I’m still ticked off at the moving company I hired to move my family across the country that pressured me to lower my box estimate, hiding the fact that any boxes above my initial estimate were charged at a higher rate. But my terrible experience has led to this list of tips to hire movers without getting screwed, like I did.
How to get a moving quote, questions to ask before you hire a moving company, and red flags to watch for.
Tip: Lower the cost of moving across the country by trashing these 65 things first. Also, here’s where you can find free moving boxes.
How to get a quote
- Ask friends if they have recommendations
- Start with quotes via email or over the phone, but keep in mind that nothing counts unless you get it in writing
- Gather as much hard information about your move as possible, including
- your move dates
- how flexible your move dates are
- how many large pieces of furniture and appliances you are moving
- how many boxes you have (estimate 30 per room)
- where you are moving to
- when you want your stuff to arrive
- how many rooms you are moving
- Get at least three quotes in writing before hiring a company.
- Ask if they are a broker or the actual moving company. A broker is a middleman that arranges initial details of the move and takes a fee for their work. Avoid middlemen to save money. Also, a broker is not a representative of the actual moving company, so they may not be able to answer important questions about the contract.
- Get each quote in writing via email or fax or snail mail. If they refuse to send you paperwork, do not work with them.
- Do not share your credit card information while getting a quote.
- Avoid giving a phone number and your primary email if you can. The best way to do this is to call them directly. Look for a toll free number on their website.Tell them you want the quote before you share any personal information. You have their number and will call if interested.
- If the quote for the specific addresses you are moving from and to? If not, by how much could the quote increase by?
- If you don’t know exactly where you are moving to, how much could the quote increase by?
- Is the quoted price binding? What could make the price increase? Decrease?
- Before you hang up, ask for the quote to be emailed to you so you have a written copy.
Tip: Use Real Simple’s moving checklist to stay on top of your move. Mayflower also has a great moving checklist that is even more detailed and includes a list of who to contact about your change of address.
Questions to ask before hiring a moving company
- How much are extra boxes and furniture charged?
- What happens if my stuff arrives outside of the estimate provided?
- If I’m not able to receiving my delivery, how much will I be charged per day until I can pick it up?
- What insurance is included?
- How much does it cost for additional insurance?
- Are there any items that are prohibited from being shipped, like water mattresses or handguns?
- Is the fee fixed? What other charges might arise?
- What is the highest price you might end up paying for this move?
- Will you pack your stuff or will the movers?
- How many men will be sent to move your boxes?
- Will the movers provide blankets to protect furniture? How much extra will this cost?
- How long will it take them to pack up everything?
- Will your stuff be unpacked and re-packed into another truck? (This can increase damage)
- Are mattress covers provided? How much extra do they cost?
- Are extra boxes provided? How much do they cost each?
- Is the moving truck an air ride or a spring trailer? Air rides are smoother, which means your stuff won’t bounce, and perhaps break, as much.
- If a deposit is required, is it refundable? Can you put it on your credit card in case you need to contest the charge down the road (no pun intended!)
- What forms of payment are accepted? Never work with a company that requires payment by cash or check.
WARNING: Whatever a moving company says over the phone is talk. Get everything in writing or via email. You must review a contract before paying a cent. Moving companies are in the business of making money and will tell you what you want to hear to get you to pay a deposit and sign a contract.
Red flags to look for in the contract
- Overages. I got screwed on this one so it is particularly close to my heart. Are there any clauses about the cost of each packed box going up if you have more boxes than your original estimate? I didn’t read the contract carefully enough and got slammed with huge fees because I had about 70 more boxes than my original estimate of 40. Those 70 extra boxes had a higher – much higher – price than the first 40.
- Storage fees. Are there storage fees if for some reason you are not able to receive your boxes and furniture? Is the charge by the day or the week? Are there fees to get your possessions delivered to your place if they were put in storage? Once you are able to receive your stuff, how soon will items be delivered?
- Payment. Companies that only accept check or cash. Don’t work with these companies! Above board companies will accept credit cards, which gives you some limited options if the situation turns messy.
