Make sure you check with your local BBB. Check to see if the company is BackChecked. Check for references and never never never go with the lowest price and check to see how the transit protection works incase there are any damages.

Also always ask for them to come to your home to do a in house visit, do not accept just an over the phone estimate. A reputable company will always offer a free in home estimate even if you go with someone else.

For cross-country moves, my sister and my daughter both used ABF with great success. You pack your own "ReLo Cube(s)" in your own time. When you're ready, they pick it up, and deliver it. You can hire them to help load or unload, or do that part yourself. They were easy to work with, and there was a real, live, human contact on both ends (departure and destination cities) to help us. The cost was equivalent to truck rental like Ryder or Uhaul, when you factor gasoline, and the driving was done for us.

For local moving, we get Two Men and a Truck. (Although last time, we had to get "Five Men and TWO Trucks" ha!) We have always had great people and experiences with them...no horror stories!

Angies List

I hired a moving company that turned out to be a very bad . they loaded a truck that was having problems and had to reload to a new truck that made the workers mad so the things were thrown into a heap in the middle of the new truck and ended up with damage of $1300.00 to most of the stuff and a pretty big bill for the move. now I have a new system that works good I rent a truck 26 foot from uhaul and hire men to load and unload from the company at a hourly rate it takes 3 men 2 hours to load and the same to unload the truck. I did this three times so far and all is good. since the truck is one way I tow my car so I get back home.

This last and Last-time we moved I selected the company. The previous 3 times my husband did and we ended up with a house full of furniture that not a single piece was undamaged. I was furious at the movers my chose every single time.

The 1st mover first gave me about 3 dozen packing boxes too many and then brought a tiny truck where they shoved everything in. Even 2 our wrought iron dining chairs arrived bent, The glass on the dining table, coffee table, incidental tables, my desk, and the buffet all had chips and scratches.

The 2nd mover apologized for bending the metal leg on our huge sectional sofa but since it was on the back corner of the sofa that sat next to the wall in a tiny little room (wall to wall sofa) I didn't know that by bent they meant they had near ripped it off cracking the frame so severely it would fracture while being loaded onto the moving truck of the 3rd mover and that they had torn the fabric from its frame in the same area.

The 3rd one had unpacked the truck after they had left our place and repacked it the next morning for delivery to us in the afternoon. Too bad for our furniture and us it rained that evening. Our brand new mattress and box spring were so wet we couldn't sleep on our bed for a week because both pieces were leaning against the wall to allow them to dry thoroughly. My two very expensive vases were shattered as were many kitchen ceramic wear. One of the tables looked like it had been dragged on the ground on the way to the truck or how else to explain black hardtop embedded in the grain of the wood. My husbands desk met the same fate and the result is that it is held together now with duct tape and wood glue.

This is our home and we will not move again intentionally. He was not happy about the money this cost this time, but the furniture arrived in the same state as when it left our home this time. Also, as with the 3rd mover I had them pack and unpack. I ended up selecting the 4th mover from reading customer reviews on the internet. I drove by their home office to look at how well it was maintained as well as their trucks and I sat outside for an hour in my car pretending to read a book while I watched to see how the employees acted and were dressed. Actually, I did this with potential 2 other movers too. I interviewed them when they came to our home to evaluate the move also. All this because I wanted all the furniture to last as I plan to slowly and thoughtfully replace every single damaged piece over the coming years. The mover I chose cost exactly 3 times the amount of the 3rd mover who had been highly recommended to us whom, by the way, I forgot to add, lost a lamp and a side table during the move (both never found). The mover I chose was friendly, thoughtful, and cordial. They even did a follow up call to see if we had found anything amiss. They are worth every single euro we spent and this move had none of the stress of the previous moves. In the end, my husband agreed. If we were ever going to move again, and we both hope we never move again, I will call Les Gentlemen du Déménagement http://www.gentlemen-demenagement.com.

This may seem trivial but with one move it rained lightly while the guys were unloading. I learned from that incident to arrive well armed with either plastic or bed sheets to put on the carpeted areas. I found dirt from the trolly wheels rubbed off on my freshly steamed cleaned floors.

Have moved twice this past year and my mother into assisted living. I had damage to my furniture the first move. I would advise watching the way they load the truck and ask questions. Let them know your watching! Our last mover hooked up the washing machine wrong resulting in water damage in our new home. Have since found out it is illegal in many states for movers to do this job. Many moving companies do not have insurance for this as they have instructed the movers not to do this. The easiest and cheapest move was with my mother. Penske rental and hired the movers they recommended to load. We did the packing. Her grandson drove for two days and arrived with no damage. If your company is paying for the move they will treat you better than an individual.

