Advice on movers

[TedR]

I'll be moving from Florida to Ohio in a couple months. Have been interviewing movers, getting estimates, etc. How do the larger companies that use local "agents" (United, Allied, etc) compare to smaller "company owned" operations? Is their additional cost for insurance necessary? Any experiences or advice would be helpful, especially as to how your possessions were treated. Thanks in advance.

[Rooster_Ties]

Lord, be careful -- there's a hell of a bunch of fly-by-night scam companies out there, so be really damn careful. Seems I've read half-a-dozen articles on the web (and seen a couple on TV too, one on ABC News that I remember in particular), about the movers showing up, packing up everything on the truck, and driving off into the sunset (with the full truck) -- never to be seen or heard from again. And usually the truck is found a couple months later, mostly empty, and four states away from where it should have been going.

So, be ultra-fucking careful who you hire, and beware that you might get what you pay for -- so spending a bit more might be in your own self-interest.

I'll do some searching on the web shortly, and see if I can find any articles.

Edited March 2, 2005 by Rooster_Ties

[Jim Alfredson]

A good friend of my wife's own a franchise of "Two Men and a Truck" in Arizona. I don't know if they have any in Florida, but they are supposed to be very reliable and professional, yet still "small company".

[Dan Gould]

In addition to the scam Rooster mentions, the big one in South Florida - The Sun Sentinel did several stories about it - is on "local" moves:

Quote a price on the phone.

Show up and load up the truck.

Go to the new home/apartment.

Demand an exorbitant amount of money prior to unloading the truck, far in excess of what was quoted. Tell the person you're ripping off that according to the law, the stuff on the truck is the company's until they are paid, and this is what you are paid, blah blah blah.

Generally, people are so desperate to get their stuff, they pay anything.

another aspect of the scam is vaguely worded contracts that are signed before they pack the truck. That's where the padding of the bill starts, or the page with the final cost isn't there and is added afterward.

There have been cases here where customers getting scammed have drawn guns, cops show up, and the cops won't mediate, they end up arresting the customer for waving his gun around. Just an unbelievable industry.

And the worst thing:

In Florida, there's a handful of these companies that operate like this as long as they can, the state catches up to them, and immediately, they're in business under a new name a week later, and a year after that, the state catches up with them again.

[Brownian Motion]

The folks who work for the big companies have a lot of autonomy, know a few ways to try to shake down the customer, and can become slightly menacing if they don't get their way. I wouldn't trust them with anything I really valued. My experience is that the small mover is more trustworthy, especially the ones based in small towns, but they bang up the furniture.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I have moved a lot, almost always with the biggies like Allied and United. Other than a couple of snafus like late arrivals and a few pieces of busted furniture, I've had good experiences with them. I prefer United.

However, these big companies all have locals that individually owned and operated and I've heard there are some sleazy operators with "United" on their trucks so caveat emptor. Your best bet is to ask around at a couple of realtors in your area. They hear all the horror stories first-hand so they will be able to give you a heads-up.

One thing I will say is this: NEVER trust them with your irreplaceable stuff! NEVER! I have always packed a large case of CDs that are impossible to replace. I have a padded CD case that holds around 75 discs. I also pack all my Mosaics (in their shipping boxes) myself and move them myself. They do not go onto the truck. I never let them move my more expensive audio gear either. No jewelery. No gold. All that stuff goes into the car that's making the move with me. I always have a full car.

I hope my moving days are done. I never want to move again.

BTW, if saving money's important, get the options for "pack, move & unpack" versus "pack & move" and simply "move". Move is cheapest but they can (and will) milk you for loading time if you don't use standardized moving boxes. The cheapest way in the end is "pack & move". Frankly, I think "unpack" is a waste of dough. All they do is rip open the boxes and dump the stuff out. You wind up with piles of stuff all over the place. At least if you unpack it yourself, you can put it away immediately. Much less chaos that way.

Later,

Kevin

[catesta]

A good friend of my wife's own a franchise of "Two Men and a Truck" in Arizona. I don't know if they have any in Florida, but they are supposed to be very reliable and professional, yet still "small company".

I've seen their trucks.

[scottb]

A friend of mine went with a large reputable company only to have them subcontract out to a smaller outfit, which in turn, demanded additional payment an arrival and held his possesions "captive" until he paid them.

[Jim R]

Ted, maybe you should just stay in Florida.

[connoisseur series500]

I'll be moving from Florida to Ohio in a couple months.

Great move! B-)

Which part of Ohio, Ted?

[AfricaBrass]

Now that we've got advice on movers...

Anyone got any on "shakers"?

Sorry... I was dropped on my head a lot as a child.

Actually, having survived two out-of-state moves last year ; we drove our own truck, but got help loading it and packing. I felt like the guys packing were also packing on extra time, but I was under the gun and I'd had good experiences with these movers before...

Good luck with your move! I liked Kevin's advice about the realtors. I did as he did and moved my own valuable items.

[TedR]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I'll definitely check with some realtors, Kevin. Great idea! In the end I'll just have to gamble that I get a decent crew and avoid the scammers. Scottb's story on the subcontractors makes me very nervous. Maybe the insurance they offer will give me peace of mind (unless they dispute claims with impossible requests for proof).

I won't be able to get everything I want to in the car......but the Mosaics and financial documents will be first in the trunk. It'll be two long nights on the road.......I'm sure I'll keep waking up to check that no one's breaking into my packed car. I'm not looking forward to this.

Connoisseur......I'll be moving to a suburb west of Cleveland near where I grew up. I'll be marrying a wonderful woman who I've known since high school.......and will be near my parents who will need more help as they get older.

[connoisseur series500]

Connoisseur......I'll be moving to a suburb west of Cleveland near where I grew up. I'll be marrying a wonderful woman who I've known since high school.......and will be near my parents who will need more help as they get older.

