Full service moving companies?

[tacosforlife]

H has an in-person interview back in the Midwest next week. SQUEEEEE!

If you've done a full service move:
What company did you use?
How much did it cost? (And how big was your house, of course.)
Were you satisfied?

::breathes into paper bag::

[FishChicks]

Congrats! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

We moved from CA to MN and used Allied Van Lines/Berger relo. My employer paid for it, but I just got the final statement and house hold goods, full service move was listed at $17k. They had to shuttle our belongings on both ends due to narrow windy roads that the semi wouldn't fit up, so that added to the cost. We moved from a 2400 square foot house with a 3 car garage and we had a lot of stuff.

[Deleted]

I recommend getting quotes from the big three (United, Allied & Mayflower) and going with a combination of lowest quote & how much you like dealing with the local office for each company. I havent done a full service move in 10 years, so my number wont be helpful, but I was happy with Mayflower.

[tacosforlife]

Mar 4, 2015 10:26:17 GMT -5 @ameliapond said:

I recommend getting quotes from the big three (United, Allied & Mayflower)

I didn't even know those were the big 3. LOL. Thanks!

I want to get at least one quote so that if he gets an offer, he can negotiate relo from an informed perspective.

Holy shit holy shit.

[raangoli]

I have no clue about the moving but I wanted to wish Dr. tacos the best!

[thedutchgirl]

We and a couple friends used Graebel.

[v]

Good luck to him!

What company did you use? Flat Rate Movers (they're in DC too, I think?)

How much did it cost? (And how big was your house, of course.): $1900 before tax and tips to move from one one-bedroom to another one three miles away.  They packed our stuff for us but we unpacked.  Not sure if that's the typical "full service" arrangement?

Were you satisfied?  Not at all.  They broke a few things and trying to get them to cover them, even though we had insurance, was a major PITA.  Their insurance turned out to be kind of a scam.  Also, while they're supposed to work on a flat rate/no surprises/we come and check out your place a few days before the move to give you a price and that's it... and even though we donated two car loads of stuff after the estimate was completed (and two car loads is a lot when you're talking about moving out of a 600 sq ft apartment), in the middle of the day of the move the movers tried a "you have a lot more stuff than we thought so we're going to charge you several hundred dollars more for this" scam.  We refused, but doing so required all sorts of calls to Flat Rate headquarters and was a major headache on an already very stressful day.  Maybe that's why our stuff got broken.

[LoveTrains]

I have never used a company to pack, but I have had movers through a moving company move me three times in the past six years. I used the same company all three times, which is a local RI company that works with Stevens Van Lines to do inter-state moves.

In any case, for a local move they charge me by the hour for 3 movers. It was $99/hour, plus tax. That comes with insurance that is just a flat per pound insurance rate, so you generally should upgrade to the better insurance. I wonder if that might have been that problem that v had? It generally cost me, with tip, around $800-$1000 each time.

In any case, I was very pleased but it probably also helped that the moving company is owned by the parents of a colleague.

[Deleted]

I just sent you a PM.

Here are some things to consider no matter who you use:

The movers should be trained, uniformed employees, who have passed background checks and drug tests. I would not use a company who hires day laborers. Also, for a long distance move they should provide all of the tools, dollies/carts, and furniture pads and moving blankets you will need. Some places charge per hour, and some places charge per pound or mile. It all comes out to be about the same.

We once moved locally in NC, and used a local company there. They did not provide moving pads or have any dollies, and charged hourly. DH and ended up still doing a lot of the heavy lifting to minimize the time. When we moved from NC to MI we used Allied, and they were much more professional and they provided all the right equipment to get the job done. Moving our 2 bedroom house that distance was about $4500.

[tacosforlife]

Thank you all so much for this info! I am really starting to think through what I would want covered for a move, and it is overwhelming. But the thought of being back "home" is so exciting!

[v]

Mar 4, 2015 11:20:29 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

That comes with insurance that is just a flat per pound insurance rate, so you generally should upgrade to the better insurance. I wonder if that might have been that problem that v had?

That wasn't it -- the default insurance was for a certain amount of coverage.  Let's say $5000 with a $500 deductible?  I don't remember much more.  You could buy more coverage (we didn't) but couldn't lower the deductible.  They caused something like $1300 of damage, but they claimed that there was a coinsurance provision that applied that kept the whole loss within the $500 deductible (because of the  value of the stuff that was broken was small in relation to the value of *all* of our stuff?).  Friends who opted for a lot more coverage ran into similar issues.  So even if we had opted for much more coverage, they would be able to break a lot of our stuff for free.  And it seems from my experience and friends' experience that Flat Rate likes to break things.

[hbomdiggity]

We moved from DC to CA with United (i don't remember the local company). It was full service for just over 1000 sqft and $11k. 2 ladies came and boxed everything and the next day 2 guys loaded the truck. In CA, the stuff went to storage for a few months and then they delivered it - removing the shrink wrap, putting the furniture where you wanted it, and I think they would have emptied boxes if we were ready for it.

a few minor things broke (wheels on small cabinet, walmart floor lamp) and the claim process was super easy.