Since I have had bad experiences in the past, I learned to ASK QUESTIONS. The move into my newly puchased home this past January was a dream. I moved many of the boxes myself...earlier in the month. Leaving all of the furniture, odd shaped items...and stray items such as bikes, the grill, etc. Everything was done as quickly and professionally as the job allowed. I asked them to help me put little felt discs at the bottom of all my furniture, and they did it without a blink.

I was only moving across town. In the past I had a move that went horribly wrong and LLLOOONNNGGG...in spite of having a home quote prior. Then they tried to hold my items hostage while I waged a war against the horrendous price. So, this time I scoured the reviews on line, and then called and asked many questions about exactly how I would be charged. It was straight talk (Handy Movers in Pleasant Hill, CA). 3 hour min. You pay this much. Very clear. Then they sent me all the info in writing.

When the guys showed up, the one in charge told me that his guess was 5 hours. It was 5 hours almost to the minute. I was there to direct and answer questions the whole time and those guys worked, worked, worked. When they wrapped the furniture, they asked me to come over to show me anything they felt was noteworthy (e.g. a scratch already there). Upon arrival, they also also layed out protective material on my floor so that it wasn't damaged in the process. They helped decide furniture placement when things didn't look exactly as I planned in my head. They took great care with my items and not one thing was broken.

My favorite moment: prior to closing up the truck, they told me that they had room for just one thing. Did I want the birdbath to go, or the Statue of St. Francis. I chose the birdbath since it was the heaviest/awkward of the two, but asked if they would put St. Francis in the garage for me since it was gonna be difficult for me to carry to the front of the house later (it's concrete). They agreed. When we got there, the lead guy gets out of the truck and asks me where I would like to put St. Francis.....he had actually carried it in the front cab with him. A nice man, and a nice touch.

All in all a good experience came out of a past bad experience. Check reviews. Ask questions. Get it on paper.

Try fivestarmovers.biz for ny / nj area very reliable , excellent service

If you plan to rent a UHaul or Ryder truck to move yourself, always rent it from a service center. They maintain the trucks and should ensure they are in good condition before renting. Never rent one of these trucks from a copy or mail center that does not have a garage for maintaining the truck.

Cunha Movers in RI / MA / CT area. Nationwide moving. Family owned for almost a century! I grew up with them.
http://cunhamoving.com/

I hired a company to pack my things in Folsom, CA on the way to Boston. They packed an unwrapped toilet plunger in the same box as dry boxed food from the cabinets. What kind of idiots would do such a thing? All I can say is that I will never let anyone pack my things again in a move. Even the 21 days to get the stuff to Boston wasn't as bad as that.

Oh, yuck!

We had a moving company pack a sack of garbage and all of the strainer and drain stops for the kitchen sink. Had to return the strainer and drain stops to the new home owners. Don't remember what the garbage sack was packed with. Found some comfort in knowing that everything had been packed and nothing was missed.

We had to move my packrat mom from the east coast to the west coast of the US and she needed us to do it in 2 batches. So we rented Penske trucks. Great company to work with with good trucks and customer service. Used local moving companies on each end (found through Yelp) to load and unload the stuff into the house. Too much stuff to pack and unpack, but great moving experience otherwise. I would never rent another moving van than Penske after this (though hope I never need to do that again)!

I have moved several times in the last few years. I am hooked on portable storage units. I chose P.O.D.S. each time as the units have a roll up doors so the doors don't get into the way in tight areas. There is also a choice of sizes. I ordered it to arrive a week or so before it needed to be at the new house. It was dropped off and we packed it carefully and at our own pace. Then the company picked it up and moved it to the new address and we unpacked it at our leisure. The whole thing was virtually stress-less and extremely affordable within the city. I don't know what the cost might be for long distance moving but I felt allot better about packing and unpacking my own things.

I've used PODS before. If you use them DEFINITELY get the POD insurance they offer. That saved my sanity after my POD got broken into. When I checked with PODS a few months ago, it would have been almost equal to hiring cross country movers, so I plan to hire a moving company.

I've used Pods before too. It was super handy in our case, since we sold our house and then took our time finding a new one. All of our things could be stored until we were ready for them.

Word of mouth from trusted friends and colleagues is my usual technique for any professional service from a dentist to a mover.

For a recent cross-town move, I asked everyone I know who they would recommended. I called a few of the recommended places and asked the one that sounded the best on the phone to come for an estimate. They were very professional and I had a good feeling about the company, so I hired them. They did a superb job.

looking for specific (name) recommendations or names to avoid.. move Bost to Orange county Ca

Ask if the driver of the truck is the owner of the truck. Owners take more pride in a job well done and are more directive with the loaders.

Sullivan Moving in San Diego is excellent! They are easy to work with and also offer vaults to store things as necessary with many moves.

in the NY greater area I always go with Flat Rate Moving. No surprises which is good.