When relocating, your moving company can be your best friend or your worst enemy. From not following agreed terms, to changing prices on the fly to even holding your stuff hostage, there are a number of things which a bad moving company can make your move a living nightmare. And thinking “Oh, that will not happen to me!” is a sure way to put yourself in a bad situation. Therefore choosing the right one is not only smart but necessary if you want to avoid headaches and financial mishaps. Here are a few guidelines.
Before you hire a company
Before you hire your moving company there are things to sort out. When talking to the representatives of the moving company there will be questions to which, if you didn’t prepare, you won’t have answers to. Or they will give you information for which you won’t know whether its true or not. Deciding the price of your move will be a negotiation. If they are an honest company, their offer will be fair. But to avoid dishonest ones, preparations are a must.
Packing
Think before packing. All the things you pack you will have to move. The more things there are, the more the move is going to cost. So when packing consider what is necessary and what isn’t. All the things that are in between, feel free to throw out. The rest should be sorted, packed carefully and labeled. Next thing to do would be to would be to make a list. You would want to find yourself losing something and not realizing you lost it. If it’s too much work, see if your friends can help. Having clear guidelines and not inviting too many friends makes the packing an efficient and pleasant experience. There are companies that can do the packing for you if you are having too much trouble. Some companies offer both packing and moving services and are worth looking into since the cost of both moving and packing tends to less than if you paid individually for moving and for packing.
Find out about the place you are going to
If you are lucky, the company that is moving you already know the place you a relocating to. But more often then not, they are as clueless as you are. Find out what is the best route to get there. Avoiding traffic jams and getting lost saves a lot of time and nerves. You don’t want to move in bad weather so inquire about local weather prognosis to avoid it if possible. Also, inquire about the parking situation and whether your new building has an elevator. If possible, ask some of your friends to go there earlier to save a parking spot. Knowing what to expect saves you from unnecessary stress.
Hire a local moving company
Hiring a local moving company eliminates all the possible lies that hiring online risks. If the company is open (and if its a good and reliable company, it should be) feel free to check their equipment, ask if they know who is the person who will help you move and if you can meet him/her. They should be happy to go over the moving routes and plans with you and get every part of the plan figured out.
Companies know all the ways that they can cheat you, and reliable ones want to help feel secure and to reassure you that your things will be in trustworthy hands. You can usually find more recommendations from your neighbors about local companies than online or remote ones. Who knows, maybe you will find someone that works in one. Although sometimes good and reliable moving companies can be found online like highlevelmovers.ca.
You would just have to find ones that are close enough to inspect. For instance, if you are living in Hamilton, Canada you could search for home moving experts from Toronto. Making sure that they have good policies and practices is much easier if you can check it face to face.
Good moving companies want to make you feel like you are a part of a team
Get estimates
How much does it cost for you to move? Well, it depends on a number of factors. You can cut a few costs, but the sum total needs to be estimated by a company representative. Get estimates of at least three companies before you settle on one. Otherwise, you open yourself up for scams. Be careful if they offer estimates online or allow you do to the estimates. Or if they offer a price that is too good to be true. Whatever the price you may agree upon, it will change once they start the move. Only then they will have your stuff, and negotiation will take a turn for the worst.
Starting a new life is always expensive
Check credentials
Reliability is a good moving company’s best commercial and they know it. Feel free to ask for credentials. Since you are not moving to a different state the mover doesn’t need to have a number issued by Department of Transport. The requirements vary from state to state, so in some states, you have unregulated movers while in thirty-three states movers must have a federal Department of Transport number. Check your rights and responsibilities before you inquire. Consider hiring a moving company that is certified by American Moving and Storage Association’s ProMover program. It requires that movers be up to certain standards and have background checks.
Read reviews
Read other people’s experiences. Complaints and praises will give you a good idea of what the company is like and what you can expect. Find websites that have ranked and unfiltered comments and reviews so you know you are getting the trust information possible. Company websites tend to delete bad reviews and even fake good ones so try and filter out what the company is really like.
Learning from other people’s mistakes saves you from repeating them
Be careful with deposit
Many reliable companies won’t even require payment until your stuff is delivered. For the other ones you should know that when paying a deposit you don’t give more than 20% of the estimated moving cost. Always use a credit card, so if there are any problems you have a paper trail.
