How to choose the right moving company

Published by vinny66 on 07 October, 2011

First, this is my first article on Expat.com, hope you like it and will be helpful.


Choose the right moving company for your belongings, furniture and memorys is a hard decision and many times you don't know if you are taking the right decision until you get all your belongings in good shape in your new house.
Here are some tips to help you make your decision.

1- MOVING AGENTS ARE NOT THE SAME AS CARGO AGENTS.
For a profesional cargo agent, movings are complicated and no profitable. Also they can be held accountable for any illegal item inside the container and have to pay fines or lose his licence. So look for moving agents only. They know how to deal with the real stuff.

2- CHEAPEST PRICE, BIG ADS.
Don't fall for it, do some research first. Many times cheap on the paper become expensive at the end. Also be sure all the costs are included in the final price, ask for real expenses at destination !!

3- THIRD, FOUR PARTIES.
International sea moving is a wild world and many people try to get his profit. Be sure the moving company you are hiring has a direct relation with the shipping company ( the company who has the boat). Many cargo and moving companys does't have agreements or permits to load containers on ships, so they made agreements with other companys they can do that. So, you are gonna pay extra for that and, if something goes wrong they will start blaming each other and you will be on your own.

4- EXPERIENCE
Is an important key, a company with many years in the market maybe it will be expensive than others but experience matters a lot in this business.

5- VISIT THE OFFICE
Maybe the office is too far away from your home, or you feel lazy and they sound so nice on the phone !! Wrong !! Go and visit, meet the people you are hiring. Sometimes you will find out that the company you are hiring also sell french fries or celebrate weddings. ( I'm exaggerating, but it happens)

6- LOOK FOR LOGOS.
A professional moving company has to be a member of many moving or cargo international organizations like IATA, FIDI, OMNI, AMSA, HHGFAA just to mention some of the important ones. So look for this logos in his cards or documents.

7- CLIENTS
Ask the company for who they work, what important clients they have, or how many people in the last years. And the last one

8- ASK QUESTIONS
Ask, ask, ask. Sure you have a lot of questions and doubts. Be sure all your questions get a clear, quick answer. I use my experience in cargo and moving companys to write this article. If you have further questions or need advice, let me know.

Look for Vinny66

Regards

We do our best to provide accurate and up to date information. However, if you have noticed any inaccuracies in this article, please let us know in the comments section below.