Picture this scenario (if it hasn’t already fueled your nightmares!):
You’d been your long-distance move for months.- You examined three different Tulsa interstate moving companies, all of which looked to be reliable, and finally selected the one that provided the cheapest estimate.
- You’re all set for 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 disappears – along with the better part of your worldly possessions.
Ah, come on! That hasn’t really happened, has it? Lamentably, it has. But that is an unusual scenario. What’s more probable with, shall we say, “less than scrupulous” movers is that they won’t pilfer a homeowner’s possessions outright; they’ll just hold them hostage until the homeowner agrees to pay a higher fee. Of course, these are but two of many sorts of moving scams. Sites like
Moving.com and
MovingScam.com will show you more.
So if you’ve experienced any qualms – any nightmares – about something like this befalling you, consider them a warning: DON’T ENGAGE A MOVING COMPANY UNTIL YOU KNOW THAT COMPANY’S LEGITIMATE!
Avoid moving companies that …
- don’t have a physical address. P.O. boxes are a big red flag. Check the phone book. And check online at Google Maps or Google Earth.
- have a shoddy record with the Better Business Bureau. Go to bbb.org. There you can look at reviews of over 20,000 moving-related companies.
- charge a fee to provide you with an estimate. That’s not anything a respected mover would do.
- don’t offer written estimates – or tell you they’ll tally up your charges after loading. Again: that’s just not done by reputable movers.
- provide you with an estimate that sounds to good to be true. It very likely is! (You know the old proverb!)
- make you sign documents that have blank lines to be filled in later. All contractual elements should be clearly delineated in writing and agreed upon before you affix your signature to anything. (Another old adage you certainly know!)
- don’t have an active 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 verify 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 yet one more ripe cliché for you: It’s better to be safe than sorry. Exercising a bit of due diligence up front and discovering all you can about the movers you’re contemplating before you hire can save you all sorts of drama and despair when your move is underway.
And your greatest source of information? The Internet! Or it is on the condition that you’re not just visiting the websites of the movers you’re reviewing. Follow the links we provide above for solid, dependable third-party corroboration of a long-distance mover’s credentials … or lack thereof.
While you’re at it, we heartily encourage you to use these sites to look into A-1 Freeman Moving Group here in Tulsa as well. We’ve been
long-distances movers – not to mention local and intrastate movers – of great repute for many decades. And we’re glad to offer tools like these to help you make wise decisions for smooth moves.
