Home and Family

Avoid Moving Fraud

Many people looking for a moving company are frequently misled into believing that a good reputation is enough for a successful relocation. As the moving industry is largely unregulated, you have little recourse in case you get cheated.

Looking at the most recent year, there were 9,405 complaints from consumers regarding relocation companies, the BBB informs. As the regulatory agency that oversees movers has limited resources, it can not always protect you from numerous scams that even reputable moving companies can be guilty of.

Low Rate Bids

The most common scam in the moving industry is giving you a low ball moving cost estimate and then hitting you up for extra charges at the destination – sometimes as much as quadruple the original amount your signed for! If you decide not to pay for the additional fees, the relocation company will take your things and store them in a warehouse, hence forcing you to pay the extra charges. Simply signing a “binding and not to exceed quote” is not enough to ensure you are safe from scams, so you should read every word of your contract very carefully!

Subcontracting Your Move

Some companies deliberately overcharge their clients and then subcontract the job to other cheap moving companies at a considerably lower price. These subcontractors are not subject to your original contract, nor are they bound to the schedule that you agreed to. Furthermore, these people often hire day laborers who lack experience in transporting valuable items which usually results in broken fragiles.

Minimal Insurance Policies

Breakage is another common scam that consumers usually complain about when moving their households. Most people don’t know that most companies’ mover’s liability coverage allows them to pay you only around $60 per pound for a damaged item. It implies that if your few thousand dollars plasma television gets broken, you will get approximately $30 as compensation.

To protect yourself from damage during a move you should add a rider to you homeowners policy. What is more, take photographs of your possessions and ensure that your movers sign a statement of your items’ conditions before you sign the receipt!

Cost Based On A Per Foot Bases

The fourth potential scam a long distance moving can pull is in the measurement of weight versus cubic feet moved. You are entitled to witness weigh-ins and verify the amount, but a mover can make your load take up as much space as they want it to in order to jack up the charges. Be sure to calculate the total weight of your load and divide it by the number of items you have. If you get over 35-45 lbs per piece, be wary of the motives of your mover!

Additional Parking Expenses

Another popular scam is extra charges incurred by claiming the movers could not park their truck in front of your residence, resulting in “long carries” from half a block or so away. These can add up to several thousand dollars! So, make certain that you plan how to steer clear of this scam.

Ways To Steer Clear Of Scams

You will be able to stay away from these scams by studying moving company reviews online or consumer publications, getting several quotes, having an attorney approve the contract and documenting the condition and weight of your load. And the best way to choose a moving company is to ask others who they have used in the past or find out who the big companies use.

Tips For An Intelligent Move

When you are looking for those reputable long distance moving companies, you’ll find dozens in your local phone directory.

Calling around for pricing on moving long distance will leave you in a tizzy in your quest to identify that single company competent enough to contract for your move. If you are making a long distance move and looking for a moving company, you will need to organize and categorize the aspects important to you or it may get overwhelming.

Usually the information given by long distance moving companies regarding their services requires some thinking to interpret, but they will at least give you a moving estimate for your long distance move. You can use a spreadsheet program or you can do it the old fashioned way with graph paper and pencil, but if you want to make the most of all that information you’ll need a chart of which companies offer which services and their prices.

Many long distance moving companies offer unwanted or unnecessary services way beyond of what your require. Full service cross country moving companies often offer storage facilities should you have a time gap between leaving your former home and moving into your new one. You’re able to choose the services you need, and pay only for the ones that you choose.

You should start by listing the services you really need. Packing and boxing your possessions is important and if you feel you’d like it done by professionals, see if any of those long distance moving companies quotes you requested include this service. If you’d rather pack your own things, be sure packing service isn’t included in the quote you receive.

Be sure to ask the movers about insurance coverage and how to go about claims. Do you need your possessions at your new residence when you arrive or can you wait for a few days?

These points need to be detailed in the list you prepare. Make a spreadsheet with the names of long distance moving companies on one side, and the services you need in the columns next to the names.

Record the services that fulfill your needs offered by these long distance movers as their quotes come in. By making a spreadsheet, it’s easy to see those state to state moving companies that can fulfill all your needs and compare them to those that might not offer as many services.

Carefully choose which items are the most vital to your new home because most moving companies charge more for heavier loads. Are you really going to pay two hundred dollars for an old mattress you slept in since your youth? Perhaps you’d like to take this opportunity to get some new furniture, which wouldn’t cost much more than shipping the old piece!

You can use your computer decision matrix to compare services, prices, timetables and moving company insurance policies.

Choose the best long distance moving company for your needs. Making better decisions is a lot easier if you have everything planned out.

Sorting Items While Moving

Usually moving turns out to be not only stressful, but also rather costly. Still, there are many ways to save money on your move even if you hire an affordable moving company rather than try to do the moving yourself.

The main way you can save on moving expenses is to cut back on supplies. One of the most important aspects of moving your possessions is to pack them well and securely. If you believe that protecting your material goods means a big investment, keep reading.

The number one priority for you will be to get enough boxes. All the things that make your house a home, such as photographs, decor, etc, need to be packed well to prevent damage and breakage. You can get boxes from long distance moving companies, but they'll be expensive! If you know of anyone that has moved, ask them if you can take their extra boxes from them.

