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January 2009
Index of all
past
Affiliate Corner columns
How to help people move
By Bill Roberts,
Pride World Wide Moving
In today’s market, how do you make a choice in a moving company? This is one of the toughest choices any person may have to make, whether moving down the street or to the other side of the country.
The first recommendation is to stay with one of the top eight van lines companies. Another is to never accept a verbal estimate, whether over the phone or by Internet. This is the biggest problem with estimates today: when only a verbal estimate is given, some things will be overlooked, and the moving companies hope for this. They give the customer a low price, but when the crew has loaded it sometimes seems that the price doubles. Always have an onsite estimate; this way, nothing is overlooked and there are no surprises.
It’s also advisable to investigate the company you may use. Try the Better Business Bureau, Movingscam.com and the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA).
Another thing to check is whether the company uses contractors or employees. When a company uses contractors, much of the time they do not carry workman’s compensation. This can be a good thing, saving the customer some money on the front end. The problem is that a company may have workman’s comp, but if the contractor is not named as a holder on the policy as being covered, they are not covered. When a customer hires them, the customer accepts that if something happens, they are responsible for paying the damages. The catch is that most homeowners’ insurance will not cover this.
Still another matter that needs checking is the moving company’s insurance. Does the company’s policy cover the items being moved? All moving companies are required by law to provide a minimum coverage of 60 cents per pound. This does not cover most types of damage. Most companies tell the customer that they are covered without disclosing how they are covered.
Often, moving companies take advantage of customers who are not educated about moving industry regulations and about how the business really works. The best thing to do is to make sure that whoever you are working with has a good reputation. It’s like the old saying goes: “Knowledge is power and power is
knowledge.”
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