Moving companies - whats your experience?

[Acehawk74]

The wife and I are being forced to move by September (Condo conversion). I have recently taken a job that requires me to work six days a week, and she can't move the big stuff without me. Does anyone have any experience with moving companies, basically looking for tips on what to do to protect my items, and costs to expect. We are moving roughly 20-25 miles away from where we are now. Horror stories welcome, I'd like to hear it all.

[black_drake]

Every time we move, we buy everything brand new. That's how we roll. Yo.

But seriously, this is a good question, never moved in my life except to different countries, which in that case, furniture and other stuff doesn't get moved. Looking forward to some replies.

[Acehawk74]

No one else has used a moving company?

[Killua]

I've moved alot in the past few years, when I was younger I used to move the stuff with friends of mine, one of wich had a truck...

Recently I decided to hire professionals who own a truck and all I can say is that I was pleased with the service. You should try and get the ones who seem the more professional on the phone, because the ones who do this part time are more likely to scratch your stuff etc...

gl with the move

[matt2500]

Well, I had a company-paid move a few years ago. They moved everything for me, including my car, cross-country. I had nothing broken, lamps, TV, etc all made it the whole way with no damage.

Now, I have to say, I was living pretty spartan in a one-bedroom apartment, with nothing really fancy. IKEA lamps, pretty basic furniture, etc, but again, these guys got it all cross-country with no damage at all. They showed up with all the basics necessary to get my stuff out of my apartment (boxes, packing material, etc), and did seem to take reasonably good care of my stuff as they moved it away. I did have a pretty heavy 27-inch sony TV (the thing weighs a friggin' ton, mid-90s vintage big-tube TV), and if you use that as the benchline, well, it made it from Delaware to Seattle without a scratch.

Oh, and they showed up at my apartment, and were the most efficient 'get-it-all-in-a-box-and-get-out' team I've ever seen. They literally tore through my apartment and had everything I owned at the time out and in the truck in like 40 minutes. And well-packed, too.

[matt2500]

Oh, and since I'm a dumb-ass and gave you no specific advice...find out who locally does the moves for big-name companies. You can probably find this out from local real-estate companies. Call them up (the real blue-chip firm), tell them you're looking for a moving company, and they'll let you know who they use.

For a cross-town move, you really shouldn't have that much to worry about.

[yad]

www.movingscam.com

[gisb0rne]

Reading that stuff makes me never want to move, ever. I guess I'm stuck in LV.

[ElaineMonster]

I've used a few moving companies, but only for local moves.

In my experiences, it just depends who you get. Sometimes you get lazy, slow, weak people who take forever and charge you per hour so you're screwed. Other times you get really strong, quick people who are also pleasant and it's great. But every time, there is something that gets broken or damaged. And there are always certain things I have to move myself.

Just do a good job packing and pick a reputable company.

[Dids]

I submitted a description of my move on some site and had a bunch of folks call me with quotes. I went with the cheapest one, and the one that didn't require an inhome visit before making a quote (probably not the best idea, but I don't have much to move, so going in home would have been a waste of time, IMO).

They were quick and good, only one item was damaged (a tv stand that was pretty shoddily constructed in the first place). Now it turns out that apparently the guys doing the moving were stealing from the company, but I wasn't overcharged and was very happy with how things went.

I would really suggest that anybody who can afford movers use them instead of doing it yourself. It makes life SO much easier.