We should get together sometime.

Will you be in the Elyria area?

[Guest ariceffron]

HOW DANGUEROUS (SIC) IS IT TO RENT ONE OF THEM GIANT U-HAULS + AN ATTACHMENT TO TOW YOUR CAR? IS THIS A MODERATELY SAFE VENTURE OR A DANGEROUS ACTIVITY. I WOULD HAVE 2 DRIVE FROM SEATTLE TO CALIFORNIA, ON STEEP FREEWAYS...

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I won't be able to get everything I want to in the car......but the Mosaics and financial documents will be first in the trunk. It'll be two long nights on the road.......I'm sure I'll keep waking up to check that no one's breaking into my packed car. I'm not looking forward to this.

Ted, I would freak out leaving my stuff out in my car overnight! No lie. I wouldn't sleep a wink. In fact, I would probably suggest to my wife that she drive during the day and I drive during the night. A couple of sleepless nights would be well worth my piece of mind.

Later,

Kevin

[Peter Johnson]

HOW DANGUEROUS (SIC) IS IT TO RENT ONE OF THEM GIANT U-HAULS + AN ATTACHMENT TO TOW YOUR CAR? IS THIS A MODERATELY SAFE VENTURE OR A DANGEROUS ACTIVITY. I WOULD HAVE 2 DRIVE FROM SEATTLE TO CALIFORNIA, ON STEEP FREEWAYS...

Worked for me going 2700 miles from Seattle to Philadelphia!

Don't rent a uhaul, though, get a budget diesel truck...more torque, cheaper gas.

You should have seen us pull into the Badlands campsite, all Beverly-hillbilly, diesel-smoke-belchin', beat to hell volvo with bikes on top trailin', 10,000 pounds of us...a sight to behold!

Driving that rig through downtown Philly was another thing altogether...

[Rooster_Ties]

Don't rent a uhaul...

I'll 2nd that. Used a UHaul for a local move once (just to move some couches, we only rended the truck for 4 hours, for like $50), and I was VERY unimpressed with the truck. Wouldn't dream of using them for a long-distance move.

UHaul =

Edited March 3, 2005 by Rooster_Ties

[Brad]

I think Kevin's advice about doing certain things yourself. I wouldn't worry about individual cd in jewel cases that much because jewel cases can be replaced but my Mosaics are only being touched by me and I'd probably call Mosaic to get boxes for each of them. Same goes for certain collectibles that are near and dear to your heart.

[AfricaBrass]

Don't rent a uhaul...

I'll 2nd that. Used a UHaul for a local move once (just to move some couches, we only rended the truck for 4 hours, for like $50), and I was VERY unimpressed with the truck. Wouldn't dream of using them for a long-distance move.

UHaul =

Don't get a U-Haul I just saw one being towed the other day.

We rented a diesel truck through Budget. It was a new one, so I had no problems. Our second move, we got a diesel truck from Penske. Both worked fine. Those trucks were huge. It was a real trip being at the same level as drivers of big rigs.

[Jackson]

I had gotten several bids from local moving companies and all were quite expensive. A my friend are maxonmove since they had recently moved and had been quite satisfied with them. I received a lower quote than any of the other moving companies. I was skeptical and called several times to clarify.

http://maxonmove.com/

[catesta]

Good thing A your friend are maxonmove while moving. I would hate to think people would actually are maxonmove while not going anywhere.

Glad you joined the board, and welcome!

[wordsandsounds]

I'll be moving from Florida to Ohio in a couple months. Have been interviewing movers, getting estimates, etc. How do the larger companies that use local "agents" (United, Allied, etc) compare to smaller "company owned" operations? Is their additional cost for insurance necessary? Any experiences or advice would be helpful, especially as to how your possessions were treated. Thanks in advance.

My wife and I moved from Chapel Hill NC to Orlando FL using Allied for a bundle of money. I have no complaints whatsoever. The local agent came to our home and guesstimated a weight (which was accurate within the 500 lb +/-), a three man crew packed the truck and delivered on time. I was concerned, but ultimately the experience was excellent. We prepacked all boxes and color coded rooms with stickers to make things easier as well as ran our own checklist of boxes (Blue 1, Yellow 3, etc).

I would do it again...

[Aggie87]

I had gotten several bids from local moving companies and all were quite expensive. A my friend are maxonmove since they had recently moved and had been quite satisfied with them. I received a lower quote than any of the other moving companies. I was skeptical and called several times to clarify.

http://maxonmove.com/

Odd first post on a jazz bulletin board... pulling up a 3 yr old thread about moving.

If this isn't spam, welcome to the board!

[wordsandsounds]

Didn't even notice the date...

[Niko]

I had gotten several bids from local moving companies and all were quite expensive. A my friend are maxonmove since they had recently moved and had been quite satisfied with them. I received a lower quote than any of the other moving companies. I was skeptical and called several times to clarify.

http://maxonmove.com/

Odd first post on a jazz bulletin board... pulling up a 3 yr old thread about moving.

If this isn't spam, welcome to the board!

just a trick to make us to believe that he is not a Universal employee... watch out for his next posts!

(welcome!)

(and after all what do i need the most, promo for an American Moving company, promo for an Ella Fitzgerald compilation or promo for a smooth jazz record... probably the first (and for most posters here)...

think what makes people here upset about promo spammers is that these merchandise people do not recognize our good tastes we are celebebrating in thousands of posts... if someone had recorded a new Dizzy Reece record and promoted it here (almost) nobody would mind i guess... that people who run a smooth jazz label are not willing to accept / able to see that what they are selling is substantially different from most of the music discussed here is what makes people angry... a moving company - weird)