You can also check with stores and warehouses in your area to see if they will allow you to take some boxes off their hands. Most grocery stores will set aside boxes you need for you to pick them up at a certain time, usually between 10PM and midnight when the stocking is done.

If you need very large boxes, you can get these from warehouse or appliance stores. These boxes are usually sturdy and well made, which makes them ideal for electronic items that might be fragile. If you have posters, artwork, or other important documents, consider obtaining cardboard mailing tubes from law firms or construction companies.

Most long distance moving company usually use bubble wrap and inflated plastic bags to protect breakable and fragile items. However, these packing materials are quite expensive, and are really not needed for most of your items. You may use newspaper instead: if you get a daily paper you'll quickly accumulate enough to move two households! If not, you may call friends or a local business office to ask if you can have their old newspapers.

Doing so will get you great free packing materials!

Also, you can ask your friends and neighbors to save any packing materials that they might get; this will work especially during the Christmas season.

You can use your household sheets to wrap your fragile items and cover the furniture. If your bed coverings are too delicate, visit a local thrift store. Several quilts would cost you the same as you would pay to rent just one cushioned furniture wrap from a moving company!

Some interstate moving companies will offer you a discount if you agree to let them store your items for a short period of time so that they combine several loads being delivered in your area. This option is a great way to save money, especially if you don't need your things immediately.

Finally, you should look through moving company reviews in consumer publications and on the Internet. There you may find some tips on saving money and negotiating rates.

Tax Write Off On Moving Expenses

Moving doesn't have to be a huge drain on your finances. Like everything else, you can save money when dealing with moving companies if you know how to negotiate and where to cut expenses.

First of all, you will need to receive some moving companies estimates. You may use an internet broker to save yourself some time. A broker takes your information and distributes it to the moving companies in his or her database. If these companies decide that your move is a contract they would like to compete for they will call you or send you a quote.

If you prefer to avoid actually speaking with a moving company before looking through all your quotes, you can request contact through email only. Using a broker, you will get moving quotes from different cheap moving companies so that you can compare them and decide which one is the most suitable for you. And you will not be put under tension to by any moving company!

Secondly, once you have located a moving company, ask if they offer a discount for flexible scheduling. Your flexible schedule allows them to coordinate their loads and combine them to save money on fuel, labor, and tolls. In case you absolutely have to have your household moved in a certain time frame that does not allow them to combine other loads headed in the same direction at the same time they lose a lot of money and are forced to charge more. Consequently, if you provide your mover with enough time to consolidate different loads, they will give you a substantial discount.

Thirdly, moving off-peak periods is also a great way to save money. Moving businesses are surprisingly seasonal. May through September are usually the busiest months for moving companies. So, can you put off your move till October through April?

You can choose to do your own packing or take advantage of the packing services that most moving companies offer. It might be tempting to let them do this for you, but you'll save several hundred dollars by doing most of it yourself. Books, tapes, CDs, knickknacks, toys and household items are all fairly easy to box up securely. You might have to invest some time, but a packing party with your friends can cut those hours substantially and provide a lot of fun.

To conclude, read as many moving company reviews as possible to learn more money-saving tips; the more you know, the better!

Moving Expense Deductions

Though moving can be rather expensive, still, you might be able to deduct a substantial portion of the cost from your taxes! So, this tax season may turn out to be profitable for you. Still, there are a few rules governing the amount you can deduct.

If you are moving in order to relocate to another position in your company or to accept a new job in another city or state, you'll be able to deduct many of the expenses on your itemized tax form. However, distance is important, because your new job and home are required to be at least fifty miles away from your old house and employer.

If you drive your personal vehicle to your new home, you can deduct a certain amount per mile traveled. Also, be sure to keep all the receipts, as tolls, fuel, repairs and maintenance are all tax deductible. You can also get credit for lodging and meals in the course of your travels.

Should you decide to hire a moving company, Uncle Sam allows you to deduct the expenses you incur in loading, unloading, pack and unpacking, and the cost of lodging and meals while you're waiting for your goods to arrive. However, you may not write-off expenses incurred after you have settled into your new residence.

If your goods are put into storage for a certain amount of time, some cross country movers will give you a discount for this, while they wait for another load going to the same area. You can also deduct the cost of this if it's something you have to pay for.

Quite a few employers compensate some or all of their employees' relocations expenses. Sometimes, this is credited to you as income, so check with your tax preparer before you claim it on your taxes. Still, the costs which exceed the amount your employer allows are tax deductible. This is where it's critical to keep all receipts and document everything possible!

All moving charges, including extra charges from long distance moving company, and other expenses that exceed your employer's allowance can all be tax deductible. But you need receipts for documentation — otherwise, you might as well not even bother!

The IRS also requires that you work for at least 39 weeks for your employer in the first twelve months after you move into your new home. What is more, all of your moving expenses must be incurred within twelve months beginning on your first day of work at your new job.

Tearing down and reassembling products such as hot tubs, ground pools, and jacuzzis is also tax deductible. It is also possible to deduct the cost of tipping the driver!

So, when you are in the middle of checking out moving companies and doing all of your packing, studying moving prices, etc don't forget to also look into the impact that moving will have on your taxes.

Depending on your level of preparation, you can take a big hit or realize a sizeable deduction!