Cross country movers

[mtnbkr]

If we hire movers, I want to pack the stuff ourselves, thatway they don't know what's in any of the boxes anyhow.

Talk to the moving company and find out what limits they'll want to place on their liability if YOU do the packing.  Some moving companies will excuse themselves of any broken items liability if you do the packing.

Chris

[K Frame]

"Talk to the moving company and find out what limits they'll want to place on their liability if YOU do the packing.  Some moving companies will excuse themselves of any broken items liability if you do the packing."

Now that is fantastic, and useful, information.

Is that something that has come out of your Mom and Dad's impending move?

If I ever get to move back to Pennsylvania, about 3/4 of the large furniture in my house, and a lot of the small stuff, as well, gets donated or tossed.

[mtnbkr]

Is that something that has come out of your Mom and Dad's impending move?

Yes, but I've heard it elsewhere as well.

Chris

[RocketMan]

I'd be very hesitant to use a mover these days.  The industry is essentially unregulated since the middle '90s when the Interstate Commerce Commission was disbanded.
If you lose goods to unscrupulous movers, the local LEOs will not help you out.  There are only two people at the Fed DOT to cover problems for the whole country.
There are increasing numbers of horror stories out there concerning flagrant dishonesty with the major national chains.

My wife used a mover from Austin, TX to Albany, OR in November 2004.  They packed up all her worldly goods and...disappeared.  She lost everything except what was in the car with us.
Never again.  As much as I hate moving myself, it will be me driving a rental.

[Silver Bullet]

Ive made several long-distance moves, using the big interstate lines.  To some extent it seems a crap shoot:  I get the idea that a driver hires two guys hes never seen before to help him load a truck, and after he gets to his destination he hires two more guys hes never seen before to help him unload it.  Some of those two guys didnt really care if anything was dropped, but Ive had very little damage from loader-uppers and loader-downers.

With that disclaimer, all the moves Ive made with Mayflower were virtually problem-free.  All the moves Ive had with other lines had some significant mover damage.  

When I move, I do all the packing/unpacking myself; saves about half the cost.

And Ive been much more satisifed with local movers (when I move within a city) than national movers.

[DrAmazon]

When I considered professional movers last summer (CO to VA) I called all of the various organizations that I'm a member of to get their member rates.  The best estimate I got was Allied Van Lines via the NRA's moving contracts.  They gave me a "not to exceed" estimate, as opposed to the non-binding estimates that I was getting from everyone else.  Allied had moved my parents and I back in the late 70s and had done a great job.

I did wind up moving myself, but I was moving only a small apartment.  With kids and all, you're right to pay someone else to do the moving hassle so you can focus on getting your kids settled in.  Best of luck.

Where in NoVA are you headed, there's bunch of us out here.

[Silver Bullet]

Ive never used Allied; somewhere I got the idea a long time ago that they were a premium mover, with higher quality work and higher rates, but I have absolutely nothing to substantiate that.

If I can get a NRA discount, Ill definitely consider them next time I move.

[Jamisjockey]

Where in NoVA are you headed, there's bunch of us out here.

Work is just west of Manassas in the Vint Hill area, we're kind of zeroing in on living in Stafford for various reasons.

[DrAmazon]

Funny, I've got a co-worker putting a house up for sale in Stafford in a couple of months...

My Dad was stationed at Vint Hill when my parents were first married.  They think it's a scream that 30-some years later I'm living here.

[Jamisjockey]

Funny, I've got a co-worker putting a house up for sale in Stafford in a couple of months...

My Dad was stationed at Vint Hill when my parents were first married.  They think it's a scream that 30-some years later I'm living here.

When I get out there we'll have to have a get-together.  Its always good to meet people to network and learn a new area.
 They've still got me in standby-to-standby mode.  I work for the .gov, *expletive deleted*ing with people is standard fare.  I might know something soon, and I hope I do because not knowing the whole picture yet is bugging the hell out of me.