Questions to Ask When Moving
Questions for the moving companies you are getting quotes from, plus the ones you need to settle with your landlord, your building and your utility providers before moving day. Aimed at anyone booking a move for the first time.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Is this estimate binding, non-binding, or binding not-to-exceed?
Why ask it
These three words decide whether the number on the page is a price or a guess. A non-binding estimate can legally rise once your goods are weighed, and the cheapest quote in a stack is very often the only non-binding one.
What is your USDOT number, and are you the carrier or a broker?
Why ask it
Brokers sell your job on to whichever carrier will take it, so the company you vetted may not be the company that arrives. If the answer is evasive, or the number does not match a registered carrier, stop there.
How is the final price worked out: by weight, by volume, or by the hour?
Why ask it
Volume-based pricing is the one that most often goes wrong, because how tightly a crew packs a truck is not something you can audit. For local moves priced hourly, ask what the clock includes and what the minimum is.
What is not included in this quote?
Why ask it
Better than asking what is included, because it forces the exclusions into the open: packing materials, mattress bags, a shuttle truck, long carries, stair fees, a fuel surcharge. Each of these is a normal add-on and each one is normally left out of the headline figure.
Will the crew on moving day be your employees or a subcontracted team?
Why ask it
Subcontracted crews are common and not automatically a problem, but it changes who is accountable when something breaks. Ask how many people will come and how many years the lead has been doing it.
How do you handle stairs, a long walk from the truck, or a street a full-size truck cannot enter?
Why ask it
Access problems are the single most common source of a surprise bill. Describe both ends honestly and get any resulting charge in writing now, because on the day the crew has all the leverage.
What valuation coverage is included by default, and what does full replacement value cost?
Why ask it
Basic released-value coverage pays by the pound, which for electronics or anything fragile is close to nothing. Ask for the price of full value protection and the deductible options rather than assuming your goods are insured.
If something arrives damaged, what is the claims process and what is the deadline?
Why ask it
Claim windows are shorter than people expect and depend on noting damage before the crew leaves. A company that cannot describe the process quickly probably does not process many claims willingly.
What is the delivery window, and what happens if you miss it?
Why ask it
Long-distance shipments often have a window of several days or more. Ask whether the contract provides anything if they run late, and plan for the gap between the truck leaving and arriving rather than hoping it is short.
Will my shipment share a truck with other households?
Why ask it
Consolidated loads are cheaper and slower, and they raise the chance of items going astray at a transfer point. If your load is combined, ask how it is labeled and inventoried at each handover.
Which items will you refuse to take?
Why ask it
Movers will not carry propane, paint, aerosols, opened liquids, plants and often anything perishable. Finding out on the morning means either binning them or making an unplanned second trip in your own car.
Do you take furniture apart and put it back together, and is that priced separately?
Why ask it
Reassembly is where a cheap quote stops being cheap, and bed frames and wardrobes are rarely something you want to tackle at ten at night. Confirm it covers the specific items you are worried about.
What deposit do you want, and how do you take final payment?
Why ask it
Large upfront deposits and cash-only demands are the pattern most complained about in moving disputes. A modest deposit and payment by card on delivery is normal and keeps a route to a chargeback if things go wrong.
Who do I call on moving day if something goes wrong, and will they answer?
Why ask it
The salesperson you have been dealing with often disappears once the job is booked. Get a name and mobile number for someone with authority to make decisions while the truck is loading.
What are the loading dock and elevator rules at both addresses?
Why ask it
Apartment buildings commonly require a booked elevator slot, a certificate of insurance from the movers and a finish time in the early evening. Missing one of these can stop a move dead, and each building has its own version.
What exactly do I have to do to get my deposit back, and when will you inspect?
Why ask it
Asking the landlord directly, and in writing, converts a vague standard into a list you can work through. It also fixes an inspection time while you are still there to discuss anything they flag.
When should I schedule the utilities to stop at the old place and start at the new one?
Why ask it
Overlapping by a day at both ends costs very little and prevents arriving to no power or water. Some providers need a week or more of notice and a few require an in-person appointment, which is worth finding out before the week of the move.
What has my address on it, and which of those have deadlines?
Why ask it
Driver license, vehicle registration, voter registration and insurance often carry legal time limits after a move, while banks and subscriptions do not. Sorting the list by deadline stops the ones with penalties from being forgotten.
What is going in the box that travels with me rather than on the truck?
Why ask it
Documents, medication, chargers, tools, a change of clothes, keys, and anything irreplaceable. People assemble this box after the truck has left, which is exactly too late.
If my closing or lease start date slips, what does storage cost and how long can you hold my things?
Why ask it
Dates move, and a shipment with nowhere to go is expensive and stressful. Ask for the storage-in-transit rate and the notice required now, so a delay becomes a known cost rather than an emergency.
Booking and running a move
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Getting quotes you can compare
Insist on a survey, in person or by video
A quote given over the phone from a room count is a placeholder. Walk the surveyor through every closet, the garage, the loft and the shed, because anything they do not see is not in the price.
Get three quotes and read the estimate type first
Line up the three on the same basis: estimate type, what is excluded, valuation coverage, deposit. A quote that is far below the others is usually excluding something the others included.
Check the company, not just the quote
Look up the carrier's registration and complaint history, and search the exact company name with the word complaint. Note whether reviews mention the price changing on the day, which is the failure mode that matters most.
Put every verbal concession in the paperwork
Waived stair fees, a guaranteed delivery date, free wardrobe boxes. If it is not on the estimate or the bill of lading, it does not exist once the crew arrives.
A rough timeline
Six to eight weeks out
- 1Book surveys with three movers and compare estimate types.
- 2Ask your building and the new building about elevator, dock and insurance rules.
- 3Start disposing of anything movers will not take.
Two to three weeks out
- 1Confirm dates in writing, along with the delivery window and any storage rate.
- 2Schedule utility stop and start dates with a day of overlap at each end.
- 3Work through the address change list, deadlines first.
The last week
- 1Agree the move-out inspection time with your landlord.
- 2Pack the box that travels with you and keep it out of the crew's way.
- 3Get the moving day contact name and number, and photograph anything valuable before it is loaded.
Where moves go wrong
Signing a blank or incomplete bill of lading
The bill of lading is the contract. Once it is signed, verbal promises about price or dates carry very little weight, so read it at the truck before the crew starts loading.
Letting the crew leave before you look at the inventory
Damage and missing items are far easier to claim if they are noted on the paperwork at delivery. Check the high-value items and the box count while the crew is still there.
Underestimating the gap between arriving and functioning
Beds, a kettle, towels, tools and toilet paper on the first night matter more than any of the planning. Pack a first-night bag deliberately rather than digging through boxes at midnight.
Paying a large deposit to hold a date
Deposits well above a couple of hundred, especially requested by wire or cash, are the pattern behind most moving scams. A legitimate carrier will hold a date on a small card deposit.