Hiring a reputable removalist company is not an easy task because you have to consider a lot of factors to make a rational decision. In addition, there are numerous companies offering moving companies making it hard for most homeowners make up their mind.
However, as much as you want professional service, hiring the cheapest movers is not advisable for the following reasons:
They raise the moving cost later
Most of these companies which offer very low quotes are unprofessional and they give low quotes to attract clients. After you’ve hired them, they rarely give written estimates to avoid limiting themselves after or during the move.
Since it is not possible to make profits or even pay the movers with such low quotes, these companies are scam and they tend to raise the estimate after delivering your items to the agreed destination.
However, they do not unload the items until you’ve paid them in full and since you don’t want to lose your items you will end up paying the additional amount. To make the matters worse, failure to have a written estimate leaves you with no leverage to negotiate or file a case.
They are usually unregistered
Most professional movers have licenses and are registered to offer moving services whether interstate or instate. The companies which have very low quotes are usually unregistered as acquiring a valid license is costly and the low estimates cannot run a company. It is not easy to track down unregistered company in case you lose your items!
They hold your goods at a ransom
Rogue movers understand that you don’t want to lose your household items and they will use that weakness to ask for more money. They can agree for a very low estimate and even agree to help you pack, load and unload your belongings but after loading, they start talking of wasted time and labor payments even though you had agreed it is for free.
They make sure you don’t have any written estimate or document and they will ask for full amount before they move your goods. They can even threaten to drive away with your goods until the time you will get the money. Since you’ve already loaded the goods, you have limited options but to pay the extra amount to avoid losing your goods.
If you make up your mind to unload the goods, they will also use trickery to ask for labour costs and time wasted and you will end up paying for nothing.
They can steal your goods
With such low quotes, the workers may be inexperienced and unprofessional and the only way to compensate their salary is by stealing your prized items. Without an inventory list, you may not even know what you are missing until you’ve already settled and they are gone.
However, even though it may not be the case, make sure you carry out intense research to hire a reputable company. Check their customer reviews and complaints on Google to know the quality of services they offer.
You may end up with broken or damaged goods
If the moving company has very low quotes, they may not be able to hire skilled and experienced movers because they cannot be able to pay them. Hence, they will have to hire inexperienced laborers whom they can afford.
Their inexperience and lack of training may lead to huge losses due to poor packing, loading and unloading services. Instead of incurring heavy losses from poor handling, just hire a professional company to have your goods handled by a trained and experienced movers.
When hiring removalists, the following questions may help you hire a reputable company:
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How long have you offered moving services?
Most reputable removalist companies have been in moving business long enough and have maintained a good name throughout whereas rogue movers are inexperienced because they have only offered moving services for a short period of time.
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Would you mind giving me references from your satisfied customers?
The references should help you determine the quality of services offered, reliability and their reputation. After contacting the reviewer, you can be able to make up your mind if they the moving company is reliable or not.
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Is the moving company licensed for interstate and/or in-state moving?
You need to hire a licensed moving company and depending with the nature of your move, you need to verify that the company is licensed to make sure they’ve met requirements needed.
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What type of estimates do the moving company provide?
A professional company will always agree to written estimates while most rogue movers do not agree to abide in writing because they want to waver later on. Hire a moving company which agrees to a written estimate whether binding or non-binding.
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Do the movers have valid insurance covers?
This should exempt you from paying any hospital bills or getting sued if any mover get injured or an accident occurs during the moving process. It is always prudent to take precaution.
