The more questions you ask your mover, the better chances for a smooth move you have.

Most people consider moving as a stressful event in their life. In most cases they don’t have enough time to organize their move. And naturally, when you are on a busy schedule you are more likely to miss something, or to make a mistake which can cost a fortune. When you are about to move and you are hiring a relocating company, there are some questions that you must ask your movers. Moving is quite frustrating activity, but knowing what questions to ask when hiring a moving company will save a lot of further troubles. Here is a list of very important questions to ask your movers.

Mover or Broker

One of the very key questions to ask when hiring movers is if they are a moving company or just moving brokers.

A moving broker is definitely not a mover. Brokers do not have the operational and logistic competences moving companies have. They do not provide their own moving trucks, movers, proper moving equipment, and in a most of the cases they don’t have much moving experience. Moving brokers are nothing more than sales teams that book your move and sell it to real moving companies.

When you book your move remember to ask the company whether they are an actual movers or just brokers. As a broker won’t take any responsibility about the whole move, be sure that you are using a professional moving company. Moreover, there are cases when brokers transfer you to third party mover before asking you for confirmation.

Ask your mover about US DOT number

You may be pressed by time, but you definitely don’t want to be dealing with a rogue moving company. Every registered mover in the US Department of Transportation is obliged to follow certain rules and regulation concerning safety measures. Ask your relocating company to provide you with their US DOT number. You can run a moving company check online in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website and find out if your potential mover is registered and licensed. You better choose carefully who is going to handle your belongings. This will help you avoid moving scams.

Moving estimate quotes

Ask your mover about a moving estimate quote. Most movers provide their customers with free moving quotes through e-mail messages.  There are two types of moving estimates – binding and non-binding estimates.

• Binding Moving Estimate – Binding estimate is an agreement that you make in advance with your mover, which guarantees the final moving cost based on the quantities and services shown on the estimate.

• Non-Binding Moving Estimate – Under the non-binding estimate you are charged based on what your mover assumes the cost will be, depending on the estimated weight of the shipment and the additional services requested. A non-binding estimate is not binding to the moving company. The final charges will be based upon the actual weighting of your shipment and the moving services provided.

Insurance Related Questions to Ask Movers

One of the most important questions to ask moving companies is if you can see the packing materials costs in advance. Usually packing is about 20% to 30% of the final moving costs.

Require from your mover to give you detailed information on the insurance options. Under Federal law, interstate movers are obliged offer you two different liability options referred to as valuation coverage:  Full Value Protection and Released Value Protection. The Full Value protection suggests that your mover is liable for the replacement value of lost or damaged goods in your entire shipment. Under the Released Value protection your mover assumes liability for no more than 60 cents per pound per item. Before making a decision make sure that you fully understand the insurance options which your mover offers you. If you are performing a long distance move make sure that the insurance is valid in both moving locations.

Payment Questions to Ask When Hiring Movers

Payment related questions to ask are essential as in most cases moving costs differ a lot. Usually, moving companies accept most major credit cards, money orders, bank checks or payment through the PayPal system. Most times there is an initial moving deposit when hiring movers and when your goods are delivered, before movers start unloading your belongings, you pay the rest.  Keep in mind that the initial moving deposit should not increase 15% from the total estimated amount.

Ask About the Dispute Settlement Program

Last, but not least, ask your movers about their dispute settlement program. You better know what to expect from your movers in case problems occur during your move. A reliable moving company should provide you with such contractual arrangement prior moving.

Before signing a contract with your mover be sure you fully understand all the clauses. Do not sign if you have any doubts or other moving relates concerns. Ask questions to your movers about every step of the moving process. If you don’t understand something, ask the moving company to explain it to you. After all we all want to enjoy a smooth moving experience. Find a professional mover that will answer all of your questions and will handle your belongings with great care.

But how to be sure. There are so many moving companies claiming to be “fully licensed and insured”. Some of them even have some license numbers listed on their web pages. All of this doesn’t mean anything until you check that for yourself and do a moving companies license lookup.

What is a Movers License Number

All moving companies that operate in the USA should be licensed with the United States Department of Transportation. There are different requirements for a moving company to become licensed depending on the state of operation. All licensed moving companies are provided with an unique movers license number called US DOT number. Movers license numbers are being renewed on a yearly basis that is why checking the validity of the number is very important. If a moving company does not comply with the laws or if they do regular accidents, their licenses are being revoked. Read more about the DOT numbers here.

