I need information on Long-Distance moving.
Question:
(1) What sort of insurance coverage should we get? Standard, full,
etc.?
(2) Is it ever a good idea to go with movers that are not associated
with the famous national van lines (like Atlas, United, Bekins, etc.)?
From the www.moverquotes.com it seems like such movers can sometimes
be cheaper, but does it mean that their service is also going to be
worse. I'm hoping that maybe they offer better service since it's only
one company that's involved in the move (is it?), not three like with
national van lines.
(3) Does the quality of the move depend greatly on the particular
local franchise you choose? In other words, if there are three local
representatives of the Allied van lines, are they all going to be
about the same in terms of quality and reliability? If not, how do I
find out which local companies to avoid (except calling BBB)?
(4) There has been several negative posts about Bekins so I would
probably stay away from them. Are there any movers that come highly
recommended by many people?
(5) When a mover states that pick up and delivery dates are
guaranteed, what does it mean? What happens if they fail to fulfil
their obligation, do they have to give me a certain discount? If so,
is it really possible to enforce such fine?
Answer:
We had a very negative experience with North American Van Lines on a
move of only 500 miles. Our gauranteed delivery was 8 days late and the
driver had no help when he arrived and could get no help from the local
agent so my wife, daughter and I had to help unload the truck.
The guarantee meant nothing and they would only reimburse us for $10 a
day for food and the cost of renting a bed. We were fortunate that we
have a mini van and were able to bring our clothing and the important
stuff with us.
My advise to you is to check with you local BB, attorney general office
and any state or local consumer advocate that you may have in your area
before signing a contract. If you can afford it, have a lawyer look
over the contract before signing and try to get in writing penalties for
non-performance.
I do want to say that the pickup drivers and the delivery driver were
not at fault in any of our move. They were as helpful as posible, it
was the local agents and North American that were uncooperative.
I've moved more times than I can remember over the past 20 years,
almost always with a commercial moving company. My take on non-local
moving is as follows:
It makes almost zero difference what major company you use. The keys
are getting a good driver, having enough "stuff" that you fill up the
entire van and scheduling the delivery so that your "stuff" doesn't
need to get stored at either end of the trip (even for just a day or
two).
Packers are always local and have nothing to do with the driver. I
always pack high value and fragile things myself and waive a damage
claim for concealed damage on those items. The packing company almost
always was willing to drop boxes/tape off a week or two early for
this.
In one year, I moved four times (field assignments). The driver for
the first time was so good that when I scheduled the remaining moves,
I insisted that he be the driver. As long as I was flexible on the
move dates, the moving company agreed that I could have that driver.
Almost all drivers pick up local helpers to pack/unpack the truck.
Good drivers watch their helpers like hawks to make sure things get
treated gently in the load/unload process and don't get dropped.
Things do break. Fantastic drivers (the one previously mentioned)
offer a fair cash settlement (out of their own pocket) on the spot in
exchange for not filing a claim so that their claim record with the
company is not damaged.
Things break and get lost when they get transferred from truck to
warehouse and back again. If you schedule your delivery right, you see
your stuff go on the truck and you watch it come off the very same
truck. I have never lost anything in a move by following this rule.
If you can't fill the truck, there is a slight possibility that your
stuff may come off with the other household. As long there is no
warehouse involved it's very easy to track things down.
I have shipped a small car and motorcycle right in the moving van.
When you look at the wear/tear on the car, cost of gas/insurance and
damage potential of hiring a driver or doing an autotransport deal, it
doesn't look so expensive.
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