Protect yourself and your belongings, know who you are hiring!

We have all heard of horror stories associated with moving.  Let’s face it, moving can be a stressful event.  This is painfully true if you are working with a bad mover.  With over 35 million people in the United States moving annually it is a miracle that most of them go smoothly.  But even with so many smooth moves, unscrupulous movers do exist!

Consider the following appalling mover horror story, and note the lesson learned so this doesn’t happen to someone you know.

Whether you are a senior or a recent college graduate, no one deserves to be treated poorly or ripped off.

Just before the new year I received a call from a past customer and friend from 1992 that my company has personally moved 27 times with “no” problems. The customer being very independent decided to try the retirement living community options, well she decided to move back to her home from a retirement community that she had recently moved to for a few months. The retirement community recommended a senior move management company based in Naples, Florida to assist her. Being a senior, she reached out, the company packed her items, and recommended a moving company to move her belongings.

The moving company had a team member that complained about the move non-stop and how long his day was going to be. The customer was going to allow the recommended moving company to move a few items to her north Georgia summer home. The moving company crew leader asked the customer to sign 6 amendments 1 which released them of any responsibility, 1 credit card form which had no final cost. She refused to sign, at 80 she thought about her situation, the moving crew had been gone a while. She would not sign to take her items to Georgia, the help saying the owner would contact her for payment no total price yet even for the local move. After she had a chance to relax, eat dinner with her friend she decided “I should call Jim I have his cell number.

While talking with the customer and learning of what all had transpired, I found 3 federal transportation infractions

• 1 no written estimate provided for the items being moved to Georgia
• 2 No copy of the bill of lading
• 3 No inventory form of what they were moving, and they wanted you her to sign a release of any and all responsibility for damages.

My 80-year-old friend stressed to me she was very afraid and distraught over the whole thing because she trusted others and did not call on us to help her move. As a friend and a business owner of a successful moving and storage company I contacted the owner to the moving company involved to brief him and request to have her items dropped at my warehouse, he agreed. My team and I the next morning retrieved the items, conducted a thorough inspection and complete inventory along with bill of lading.

What is the lesson learned?

Do your homework before hiring a mover.  Know who you are hiring!  A little research goes a long way. Prequalifying a mover prior to making a phone call is the best way to ensure that you will be contacting a good moving company to do the job.  Don’t waste your time!  Are there any complaints about the mover?  Grievances?  Bad Reviews?  Utilize the internet, websites and reviews provide a wealth of information! Moving is a stressful process, there is no reason to add to it!

Protect yourself from moving fraud when moving, know the laws!
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/protect-your-move/how-to/moving-fraud

Don’t entrust your home and personal property to just any mover! Contact Frank and Sons Moving and Storage today for a free in-home estimate!