Movers License Verification

Verify DOT Number

All moving trucks sould have the company moving license written on the front doors of the truck or the tracktor.

Everyone can perform a moving company license look-up in the US Department of Transportation database for free and verify a DOT number fast and easy. Checking the moving company license information will also pull out some more information about the company record like: US Inspection results for the last 24 months, reported crashes safety ratings, etc.

Click here to verify a mover from the database.

Complete Moving Company License Information

To see the company DOT record about the company size, there is another place you can check your moving company at. There, you can search your preferred moving company by DOT number, by name or by MC number. There you can pull up information as: company type, fleet size, number of trucks and trailers. You can also extract the moving company insurance information if you need to contact their insurance company.

Detailed DOT information site.

The DOT Requirements

This element consists of eight combed blocks and it is used to record the United States Department of Transportation number (USDOT#). All motor carriers operating a Commercial Motor Vehicle in interstate or foreign commerce must be assigned & display a USDOT Number before interstate operations begin. This includes all interstate private, exempt, for hire and passenger motor carriers.
At least one of these numbers: ICC, PUC, or USDOT; is required in order to identify a commercial vehicle.

Licensed Movers Reviews

Even if your moving company is with a positive moving company license verification, you should still research your service provider further. Having a valid license is just one step of approving a company to entrust your precious belongings with. Reading licensed movers reviews is another thing you should consider. Being aware what other people have shared about their moving experience with the company is very important.

No matter if you are about to move locally or long distance, hiring licensed movers is essential for your successful move.

Do you know another way to research your movers before hiring. Let us know in the comments below.

Finding Reliable Moving Companies

It may sound easy but in reality, it is very hard to deal with. With tons of companies to choose from sorting the good from the bad is essential. In order to make sure that you end up with a reliable relocation company, the key is to determine what services of a moving company do you require and which among the many moving companies can provide them. There are actually full service local movers who have the capacity and skill to provide various moving services including long distance or cross country moves, residential or apartment packers, storage and even office or building relocation.

Call Local Moving Companies for estimates

Assuming you have chosen several moving companies it’s time to decide which suits you best. Decide what you will be transporting and what you will be taking with you. Pick up your phone, call the movers you are considering for the job and make appointments for them to come to your home and ask for an estimate. Knowing how much you need to ship will help you get a more accurate estimate and if you can afford it, let the movers do both the packing and unloading. Items a mover packs will be covered by the company’s insurance. Be sure to understand your estimate correctly and the entire inventory is spot-on, because if they miss something you will end paying more on the moving day.

Staying Organized is Essential

Anyone can tell you that moving day is not that simple.  There are plenty of things that need to be done, and if there are still any left to do, you are sure to feel stressed out. While you might think it is impossible to limit moving day stress, I am here to tell you that it is indeed possible and you too can make your moving day a day that was fun, stress free, and easy. Perhaps the number one thing that will reduce the stress that you feel on moving day is planning and organization. If you make sure to plan things out and organize the move correctly, you will not have to worry about when and how things will get done. If any problems arise don’t hesitate and communicate with the movers throughout the day. You can also reduce the tension by not overreacting to little setbacks ahead of time, because they are common even if you have planned moving correctly.

Research your Moving Companies

Before booking your moving company you should research it very carefully in advance. Do your homework because this could save you thousands of dollars if you end us with a scammy moving company. Finding a reliable moving company that will complete your move cheaply is not an easy task. One you prepare a list of local moving companies, go online and research what is posted online on their company names. There are plenty of online review websites you can search for reliable moving companies. You can also call some of the best performing movers and moving companies with the best reputation online.

The brand new search service implemented at MyMovingReviews.com would clearly help with the task. It is an efficient way to find a trustworthy moving company in your region based on moving reviews. There is also no need to ask around – most of the moving companies are reviewed and evaluated by past clients. This great and useful feature is invaluable when choosing a mover.

Moving can be stressful and difficult but there are ways to alleviate it as well. The single thought of loading your life onto a truck seems scary indeed and that’s why its essential to know whose truck it is. It makes you realize the importance of finding reliable moving company with professionals that can be trusted. You may put aside all those troubles with just a single mouse click on the search button at MyMovingReviews.com.Think about it. Technology is great isn’t it?

Holiday Packing

The holidays are knocking on the door and it’s time to pack.  You need to be well organized and prepared for your holiday. You definitely don’t want to arrive at your holiday destination and discover that you have forgotten something important,  that could really ruin your holiday.
To help you with the holiday packing, we offer few important steps that could be very helpful for your holiday packing.

