Should Movers You Hire Be Licensed?

The answer to that question is, it depends. What does it depend on? Are you willing to take a chance should something go wrong? If they are not licensed, are you sure they are legitimate? Are you sure that they are qualified?

 

Why a License is Important

A mover having a license is not a guarantee that they are going to act professionally, but it is a step in the right direction. If they are licensed, it means that they would have had to comply with some professional standards in order to maintain and renew their license.

Having a license also means that they have more to lose if something goes wrong. After all, with an unlicensed company, what’s the worst you can really do? A bad Yelp review?

 

Licensed Movers are Federally Required to Insure Items

Legally speaking, a licensed moving company is federally required to insure every pound that they move. Which means that if something happens during the move, and an item is lost or damaged, you will at least get something back.

Now, let’s say that the federally-mandated insurance is not sufficient as it may not be for high-value items. If something goes wrong and you want to claim against your own insurance, how well is the fact that the mover was unlicensed going to play?

 

Saving a Few Bucks Could be Costly

It’s not only in the insurance area that you are taking a chance. How do you even know that you are dealing with a legitimate moving company without a license? Sure, you need to check out more than just that – like checking with the Better Business Bureau, but why would a company choose not to become licensed?

 

That is automatically a red flag. Here’s a cautionary tale that we heard from one of our clients. She was moving to another district and decided to give a new company a chance. They agreed on a price and that the goods could be moved in two loads.

 

The first load went fine. She got a bit nervous, though, when the foreman said, “We won’t take it inside.” She objected, so they did – but what kind of moving company doesn’t actually put the items in the house?

 

She was about to find out with the second load. Most of the big items had gone. All that was left was the garden swing and a couch. The mover insisted that these be loaded last, despite her objections. Everything else would have fit in her car, but he had the small stuff loaded first.

 

Surprise, surprise, he then told her that she would have to pay for a third load. She had to be out of the house that day so what alternative did she have. You would think that would be the end of the horror story, but, as she found out later, her treadmill was broken during transit.

 

The mover told her it was too bad and she could sue if she wanted. Needless to say, she ended up paying for the mistake, and that’s why she now only uses licensed companies that she has thoroughly checked out.

 

Conclusion

Did that sound like a big, bad story made up to scare people? If only it was made up, and if only it wasn’t something that we hadn’t heard hundreds of times before. Do yourself a favor and make sure that your mover is licensed at the very least. Otherwise, your moving adventure could become a nightmare.