Moving house is always a stressful time. There are so many decisions to be made and little time to make them. It’s difficult to pack your life away and most importantly, to decide which parts of your life are precious enough to bring with you; a lot has to be left behind. Once you’ve made these difficult decisions, the pressure only intensifies as you are faced with the decision of how to transport everything that remains to your new home. If the new location is nearby, or you don’t have that many things to move, or if you’re generally lucky in your circumstances, you may be able to call in a few favors from friends and find a moving van and driver for free. Alternatively, if you have very few belongings, you may want to opt for a “man with van” type of service.
However, if none of these alternatives suit your circumstances or budget, the only remaining option is a professional moving service. Security-wise this is probably your best option. The movers will offer you insurance and they will be experienced enough not to lose or damage any of your possessions. Not to mention, the employees of a legitimate moving company will have a vested interest in providing you with the best possible service. Much like any service, it’s always nice to tip your movers, but whether you do and how big the tip is depends on the quality of the service – the better the service, the bigger the tip. Therefore, you can expect that a moving company will handle your belongings with care and professionalism. So, once you’re settled on this particular option, what are some things you must know while selecting a movers.
1. First thing’s first, you always have to check the service’s credentials. Movers’ scams aren’t uncommon and there are some particularly scary horror stories out there. If you end up in the wrong hands, the consequences can be horrible – you could never see the van arrive at its destination and you could end up parting with all of your belongings. To prevent this from happening, always do your research in advance. Check the company’s credentials and look for testimonials. Do not settle for just the testimonials on the company’s website – look them up in forums and search engines. At this stage, look up several companies. Then move on to seeking friends’ and acquaintances’ testimonials and select the companies with the best reputation.
2. At this point you should start making the calls and getting an estimate from each company on the list. Collect all of the offers before making a decision. During this stage you should also ask if the movers would be able to give you any kind of discount. Always try to minimize the costs. If you know anyone, who’s recently gone through the same process, it may be a good idea to ask how much their move cost, so that you can get an idea of a reasonable price range.
3. Once you’ve gotten all of the estimates and considered the offers, it’s time to call the company you’ve selected and arrange the actual move. This should be done a month in advance at the very least, earlier if possible, in order to make sure that vans and movers will be available on your particular day. You will also be expected to make a down payment. This is why it’s important for you to have made sure that you’re dealing with a legitimate company.
4. Once everything is in place, it’s still a good idea to call the movers a few days before your scheduled relocation to make sure that everything is still arranged. Reputable companies will always call with enough advance warning if there is a scheduling conflict or any other problem, but it never hurts to make sure.