- Deposit. Is a deposit required before you see a contract? This is a big no-no! Assume you will NOT get the deposit back, no matter how nice the customer service agent sounds.
- Defensiveness. When asking questions, how does the customer service respond? Are they helpful or defensive? If they don’t have answers, do they get back to you once they’ve tracked down the person who has the answer? Or do they let details slip through the cracks?
What have you learned from hiring movers?
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
My husband used to work for a big moving company about 10 years ago. They would send out a salesman to the actual house to look and see what needed to be moved, instead of just taking the customer’s estimate. My husband would look at a house and it’s furnishings and he could estimate probably down to about 20 boxes how many would actually be needed, and how many pounds everything in the entire house would weigh. The salesman would sometimes underestimate the cost (of course) but not often. It’s best to get them to come to the house for an estimate and yes, read the fine print!
@Michelle Turchin Ventresca It sounds like your husband’s company was higher quality than the movers I hired. They never came to my house because moving day – everything was done over the phone and fax. Next time I do a big move – we’re going to pay for quality!
A friend of mine got totally screwed by the movers she hired. They took way longer to get her stuff across country and some of it was damaged.
I hope you were able to “name names” somewhere, if not in this article, so others don’t get screwed over by this company!!!
@Rachlle Romberg Honestly, it was so long ago that I can’t remember the moving company name. It was the brokers that were awful though – and they took a fee above the moving expense! Next time I’ll get reviews from friends and be more careful.
Hi everybody!
I’m a resident of North Caroline, Next week I’m going to my new house in Miami,and I need to take all of my stuff with me.Can you recommend me some new and safe moving company?I find only this one
smile-moving.com/nc
Can you say something about it?
Recently I had a reputable moving company give me an estimate on moving some things from my office to another property. It was about 15 small pieces of furniture, some lamps, one desk, maybe 10 small boxes, and a washing machine. The estimate was $500. The day arrived and 3 old guys showed up. One said several times “I work for tips.” I ended up giving them each a $100 tip although one of them just stood around the whole time. I haven’t had movers in over 40 years so didn’t know how the system works. Is it typical to pay tips on top of the quoted price? If so, how do you calculate the tip?
Yes, I think it’s pretty typical to tip on top of the quoted price. I think $100 per person was extremely generous. I would be very annoyed if a mover kept reminding me “I work for tips.” Not professional in the slightest!
How much would you recommend for tips?
The moving industry does operate off of tips. It’s labor-intensive and typically paid at manual labor rates of $10-15 an hour. So tips are usually appreciated. Demanding a tip through coercion and manipulation isn’t right no matter how you look at it.
I would say on average you should tip the movers at least $25-50 per person per day. It will depend on the size of your move, the number of difficult items, and the number of days your move will take. Local move that is 1 day would be different than a multi-day move with the same crew.
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Excellent article on “how to” of hiring a moving company and pitfalls to look for.
I’m so very sorry that you had such an awful experience. Thank you for taking the time to ensure that someone else doesn’t fall “into the trap”!
We always recommend that you hire reputable movers by doing a business license search. Usually business licenses, fleet size and the status of a company can be found through the state license lookup tools. Avoid sites like craigslist for sure!
Always a good idea to read online reviews first. Many people don’t do this, but this will prevent you from getting “screwed” when hiring a company
Early preparation is very important to do before moving! Compare prices compare moving companies read online reviews are must do !
try to get online moving quotes to help you with your preparation!
I’m in process of getting a move scheduled. The new residence is in the same county in Florida. Pricing is high. And tips of $20 per mover were recommended. At this time I have not made a moving assistance choice.
Moving is so expensive, no matter how you do it. Hope you find a good option soon!
Wasn’t aware of the tip scenario. That said the last 2 moves, movers threatened – “we know your address” and more. Luckily in CA such threats constitute “terrorist threats” under CA law which I told them. (it was a friend’s move, not mine). Not the most trustworthy industry in my mind.
Hire a moving company is very difficult because multiple companies are there. People are confused which company is right for moving. Nice information you share on this blog. You share the easy way how to choose right moving company. Great blog. Thanks!