Make a list with all the items for packing

Before you start packing for your holiday, think about the things you are taking and make a list. Take into consideration sport activities you will do, weather conditions, and off course the time duration in order to determine how much clothes you will need. When you are done with packing clothes, make sure that you take all the necessary toiletry with you. Also, take with you a first aid kit; there are plenty of good travel first aid kits and if you don’t have, you can purchase one.

Put your packing list on a visible place

Every time you think of something you might need on your holiday, just write it on the packing list. You may make changes all the time. Remove stuff, or adding new belongings, keep your list up-to-date all the time. As your plans may change, note every alteration on the list. You may put your list on the fridge, or you can make a note in your phone, or computer. Choose what is the more comfortable option for you and you will enjoy great results at the end.

Start packing early

As we always suggest, start packing early.  If you start packing the night before you leave, it is almost certain that you will forget something important to take with you. Packing is always time consuming and quite annoying. We usually put off tedious work for the last moment and thus we are never satisfied with the consequences. Take enough time to organize your packing. This way you will save a lot of troubles.

Finally when you are done with the packing, be sure that you leave some room in your suitcase. One of the best things for holidays is to buy gifts for family and friends.

Packing before moving

Moving is quite a stressful job. One of the tiring and time consuming steps during relocation is packing. You have to pack all your household items and personal belongings. You are busy at work and you have to do many jobs at a time, so you are running on a tight schedule. Making a list will help you organize your time better and finish every job in time. Arrange a list for your packing job and enjoy your cool moving.

Storing antiques tips

Usually in case of express moving, most of us need to hire a storage. We are on a very tight schedule, we have to move out from our current place, but we can’t move in to our new place immediately. The whole situation is quite complicated because you will need a storage unit for the time gap.

Having your antiques stored properly is not an easy task. Choosing a reliable storage facility is a must do when it comes to antiques.  There are so many storage facilities out there, but few of them are reliable and convenient.  Most movers claim to offer well maintained facilities, but if you need a storage for your antiques, you have to mention that you need a storage facility especially for antiques and artworks.

Storing antiques and artworks tips

• Find a professional mover

Often antiques are over-sized and very difficult to move without the help of a professional moving company. Spending a little extra time on researching  experienced moving companies and well maintained storage facilities near by you, can save your antiques from being damaged. Find a mover that is enough professional to handle valuable antiques. As we already agreed there are a lot of relocating companies that provide storage units, but when it comes to such valuables there are some specific requirements that have to be fulfilled.

• Storing antiques conditions

Your main priority is to protect your antiques from dust, moisture, extreme high or low temperatures. Having appropriate conditions in the storage facility you are about to use is a must. Do not assume there is climate control in all the sells in your storage facility and keep in mind that often climate and humidity control will cost extra. Make sure that the particular unit is adapted for your antiques. Ask your mover, if it is possible for you, to see the storage in personal. Also, do not forget to check the safety measure. You definitely do not want to have anything stolen.

You should require special crating from your moving company. Hire professional antique movers or moving companies that provide luxury moving services to handle your precious antiques.

Make sure your moving company is licensed and insured.  It is always a good idea to purchase additional insurance with the moving company to make sure you are protected no matter what happens. Before purchasing insurance coverage, inform the insurance company about your valuables.

Office Moving Company

Having a reliable and strict moving company handling your company’s relocation is not an easy task. Sometimes pressed by the tight time frame you have to find a commercial moving company very fast and make sure that the job will be done professionally.

Before your commercial move

For one thing, moving an office can disrupt the work flow and productivity of the staff, which might potentially cause a temporary cut of income. The entire company relocation process requires careful planning, so that the various basic activities can be arranged to assure a smooth transition from the existing company location to the new one.

Commercial Moving Job

Handling companies is quite different than household moving. There are many household moving companies that claim to be commercial movers too, but they do not have the instruments and experience to handle it. Industrial and office relocation specialists should offer comprehensive services for relocation – plan designing, packing, crating, transporting, loading and unloading.

A successful and stress free company move requires customized moving service by the commercial moving company, as well as specialized instruments for handling delicate office equipment such as computers, electronics, furniture, fixtures, special items, inventory, etc. Handling your computers the right way could be crucial if you have not chosen a reputable company as you have all your valuable data and organization depending on the new technologies.

