What is a reliable and reasonably priced moving company for an interstate move of furniture and household goods?

Answer

I would break this question into two questions (although those questions are so related they should stay under one title :).

So here we go:

What is a reliable interstate mover?

Here are some of the major requirements a moving company must meet in order to be considered as reliable:

1. Appropriate licensing and insurance:
   1. They should have appropriate USDOT license and insurance on file (you can check it on the FMCSA site),
2. Clear public record:
   1. They should be in business at least for three years,
   2. They should have clear record on the BBB (or 1-2 fully resolved complaints the most),
   3. They should have good reviews (or at least no reviews) on MovingScam.com,
   4. They should have A, AA, or AAA Safety of Use Rating on MovingAnswers.org,
3. Adequate sales practices and operations
   1. They should offer you a visual estimate and actually do it,
   2. They should give you the "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move" brochure,
   3. They should offer you a binding-guarranteed-flat-fixed price for your move based on the visual estimate,
   4. They should either be an agent of a major van lines, or own the interstate trucks your goods will be transported on, or at least provide you with all the details about the transportation company they use for that purpose (if they only do pick ups).

What is a reasonably priced interstate mover?

It depends on the market where the mover operates. If you are moving from a major city to another major city (e.g. NYC->L.A.) then you can expect lower price level due to high competition, and if you are moving from Montana to Arkansas then chances are you will have to settle for higher prices (usually, only big van lines have agents who can help you and trucks that travel on those routes).

The easiest way to compare prices would be to fill out a free moving quote request with detailed list of your items, and have movers call and email you with offers. This will give you an idea of how competitive your market is and what level of prices you should expect. NEVER let yourself be tempted by low prices, always request a visual estinate at your home and a binding quote. When forced to give binding quotes movers tend to back off and raise their price to the more or less honest level. No mover will give you a binding quote leaving himself with no profit or a loss.

Answer

You may want to visit http://www.movingscams.com once you've found a company to work with. There are lots of good, reliable reviews of all sorts of moving companies there.

You may also want to look into using moving pods. The availability of such a company will depend on where you live, but they're often cheaper than hiring a moving company, plus you get the benefit of packing certain items yourself so you can keep an eye the fragile things.

First answer by ID3425099821. Last edit by Movingman. Contributor trust: 0 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 46 [recommend question]