[qubit]

My H's company has moved us several times in the past few years, usually with United. From NC to IN, from IN to CA, within CA, and from CA to TX. With packing, transportation, storage, and some unpacking, the cost was usually just under $10K for the cross-country moves. Our apartments were always under a thousand sq ft.

We usually had minor damage to one piece of furniture and a few squished items each time, but we didn't have any trouble filing claims and recouping some of the item's value (all furniture was still very usable). Good luck to you!

[egishere]

What company did you use? Mayflower
How much did it cost? (And how big was your house, of course.) around 14k but that included packing and unpacking, move from TX to CO. house was 2400 sq feet
Were you satisfied? Yes except someone, most likely the unpacking crew, stole DHs Xbox. We filed a claim and for $ back. That was the only hiccup.

[LoveTrains]

Mar 4, 2015 11:50:04 GMT -5 v said:

Mar 4, 2015 11:20:29 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

That comes with insurance that is just a flat per pound insurance rate, so you generally should upgrade to the better insurance. I wonder if that might have been that problem that v had?

That wasn't it -- the default insurance was for a certain amount of coverage.  Let's say $5000 with a $500 deductible?  I don't remember much more.  You could buy more coverage (we didn't) but couldn't lower the deductible.  They caused something like $1300 of damage, but they claimed that there was a coinsurance provision that applied that kept the whole loss within the $500 deductible (because of the  value of the stuff that was broken was small in relation to the value of *all* of our stuff?).  Friends who opted for a lot more coverage ran into similar issues.  So even if we had opted for much more coverage, they would be able to break a lot of our stuff for free.  And it seems from my experience and friends' experience that Flat Rate likes to break things.

Gotcha. That sucks. I'm sorry.

[y4m]

I've had two very solid experiences with United Van Lines. Want to say it was like $5000-ish each time for 2br, but that's cross country. We packed a lot but let them pack fragile/odd stuff.

[monsterz]

I have used United multiple times and would use them again. When we moved from Seattle to Denver I believe the total was about $8K for a partial pack and move for a 2000 sq ft house. The partial pack covered fragile items, I had to do everything else. If I had to do it again I would have paid the extra $3K for the full pack and move. The amount spent on packing supplies plus my time was not worth it.

[mich1]

I've done 2 full service moves for my last 2 moves.

The first one, they did ok but pulled some really shady stuff on me. For instance, they were supposed to pack and move me, but only got me half packed and took off. The movers came the next day and were FURIOUS that the job was not completed. They completed packing and did a crappy job. When I got to the other end, I was billed about 2x what I was quoted and when I went through the bill with a fine tooth comb, found places where they had padded the bill to get more money from me.

Second move, I (United) was last summer. It cost me $6700 to pack and move a 2 BR, 850 sq ft apartment and take it from KY to WA. Everything went perfectly, not a single incident and none of the crap that I dealt with in the first move. I had quite a bit of fragile stuff and they did a wonderful job of getting it here without a single piece being broken.

The one thing that I did with this moving company that I didn't do previously was check out any and all reviews of the company. The few disgrunted views that I saw were things that were really not within the control of the movers, so didn't understand why they blamed them.

[moolarkey]

Remember if your company pays for the move it will be considered taxable income for you.

[MrsE]

I haven't personally used them, but have heard great things about Interstate Moving and Storage. I believe they are based out of our area.

Good luck.

[Deleted]

@tacos, unrelated but the express today had local lasagna featured! Filomena and Fiola, made me think of u

[zoidberg]

Thank goodness!

[cheezer]

We went cross country and found it better to hire local movers on each end and then it went by train/ABF in between. If you're driving I'd honestly probably just get local movers on each end and a U-Haul. There's usually tons of options for local movers who have good ratings on Yelp. Also, the larger people told me they had a 30 day window to deliver my stuff. Dude, I'm flying in from another city just for this and I have a job. I can't just drop things at the last minute. Just another option for you and may depend on how much moving assistance you receive.

[tacosforlife]

LOL. False alarm on the in person interview. Apparently there was some miscommunication within the company, and the person interviewing didn't realize H as out of state. So he's back to a phone interview. Still exciting, though!

[bronxgirl]

Mar 4, 2015 22:51:12 GMT -5 tacosforlife said:

LOL. False alarm on the in person interview. Apparently there was some miscommunication within the company, and the person interviewing didn't realize H as out of state. So he's back to a phone interview. Still exciting, though!

good luck to him! Is he getting back into academics? before you move come to NY for a GTG.

[compassrose]

Still exciting! Is it an academic interview? If someone is decent over the phone, we usually bring them in.
For my assistant professor job, they reimbursed moving up to 1/9 of my salary.
I moved from Boston to Ohio for 3k with graebel with a 2bdrm apt. I packed 90% of my stuff though. Of course they do it by weight and most of my furniture was from ikea.
I was very happy with them.

It took about 3 weeks for my stuff to arrive.

[tacosforlife]

No, not academic. Private sector.