Preparing to Interview Professional Movers

Getting ready to move? If you prefer not to lift heavy boxes, disassemble electronics and furniture, or offload a moving truck, then you will want to hire professional movers. Hiring a professional moving company frees up valuable time that you can devote to family, friends, and work. Plus, it lessens the stress considerably. Moving yourself can take several days rather than one. The efficiency and convenience are worth the price. 

With dozens of professional movers in your area, finding the one that best fits your needs takes diligence. You will want to interview and receive written quotes from at least 3 to 4 licensed and insured movers before signing a contract with one of them. Prior to interviewing a moving company, make sure you’ve done some homework. From preparing questions ahead of time to reviewing your moving rights, do these four things before interviewing a moving company. 

Know Your Moving Rights and Responsibilities  

Prior to interviewing a moving company, it’s important that you know and understand your moving rights and responsibilities. While moving companies will provide you with a pamphlet that explains the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s regulations, you should also research these responsibilities and best practices ahead of time. Having an understanding of these rights and responsibilities will give you a better idea of what to look out for when interviewing movers, as well as what your own responsibilities are when it comes to hiring movers. Your responsibilities as a customer to yourself and to your mover include: reading all moving documents issued by the mover, being available at the time of pickup and delivery, making payment in the amount required, promptly filing any claims necessary and notifying your mover if anything changes. If an interstate mover does not provide you with a “Ready to Move” brochure or “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” booklet, then you should avoid hiring them for the job.  

Research the Company 

Before you even call up a mover to request an interview and quote, you should have already researched the moving company’s credentials. After all, what’s the point in interviewing a moving company, only to find out later that they aren’t even licensed? Not only will researching a mover beforehand prevent you from getting scammed, but it will also better prepare you for the meeting. To begin your research, start by locating the mover’s license number. All interstate moving companies are issued a licensed number by the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT). This number should be available on the mover’s website. Once you’ve found the number, you can enter it in the U.S. DOT’s system to find their complaint history. Keep in mind that local movers are regulated by the state (not the U.S. DOT), so be sure to research your state license requirements before hiring a local mover. 

Check for Red Flags 

Make sure to review this list of red flags before interviewing a moving company. Fortunately, if you know what to look for, spotting a scam shouldn’t be too difficult. Don’t even interview a mover that isn’t properly licensed or insured. You should be able notice these two red flags when researching a moving company’s information. Another warning signal that a moving company isn’t legitimate is if their too good to be true cost estimate and it’s also “non-binding.” This is a clear sign that the mover intends to scam you with additional charges. They’ll hook you with their low estimate and send you a huge bill later. If the movers give you this low-ball estimate over the internet without even looking at your belongings in-person or via video survey, you can be almost certain you’re dealing with a moving scam. Overall, common sense goes a long way when recognizing red flags. If a mover’s unprofessionalism, bad reviews and lack of credentials are evident before you even interview them, skip them altogether. 

Have Your Questions Ready 

Finally, make sure you have your questions ready before interviewing a moving company. For starters, if your move requires specialty skills be sure to ask the company whether or not they have experience handling this type of move. If your move involves narrow stairwells, elevators or certain parking restrictions, ask the moving company how they plan to deal with these challenges. Second, you should ask about their liability coverage options. In addition to basic coverage, the moving company should be able to offer you a more comprehensive liability option such as Full Value Protection. Many long-distance moving companies actually include the more comprehensive liability option in their estimate, free of charge. You should also ask if they subcontract their moves.  

Ready to interview a professional moving company? Give us a call first for a free, no-obligation estimate. We recommend that you get several quotes, but we are certain you will come back to us when you compare quality and price.