A commercial moving takes more time as every detail should be planned long in advance. Relocating whole business is not only more time consuming, but it needs high experienced moving company. When it comes to corporate electronics, you should be very careful who is taking care of your business.

Moving Calculator and Moving Quote

Moving is not an easy task – starting with lots of planning  and finishing with the actual move. It is a complicated process that needs relocation professionals to handle it the easy way. There are many online services that claim to provide such help but the result is not always the expected one.

Moving Websites that offer estimate quotes

There is an online service at www.ListMovers.com that provide free moving estimate calculation and quotes. This website has contacted several well-known moving companies and have performed a background check on every individual company they work with – Department of Transportation Check,  Price list comparison, and a final Overall Customer satisfaction report. Based on that information it chooses which companies to work with. After a moving company is approved as a partner, ListMovers connects the moving company with the actual customer that is about to move, through its moving quote system. This way, the customer is guaranteed that will receive a quality moving service by a licensed and professional moving company and will be handled with great care. After the moving job is completed, the customer is encouraged to rate the movers online.

Some other useful services this moving website provides are the moving planner and the moving tips on selecting a moving company. As an innovative website it provides lots of useful and new moving related information on regular bases.

ListMovers.com also provides a good advertising space for the moving companies as well as moving leads. Their powerful marketing team consults many movers how to advertise online, gain popularity and increase the overall customer satisfaction.

Choosing a Local Mover

Many of the big moving carriers work with agents all over the USA. The problem is that even if you have used one of the major players in the market, you may get a totally different service with the different moving agents working with the carrier.

The major moving brokers and agent moving companies cannot maintain the same service quality throughout their wide network of agents and this could cost you much. On the other hand, using a local mover or a major moving company with an office in your city is a good decision.

Choosing Local Moving Companies

The Local Phoenix Movers of  Frontier Apartment Movers are an example of a reliable moving company in Arizona. As they are serving only the state of Arizona, the movers are familiar with the area and the quality of service of the moving company is closely controlled. Having a local moving company taking care of your precious belongings is a smart choice. You could easily research the local movers in your state both online or asking the locals or friends.

Choosing a Nationwide carrier for your Long Distance Move

A nationwide moving company that does not operate with moving agents and thus, the quality of service is high no matter of the state of operation. For example Xpress Movers has its own training team and all employees of the company are going through exams, both physical and practical, before performing an actual move. This guarantees the quality of the moving and packing services both local and interstate no matter of the location.

No matter if choosing a local moving company or nationwide movers, always research your movers online before hiring using mover review sites  or checking the relocation company record at the Department of Transportation. This will save you a lot of troubles, time and money.

Find safe and reliable movers

Finding a reputable moving company is not an easy task. There are many movers websites that claim to be reliable companies with upfront pricing. Actually, hiring a moving company should be a very careful decision.

Important things to look for when hiring movers

There are several important factors to check before hiring a moving company. If you execute some simple steps, you may save a lot of troubles. Here is a list of a must do jobs when it comes to moving:

•  Ask if your moving provider has BBB accreditation. Look at the movers website for the BBB logo and search the company in the BBB database.

• Search for a US D.O.T. (US Department of Transportation) license and registration number. All registered and licensed companies under the U.S Department are obliged to respect the rules. Make sure that the US DOT number is under the same moving company name.

• Run some background check about your future company on internet . Read some moving reviews online to see what other customers are telling about this moving business you are about to hire. There are many places to do that online. Make sure you share your moving experience after the move.

• Ask for a binding estimate by an e-mail. Most moving companies offer free moving quotes and some of them are pretty close to the final amount. Make sure you check all aspects of the move and all moving fees that may apply. Also request the packing supplies price list before the move.

•  Avoid using moving brokers. Using a broker does not guarantee the quality of the moving service. Most moving brokers work with more than 50 different moving companies, and every moving company provides different moving service. Try using real moving companies with a reputation in the industry and request a moving estimate.

In conclusion, we may say that having a reputable moving company could cost you the same as a self service move, but you have to choose the right professional moving company for the job. Ask all your questions regarding your move and expect clear answers. If you are not sure about a particular clause in the contract, do not sign anything.

Xpress Movers is a nationwide mover with offices all around the USA that offers  innovative moving services for its customers. We have asked Mr. Stoil Andreev to explain us more about the changes in the company and the growth from a small east coast company to a nationwide relocation moving company.

Why did you change your old logo?

