List Excerpt: Mover Notes
List Excerpt #2:
Mover notes:
tarrifs change - there's a new one out, 400N, that includes most of the extras (long carry, shuttles, ATCs, KD labour, etc.) - but prices vary based on the season. Pay attention to tarrifs; they're what determines what you pay.
midmonth/midweek tends to cost less than end of week, start or end of month - also, season counts. Summer is peak season. Costs more. Guaranteed dates are harder to come by.
Traditional Large Movers:
Allied: midpoint satisfaction; 22% inaccurate estimates
Arpin: 77% satisfaction; 4% inaccurate estimates
Atlas: good satisfaction; 3% inaccurate estimates
Bekins: good satisfaction; accurate; relo assistance; unpacking, performance guarantee, expensive
Mayflower: bad satisfaction; 40% inaccurate estimates
North American: low satisfaction; 46% inaccurate estimates
United: well satisfied; high inaccuracy
Wheaton: good satisfaction; 3% inaccurate estimates
Remember that when you're dealing with a mover, the folks you're talking to (and ALWAYS talk to a mover, /not/ a broker) are likely to be the agent of the national line. For example, I signed with Allied - but the actual guys I've spoken with are NorCal, the Allied Agent in my area. Talk to your agent, /not/ your national carrier, and do your research and homework on that agent.
Possible extra services:
space reservation (guaranteed minimum cubic feet, which you really don't need)
expedited service (specific dates, which I got from Allied; my stuff will take a max of 11 days)
exclusive use of a vehicle (only you would occupy that truck - this strikes me as more expensive and silly)
guarandeed service on or between dates (everyone should give you this)
transport on two or more vehicles (again, don't see why, except it might be cheaper, but it increases the chance that Stuff Walks)
When you deal with a mover, you will invite them to your home to do an estimate. (Do Not Talk to anyone who cannot send out an estimator. If you deal with them entirely over the phone or the internet, run, do not walk, away. They are likely a scam operation.) You want from them a not-to-exceed binding estimate, which means that you cannot be charged more than the listed price. Binding estimates aren't binding and non binding estimates are just invitations for an expanding cost ceiling.
Compare apples to apples. The estimator will go through your house, noting down how many boxes he thinks it will yield and how much furniture is involved. He will estimate from that the weight of it all (if he deals exclusively in cubic feet, /run away/) and base his price on that weight. Make sure your comparison of their prices takes that weight variance into effect.
After you've checked movingscam.com and done your research into a mover and select one, the estimator will reappear to draw up an order of service. This not a contract (and should require no money from you; if it does, run away again). It should match the estimate; you should insist on it. This just puts in the order to have the movers appear on your given date to perform work. It is written and signed by both parties; you get a copy. All changes from that point on need to be written and signed by both parties again.
The day of the move, the driver and crew will appear. They will have with them a bill of lading. The bill of lading is the contract and you can walk away right up until the instant that you sign the bill of lading - so read it carefully first. It should match the Order for Service and, accordingly, the estimate.
Couple more notes: Your mover will take an inventory. That inventory is your lifeline to your right to issue claims. Watch it carefully - the mover will mark down pre-existing damages on your items. You can disagree with him, but you need to do it in writing and before you sign. He will have codes for the damage; learn them. Make sure what he puts down is what's there. On the far end, that same inventory list will be checked off as they unload the truck and damage will be noted again - and again, make sure you list anything at all that you notice. Once you sign, your right to complain diminishes astronomically, so don't sign until the truck is unloaded and you have satisfied yourself to every aspect.
You have a right to receive your weight tickets. Movers have to weigh their trucks and get a tar weight - weight it prior to loading your belongings and then after loading your belongings. If you don't trust the numbers on the tickets, you have a right to demand that the truck be re-weighed for free. Anyone who tells you they don't weigh your truck is charging you by mystical other means and they need to go away.
Be sure that liability is clear. Be very sure. Here's the thing about a self-pack. The movers will try to tell you (possibly) that inherent vice comes into play. (Inherent vice being that there could have been something wrong in the sealed carton and they would have had no way of knowing about it - you could have packed broken glass for all they knew.) That said, the DOT states that the movers are liable if they cannot prove that the cartons were incorrectly packed and that the mover, for that reason, has the right to repack anything unsafely packed (and charge you for it). However - there are three types of liability coverage that the mover will sell you. Their default coverage only puts 60 cents on the pound, regardless of the item. You don't want that. Try for full replacement value - that requires them to pay the cost of replacing the item. Don't go for full value - that's actually the depreciated value of the item. They will also give you a ceiling for your items. Make sure that ceiling is high enough. This is not, incidentally, insurance. It's liability. Insurance would be paid outside the carrier and have a policy number. If you do storage or storage in transit, be paranoid. The rules change for the period that you are in SiT.
