Picture this scenario (if it hasn’t already stoked your nightmares!):
You’d planned your long-distance move for a long time.- You reviewed three different Little Rock interstate moving companies, all of which appeared to be reliable, and finally picked the one that gave you the least costly estimate.
- It’s now Moving Day.
- The moving crew loads your belongings]21] on the truck.
- The truck drives off for your new home.
- And it never gets there. It vanishes – as does most of your worldly possessions.
Ah, no way! You’re making that up, right? Lamentably, we’re not. But that is an over-the-top scenario. What’s more likely to happen with, shall we say, “less than honest” movers is that they won’t steal a homeowner’s belongings outright; they’ll merely hold them hostage until the homeowner forks over more money. Of course, these are but two of many kinds of moving scams. Sites like
Moving.com and
MovingScam.com reveal more.
So if you’ve experienced any qualms – any nightmares – about something like this befalling you, consider them a warning: DON’T EMPLOY A MOVING COMPANY UNTIL YOU KNOW THAT COMPANYS TRULY TRUSTWORTHY!
Steer clear of moving companies that …
- don’t have a physical address. P.O. boxes are a dead giveaway. Consult the phone book. And check online at Google Maps or Google Earth.
- have a poor record with the Better Business Bureau. Visit bbb.org. There you’ll find reviews of more than 20,000 moving-oriented companies.
- charge a fee to provide you with an estimate. That’s not anything a respected mover would do.
- don’t give you written estimates – or say they’ll tally up your charges after loading. Again: that’s just not how reputable movers do business.
- provide you with an estimate that looks to good to be true. It very likely is! (You know the old saying!)
- make you sign documents that have blank lines to be filled in later. All details should be spelled out in writing and agreed upon before you sign anything. (Another old axiom you must know!)
- don’t have a current U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) license,
- don’t have an active Motor Carrier (MC) license, and
- don’t have a DOT or MC number that’s less than 3 years old …
- or aren’t insured. You can confirm all this at the DOT website’s Mover Registration Search, https://ai.fmcsa.dot.gove/hhg/search.asp. Keep in mind, all moving companies for hire as interstate movers have to be licensed and insured for interstate commerce.
Here’s still another ripe cliché for you: It’s better to be safe than sorry. Exercising a little due diligence up front and discovering all you can about the movers you’re contemplating before you hire can save you a lot of drama and despair when your move is underway.
And your greatest research tool? The Internet! Or it is on the condition that you’re not just going to the websites of the movers you’re considering. Follow the links we provide above for solid, reliable third-party confirmation of a long-distance mover’s credentials … or lack thereof.
While you’re at it, we cordially suggest that you use these sites to look into A-1 Freeman Moving Group here in Little Rock too. We’ve been
long-distances movers – not to mention local and intrastate movers – of excellent repute for many decades. And we’re pleased to present tools like these to help you make smart decisions for smooth moves.
