Green & Red flags when hiring Movers and Storage Companies in Austin TX

Moving is stressful on so many levels. Aside from the emotional stress of leaving a familiar neighborhood and possibly friends and family behind, you also have to go through the physical stress of moving your belongings. While hiring movers and finding a storage company can ease you a lot of stress, trusting someone with your life’s worth of personal effects isn’t always easy.

While this isn’t a comprehensive guide to finding movers, we shall consider some red flags when hiring one in Austin, TX. Also, read on to know what qualities you should look for.

Green Flags

Highly recommended: take time to carry out your research when looking for a company to hire. Usually, your best bet is to find a company that a friend, colleague or relative has used in the past and can vouch for. You can also check out online reviews. But bear in mind that online reviews should be taken with a grain of salt since they are easy to manipulate. Being recommended by a known individual (preferably multiple recommendations) is always the safer route.

Licensed and insured company: you should only hire companies that are properly registered with the state and federal authorities. Federal registration is not always a necessity, but it becomes very important especially if you will be moving from one state to the other. You should also confirm if the company in question is duly insured since a moving company is expected to take up liability for every property they will be moving.

Thorough and efficient: this is of broader scope but has been discussed in greater details here. Generally, you want your movers to be as exhaustive as possible in their operation. This largely entails so many aspects of moving.

The movers must take a comprehensive inventory of all of your items. They should work you through all the steps that are involved in moving your properties and provide a detailed estimate putting into consideration all your basic and extra charges that you will have to pay. Documentation is very important, and you should only hire a company that will be able to provide all the needed legal and non-legal documents required for a smooth move. Ensure that you study the estimates and other documents handed to you before proceeding with the move.

Red Flags

Asking for large deposits: usually, a trustworthy moving company will not ask you to pay a huge percentage of the fees upfront. Most of the payments will be made after delivery. Thus you should not trust any company that asks for a huge portion of the total fees as a deposit. Asking for deposits is one of the most critical tell-tale signs of moving fraud. Visit https://www.businessinsider.com/hidden-costs-moving-2018-7?IR=T to learn more about how to reduce moving costs

Companies that have switched names: it is a normal thing in business to change names, but for a moving company where trust is critical, a name-switch is a big red flag especially if it has happened a couple of times. Try to dig around and find out if the company you are hiring does business under any other name. You can also confirm their license number and verify against state and federal databases.

Check out the company name online and find out if there has been any in the past about their activities. Not finding any information at all about a moving and storage company or finding insufficient information is a giant red flag and you shouldn’t be doing business with them.

Fails to present a written estimate or presents a blank contract:

Request for a quote from the company you are considering to hire and ensure that it is presented to you in writing and that it covers all the items you are moving. Failing to get a written quote means you will not be able to hold the company accountable for your items. Even if there is a change in moving charges, you should always insist on proper documentation of changes before they begin moving. Your contract should also include the pickup and delivery date. Be sure to read the content of the contract, and you understand it clearly before signing it.   

These are some of the essential precautions to take when hiring a mover in Austin, TX. They might save you from a lifetime of stress on your move.