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Originally Posted by Gonavy
Moving to the villages from Brooklyn...looking for recommendations on a good mover.
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A rude shock to many, Brooklyn is on Long Island. We moved nine years ago from Nassau County. A good mover? There are perhaps more complaints about movers than cable companies, insurance companies etc etc etc.
My sister used to work for one one of the larger interstate movers and I followed her advice.
What will happen. You will decide to get two or three competing bids. The company will send over a SALESPERSON. They will look over your STUFF put it into their computer and give you an ESTIMATE. Their program shows average weight, ie couch weighs ?? 100 pounds. THE GOCHA, if they underestimate the weight of your STUFF, their BID will be lower. However, when you drive on highways you will see exits marked weigh station.
They must stop and have their truck weighed. So if they underestimate your weight for your quote, when they arrive they will say you owe $$$$$ more than the quote.
What you want to compare is tariff rate. They will not tell you what it is. It is easy to figure out. The estimate will show weight as well as price. The tariff rate is filed with the government. I would expect they are again or still charging a fuel surcharge. You don't need to care what they call it. It is how much per 100 pounds.
Insurance- They do include insurance but it is like ten cents per hundred pounds. I used 100 pounds for a couch. If they destroy your couch you will get ten cents for it. You can, and I did pay for insurance to cover replacement value. I'm not sure but I seem to recall that cost like $600. It was well worth the money. I think that cost also varies by the mover you choose. Your stuff will not be the only stuff on an interstate moving trailer.
You will not be on the truck to see that they properly secure all that is on the truck each time they load or unload. Why it was worth the money. I had a lot of heavy equipment.
My work table, really heavy was not secured. In Florida we were the last stop. Something, I assume my worktable or???? shifted and destroyed my desk. They destroyed almost twice what we paid for insurance. It was tough, it was a battle but I did collect.
The last GOTCHA. As stated, I had a lot of heavy stuff. The sales people are well very slick. I was told his program would not properly estimate my heavy stuff so he would add in an extra 1,000 pounds and I would get it back in the end. The gotcha, my tariff rate as I figured it was fifty-seven cents per 100 pounds so extra charge $570. The fine print is they credit you thirteen cents per hundred pounds.
Three competing movers? Mayflower and United Van Lines are owned by the same corporation.
We use only company people. That does not mean they are qualified or that you will have the same people on both ends. I have a large armoir. Like say a china closet, it comes apart by removing a few screws. The crew loading the truck tried to carry it down the stairs as one piece damaging both the furniture and the newly painted walls, handrails etc. Almost funny -NOW. The Florida crew, dropped that same piece of furniture poking a hole in our brand new bedroom wall.
Packing, you want to photograph everything in each box and how it is packed. Any damages, you can be sure they will claim it was already damaged or improperly packed.
The mover will deliver the boxes, for us 250 boxes, and ask you to sign a receipt-a bill of lading. You will not be able to count the boxes, they will not be in numerical order and in our case damaged boxes were put under other boxes or against a wall. If you sign you cannot claim a box was missing.