“We understand that changing the logo is a risky move, that is why we are trying to make the transition as smooth as possible for all of our current and potential customers. The main reason to re-design our logo is simple – evolution. Yes, Xpress Movers is evolving and improving. We have introduced many new innovative moving services over the last 2 years to the Boston Moving market. Xpress Movers serves on a daily bases Boston, Chicago, New York and provides Interstate service in every town along the East Coast and Mid-West, also in destinations like Florida, Washington DC, Texas, California and many more. We have also added high qualified members to our team to improve the overall customer service and satisfaction. Our new logo will inspire new excitement and continuity to provide you with the best possible nationwide relocation service.”

How did you choose the new logo design?

“We wanted to make it look more friendly as we are customer oriented nationwide movers. We added more color and made it more distinctive and innovative. As a modern nationwide moving company, we thought of a more modern look. We also wanted to keep some of the unique elements of the old design, so our returning customers recognize the quality of the moving company as they have already experienced it. Before reaching for the final design, we asked many of our current customers for their opinion on the initial drafts – we wanted to involve our clients into the creative process. We are in a process of changing the designs on our trucks fleet and packing materials to match the new image.”

We, the editors at The Moving Blog, like the new logo and will continue to express the changes inside Xpress Movers as one of the fastest growing Moving Companies – Nationwide Movers.

Move safely

Summer is the movers season. More than 50% of all moving jobs are performed during the summer period and this is when the moving companies are most active. If you are about to move there are some key points in terms of tome you need to take into consideration in advance.

The best time to hire a moving company

Most of the moves are scheduled at the end and the beginning of the months. This is because of the rent of the apartments. Most people usually move from 27th to 2nd and this is why the movers are usually overbooked in this period of the month. In order to have the best rates and availability, you should try to have your move booked for the middle of the month. Having flexibility on your move can save you a lot of money or troubles. Movers usually rush the jobs if they have many more jobs for that day and this could cost you damage on your precious belongings or even having some of them lost.

Hiring professional movers on September 1st

September 1st is the busiest moving day ever. Many college students are moving in their dorm apartments throughout the USA. This makes the 1st of September a hell for the moving companies, as they rush to serve as many customers as possible. If you have to move around this date, make sure you schedule and book your move way in advance. You need to choose your moving company at least a month in advance, so you can be sure you will have your stuff moved in this busy period. Many moving companies are fully booked from July, August to the beginning of September.

Confirm your Movers

You need to confirm your move at least two times before the moving date. This is very busy period and many moving companies forget some of the moves or are late on the moving day which can mess up your moving plans completely. Ask for specific details for the moving day and the delivery date in advance. Also, have the movers prepare all the packing materials in advance if your moving job require packing help.

Research your movers online

You should take time to research your movers online before hiring. This could save you a lot of troubles. Ask the movers if they protect the furniture with moving blankets and if they are provided for free. A professional moving company should use moving blankets and take all other safety measures  for extra protection. Sometimes  cheaper movers may damage your expensive furniture, so you need to be careful when it comes to the quality of service. Use online service websites to read mover reviews and movers ratings before hiring your moving company to make sure everything will go smoothly as planned on the moving day.

Moving Brokers

There are lots of  moving brokers and agents websites that  provide free moving quotes. These websites provide your contact information to third party companies which connect directly with you by phone or email without any information provided who will have your contact details. In most cases you will be contacted by at least 3 different moving companies. The moving companies will start offering lower and lower price to beat the competition. Sometimes they offer lower price than their expenses associated with the move just to take the moving job, and in the moving process they change the final price that they have quoted previously. It is very important to know that the moving brokers do not take any responsibility about the actual moving companies. Sometimes the real moving company name is unknown just until the moving day. This is quite disturbing because you cannot research the mover you are giving your belongings to for transportation.

Moving Companies

When you visit a moving company website and fill the moving quote form, you will receive only one quote from this very same company. In this case you will be able to research the moving company online before booking because you will be able to learn the  needed company information. Usually the moving companies with better websites that include their license and certification information are safer and more responsible for your belongings than movers without websites that work only with brokers and agents . By choosing an individual moving company you can search in the Better Business Bureau database and run a D.O.T. number check-up at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website to see if the movers are reputable, registered and licensed . The price quote should be more accurate than using brokers. You can repeat the same process with several different moving companies and choose the one that fits your budget best. Moreover, you can arrange a meeting in the company office and to talk with the company consultants in person.

Finally, always research your moving company online and read mover reviews before booking a mover. Find out if the company is accredited and loyal. The more you know about your future moving company, the better your move will be.