Long Distance Full Service Moves...Share your stories

[PartyLikeARockstar]

Wife and I are trying to choose a company to haul our stuff from CA to central FL, taking recommendations. Please help!

[Airbozo]

Whatever company you choose, check with the Better Business Bureau FIRST!

[msmrx57]

Whatever company you choose, check with the Better Business Bureau FIRST!

What he said.

[Airbozo]

Whatever company you choose, check with the Better Business Bureau FIRST!

Oh, and since MOST moving companies are like franchises, check out the owner and not just the parent company.

The main reason I say this is that my Sister in law and her husband contracted a nationwide well known company to move their stuff from Arizona to Northern California. They had a contract in place and paid up front for packing/storage and moving services. The national company contracted out to one of their local franchises who packed everything up and moved it to NorCal, then put it in storage until they arrived (both were out of town on business for a couple of weeks).

When they got to their new house, they contacted the company to deliver their belongings. They were called back almost 2 days later with a message that they would not deliver any of their stuff without another up front payment (close to $3k!). They are both VERY business savvy and had their contract in hand (which was looked over by their lawyer), which indicated that they had paid in full for all services. They talked with the moving company headquarters and were told that yes they had paid in full. The local franchise disputed that and refused to deliver their belongings and started charging them per day for storage unless they paid the $$ asap. It turned out to be a total scam. If they paid the extra cash, they could have their stuff AND they had to sign a paper absolving the local franchise of any wrong doing. They refused and the moving truck drove away. They called the cops and were told it was eaiser to pay first and dispute later. Their lawyer told them the same thing, but since they were both well off and traveled a lot, they decided to fight it in court. It took over 6 months and lots of time to eventually get their stuff back.

They also sued for legal fees and personal loss and won. The owner of the company had a history of this sort of crap and was jailed for almost 2 years for multiple charges brought against him by the states of Arizona and California.

[Bopher]

I don't know about full service but when we moved from MA to WY we found out that ABF will rent you space in a truck going to whenever you need. You can fill the truck at the depot or you can have it parked in front of the house for up to 3 days so you can load it. It has a rate for X amount of feet then so much $$ for each additional 6 feet of room you need. that one is, upack (http://www.upack.com) is the site we used. they help you figure out how much room you might need.