On March 24, I will be moving from Washington, DC to Knoxville, TN as I have accepted a new job offer. There’s a relatively short time between when I accepted the offer (last week) and to when I have to move out of my current apartment. My company has given me a flat rate of $5k (less taxes, so realistically $3,300) to relocate to Tennessee by any means I see fit.

I have too much stuff to try to rent a U-Haul, and besides I haven’t had the time to find a place in Knoxville to live, so I have decided to find a moving company that can help me move and also provide me with short term storage.

I don’t really know the best way to go about finding a mover, so I started to Google and filled out some forms on websites (like rent.com, etc), and have been contacted by several moving companies, many of them being locally-owned (based somewhere around DC). Most have given me a quote of around $1500 - $2000 based on a common weight and volume, and provide 30 days of free storage at their warehouse.

However, after doing research on these companies, I am constantly finding several negative reviews of them on the Internet, and some complaints on the BBB. Some companies don’t even show up on the BBB. A lot of the complaints deal with hidden charges (often doubling the cost of their estimate) and the company’s refusal to deliver unless paid in full. I don’t really know what companies I can trust.

For those of you who have used a professional moving service, what are some of the characteristics you’ve looked for in judging the competence and reliability of their services? I checked with a couple of the national movers (like Mayflower), and they are quoting me between $4k and $6k for the same weight/volume estimates. That’s really outside of my budget, but I would definitely be willing to spend up to what has been given to me by my new company.

Thanks!

3/9/2008 9:36:28 PM

http://www.pods.com/

I have never moved with a company; however, a friend did the Pod thing and absolutely love it and said it was cheaper than the alternative.

Maybe you could look into that.

3/9/2008 9:39:50 PM

I checked out PODS a few days ago, and while it sounds like an excellent service, I don't think that I am able to have a container delivered to my place. The only parking area available is a parking deck, and a container requires an uncovered space.

3/9/2008 10:40:35 PM

if anybody knows any good ones in the raleigh area I'm doing a local move at the end of the month and am looking for estimates

3/9/2008 10:48:56 PM

you dont even have that much shit you lazy bastard.

[called out]

[Edited on March 9, 2008 at 10:54 PM. Reason : k]

3/9/2008 10:54:19 PM

You could try listing your move on http://www.uship.com

I used it to move from Houston to Cary, and was very happy with the price and the shipper I used. It's basically an ebay-style site, where shippers will bid on moving your stuff. As long as you check people's feedback, you can generally get moved pretty cheaply. It sounds like you do have a few concerns about particulars and logistics, but that site would at the very least put you in touch with a number of other companies or movers that you could talk to. You can ask all the questions you want to people before accepting or rejecting a bid.

3/10/2008 12:41:03 AM

I think all moving companies are shady. I've never, ever heard a single good story about a moving company.

3/10/2008 2:35:24 AM

I dont know how much stuff you have but the 2000 bid sounds about right. There are lots of moving companies that will give you a flat rate up front so no hidden cost. you have to be careful about companies that change by volume cuz if they are crappy loading up the truck your cost coule triple on moving day. My ex moved from here to tx and it was like 2500 i think.

3/10/2008 4:22:48 AM

I was in the same position as you in November...use a big company, even if they cost a little more, I used United, and got a guy to come in a give me a "Not-to-exceed estimate"...and then I weighed in less than his estimate, they reduced the cost...

Cost me 1,700 to move to NYC (and there is an extra 400 charge to move to NYC b/c of the unions here) for a 1BR (bed/dresser/couch/10 boxes/appliances)...not too bad costwise and pretty good movers...

Also, your company will probably pay the taxes on your $5000 for you...mine did, and I think that's a fairly standard practice...

3/10/2008 5:52:33 AM

I just checked out the UShip website. That looks like a great site. I listed around 8am this morning, and have received a lot of interaction from companies that people have rated highly on there. It gives me a lot better feeling over getting these shady emails and phone calls from people.

3/10/2008 9:48:49 AM

look into Allied (I think they also go by Federal) -- they moved me over 1,000 miles recently (company paid) but they did a good job & provided a month of storage for me.

whatever you do-- buy the insurance!!! also if you have renters, ask your agent if it covers you during a move.

i've moved 4 times and no matter how careful they are or how well shit is packed.. something ALWAYS breaks. sometimes its big sometimes its small-- get the insurance

don't forget... get the insurance (and don't get insurance by the pound which is prob what they offer first)

3/10/2008 7:29:00 PM

check out this excellent info and tips about moving:

http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/category/4/87/

3/10/2008 8:39:33 PM

I'll throw in a recommendation for Graebel. They were awesome, super professional and prompt and friendly, my claim for damage went through without a hitch, everyone along the way was awesome to deal with.

3/10/2008 11:06:36 PM

http://www.minimoves.com/

they're awesome.

3/11/2008 6:10:36 AM

Have you had some good experience with them in the past? What kind of move did you do? From the BBB (http://tinyurl.com/2aubhh):

Quote :

"The BBB processed a total of 51 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period.Of the total of 51 complaints closed in 36 months, 15 were closed in the last year."

Mayflower and United are coming to do an in-home estimate this afternoon and this evening, so hopefully I'll get a decent quote and can go with a reputable company.

Realistically I have no concept of how much it should cost me to move my 2BRs worth of stuff 400 miles to Knoxville. A company called FlatRate quoted me at $3984, door to door, with no insurance. That's too high. On uShip, an individual with a very positive review quoted me at $2200 (http://tinyurl.com/2fnecl - at the bottom). My cousin and I did estimate if we rented a truck and moved myself (having people help load/unload the truck at both places), and it came close to $1900. So an additional few hundred dollars would make it worth to me to have this independent mover from uShip, but aside from his positive reviews, I don't know how trusting I should be based on a website.

[/overly paranoid]

[Edited on March 11, 2008 at 7:02 AM. Reason : .]

3/11/2008 6:52:25 AM

Mayflower and United came out today to do an in-home estimate. Mayflower told me it was $2999, and United gave me the 'not to exceed' quote of $2450. The United quote included packing and wrapping, full value replacement insurance up to $25k, transportation, and delivery. They also gave me the gov't discount because of my employer

The agent also gave me some info on the recent moving industry. United owns Mayflower, and Allied and Atlas (according to him) are filing for bankruptcy.

3/11/2008 6:29:56 PM

United...read my post above...they quoted me @ 2300, but I dropped off half the stuff at my parents house (can't fit 2BRs in a NY studio!) and the actual was about 1700...highly recommended, good luck in knoxville

3/11/2008 6:39:04 PM