5 Crucial Questions to Ask Your Movers

Picking movers is difficult for one simple reason: you entrust them with the totality of your belongings. It is a daunting thing to do, considering they are complete strangers you need to put your faith in. However, there are definitely ways you can assuage some of your concerns and ensure that you end up with professional and reliable movers on the case! And to do this, you need to make use of the 5 crucial questions to ask your movers.

Can you provide me with a couple references?

This is, point blank, the most important of the questions to ask your movers. A lot of shenanigans and problems with a moving company can be uncovered if you just bother to talk to their past customers. This should also be your first red flag or good sign, depending on whether they refuse to provide you with references or cooperate readily. Now, do know that the moving company might ask you to wait while they get permission to give people’s numbers out as references. That’s only polite, and you should bear with them, so long as it doesn’t become obvious they are just stalling. There’s a lot of things to prepare before you move, so you have the time to wait! If the references you are provided with okay the movers, you can consider them more closely and really take them into account. If not, look elsewhere immediately.

Do you provide the services I need and have experience with them?

It is pointless to waste your time with a moving company if they can’t offer you what you need. After all, a local moving company is useless if you are looking to hire province to province movers in order to have a stress-free experience. As such, this is another of the important questions to ask your movers at the very start. Similarly important is the second half of the question. There is a very start difference between experienced and inexperienced movers. Experienced movers provide you with accurate estimates, timetables, advice, etc. They can also reliably transport your belongings without damaging anything. Inexperienced movers might turn out just fine, admittedly. Or things could turn into a mess from the start, with them taking too long to load your belongings, missing arranged times, etc. It is up to you whether you are willing to take that risk.

What’s your liability coverage like?

The next thing you need to ask about is their liability coverage. There are three types of coverage most movers offer, and which you can choose from. Basic, extended and valuation coverage. Basic Liability Coverage is the legal minimum protection for your belongings and will not cost you anything. However, the returns on it are minimal, and you won’t be able to replace most of your damaged stuff. Then, you have Extended Liability Coverage, which is charged based on the total weight of your belongings but the returns are still minimal. Finally, you have Valuation Liability Coverage, which offers full coverage of repair and replacement costs, but will cost you a lot more in turn. When hiring professional movers, we generally recommend the second type of insurance if you feel you can trust them. