’t be the only thing to consider before you hire. Other things to consider are level of convenience, schedule and level of expertise.
Here are key options to consider as you plan your long distance moving:
Hire a Full-Service Moving Company
If you need a moving company to help you take care of your packing, loading, transporting, unloading and possibly unpacking your household items professionally, then you should hire a full-service moving company.
All you have to do is sit back and relax while they do all the work. But full-service movers’ costs are higher than all other types of movers. But their costs are worth it considering the services they offer. Read more about the duties and responsibilities of moving companies.
Hire a truck
Should you hire a moving company or have a DIY move? If you decide to have a DIY move, you may consider hiring a truck for your long distance moving. But before you opt for such, consider the cost and the workload involved. If you hire a truck, you’ll do the packing, loading, unloading and you still have to pay for the truck. In some cases, you’ll be asked to return the truck to the point where it was hired.
Hire Moving Labor
If you’ve opt for any other moving options apart from full-time movers, you may have to do the packing, loading and unloading of your household items. But you can pick an easy option to reduce the workload. You can hire moving labors. Moving labors can help you with packing, loading, unloading and unpacking of your household items.
Small Movers
If you intend to move some of your items personally, probably with your vehicle, you may consider moving the rest of your items through small movers. Small movers often ship items under 2000 pounds and you may need their help to ship your furniture or any other item.
Hire a car shipping company
If you have more than one car or decide to take a flight to your new home, you can hire a car shipping company to ship your car. But before hiring, get up to 6 free car shipping quotes from licensed and BBB rated car shipping companies. But here are 8 things you should never do when shipping your car.
3. Hire a Licensed Long Distance Moving Company
Before you hire any long distance moving company, you’ll have to make sure the company has all the necessary documents and credentials to operate as one. All interstate movers are required by the Federal Motors Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to be registered and have a US DOT number.
According to the FMCSA “The USDOT number serves as a unique identifier when collecting and monitoring a company’s safety information acquired during audits, compliance reviews, crash investigations and inspections.”
Although, local movers are not mandated to have a US DOT number, any moving company that operates across state lines is mandated to have one. If your long distance moving is an interstate one, ask your mover for its US DOT number and verify the number on the FMCSA website.
If you’re wondering where to find and hire a licensed moving company with all the necessary credentials and high-quality service, watch this video below
4. Get No Fewer Than Three In-Home Estimates
Don’t fall into the trap of hiring the first moving company you come across. Several fake long distance moving companies will dangle fake offers just to get your attention. But before you hire any long distance moving company, ask for an in-home moving estimate.
The moving company crew will visit your home, do a walk-through (checking each room to see the items you intend to move) and give you an estimate based on what you intend to move. Such estimates must be written and it could be binding, non-binding or a binding not to exceed estimate. Learn more about the three different types of moving estimates.
Make sure you get at least three in-home moving estimates from different moving companies and compare them carefully before you hire any. The most expensive or the cheapest may not necessarily be the best. Look beyond pricing. Consider their level of expertise, experience and your needs.
5. Do a Background Check
Before you hire any long distance moving company, do a background check on the company. One of the easiest places to start is online.
Go online, search for reviews about the long distance moving company.
See what past customers have said based on their experience with the company.
Also, visit the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and check for the mover’s profile. See sites like Movingscam.com and see how customers rate the moving company. Lookout for complaints, lawsuits, commendations, dissatisfaction and any other customer reactions.
You need to personally consider if you want to be involved in any of the situations described on any of those sites. If you are not satisfied with reports about a particular mover, don’t hire them.
6. Be On the Lookout for Rogue Movers
Rogue long distance moving companies exist and they are humans too! There are many rogue movers waiting to take advantage of innocent clients. They dangle too-good-to-be-true offers to entice people, only to steal their belongings and leave them in sorrow.
Some rogue long distance moving companies offer extremely low quotes that is hard to resist. But at the delivery point they raise the final cost drastically and refuse to release the moved items until the increased payment is made. Learn more about how to identify rogue movers and avoid moving scams.
Before you hire any long distance moving company, do a background check. Also, verify its US DOT number, and get more than one in-house written estimate. Beware of extremely low quotes that are too good to be true. Most of such quotes are baits of rogue moving companies.
But why should you go though all these troubles just to hire a good moving company? Let MoverJunction.com connect you to licensed and BBB rated moving companies with high-standard of service delivery. Also, you’ll get up to six free moving quotes to let you compare quotes before you hire any moving company.