Mover notes:
tarrifs change - there's a new one out, 400N, that includes most of the extras (long carry, shuttles, ATCs, KD labour, etc.) - but prices vary based on the season. Pay attention to tarrifs; they're what determines what you pay.
midmonth/midweek tends to cost less than end of week, start or end of month - also, season counts. Summer is peak season. Costs more. Guaranteed dates are harder to come by.
Traditional Large Movers:
Allied: midpoint satisfaction; 22% inaccurate estimates
Arpin: 77% satisfaction; 4% inaccurate estimates
Atlas: good satisfaction; 3% inaccurate estimates
Bekins: good satisfaction; accurate; relo assistance; unpacking, performance guarantee, expensive
Mayflower: bad satisfaction; 40% inaccurate estimates
North American: low satisfaction; 46% inaccurate estimates
United: well satisfied; high inaccuracy
Wheaton: good satisfaction; 3% inaccurate estimates
Remember that when you're dealing with a mover, the folks you're talking to (and ALWAYS talk to a mover, /not/ a broker) are likely to be the agent of the national line. For example, I signed with Allied - but the actual guys I've spoken with are NorCal, the Allied Agent in my area. Talk to your agent, /not/ your national carrier, and do your research and homework on that agent.
Possible extra services:
space reservation (guaranteed minimum cubic feet, which you really don't need)
expedited service (specific dates, which I got from Allied; my stuff will take a max of 11 days)
exclusive use of a vehicle (only you would occupy that truck - this strikes me as more expensive and silly)
guarandeed service on or between dates (everyone should give you this)
transport on two or more vehicles (again, don't see why, except it might be cheaper, but it increases the chance that Stuff Walks)
When you deal with a mover, you will invite them to your home to do an estimate. (Do Not Talk to anyone who cannot send out an estimator. If you deal with them entirely over the phone or the internet, run, do not walk, away. They are likely a scam operation.) You want from them a not-to-exceed binding estimate, which means that you cannot be charged more than the listed price. Binding estimates aren't binding and non binding estimates are just invitations for an expanding cost ceiling.
Compare apples to apples. The estimator will go through your house, noting down how many boxes he thinks it will yield and how much furniture is involved. He will estimate from that the weight of it all (if he deals exclusively in cubic feet, /run away/) and base his price on that weight. Make sure your comparison of their prices takes that weight variance into effect.
After you've checked movingscam.com and done your research into a mover and select one, the estimator will reappear to draw up an order of service. This not a contract (and should require no money from you; if it does, run away again). It should match the estimate; you should insist on it. This just puts in the order to have the movers appear on your given date to perform work. It is written and signed by both parties; you get a copy. All changes from that point on need to be written and signed by both parties again.
The day of the move, the driver and crew will appear. They will have with them a bill of lading. The bill of lading is the contract and you can walk away right up until the instant that you sign the bill of lading - so read it carefully first. It should match the Order for Service and, accordingly, the estimate.
Couple more notes: Your mover will take an inventory. That inventory is your lifeline to your right to issue claims. Watch it carefully - the mover will mark down pre-existing damages on your items. You can disagree with him, but you need to do it in writing and before you sign. He will have codes for the damage; learn them. Make sure what he puts down is what's there. On the far end, that same inventory list will be checked off as they unload the truck and damage will be noted again - and again, make sure you list anything at all that you notice. Once you sign, your right to complain diminishes astronomically, so don't sign until the truck is unloaded and you have satisfied yourself to every aspect.
You have a right to receive your weight tickets. Movers have to weigh their trucks and get a tar weight - weight it prior to loading your belongings and then after loading your belongings. If you don't trust the numbers on the tickets, you have a right to demand that the truck be re-weighed for free. Anyone who tells you they don't weigh your truck is charging you by mystical other means and they need to go away.
Be sure that liability is clear. Be very sure. Here's the thing about a self-pack. The movers will try to tell you (possibly) that inherent vice comes into play. (Inherent vice being that there could have been something wrong in the sealed carton and they would have had no way of knowing about it - you could have packed broken glass for all they knew.) That said, the DOT states that the movers are liable if they cannot prove that the cartons were incorrectly packed and that the mover, for that reason, has the right to repack anything unsafely packed (and charge you for it). However - there are three types of liability coverage that the mover will sell you. Their default coverage only puts 60 cents on the pound, regardless of the item. You don't want that. Try for full replacement value - that requires them to pay the cost of replacing the item. Don't go for full value - that's actually the depreciated value of the item. They will also give you a ceiling for your items. Make sure that ceiling is high enough. This is not, incidentally, insurance. It's liability. Insurance would be paid outside the carrier and have a policy number. If you do storage or storage in transit, be paranoid. The rules change for the period that you are in SiT.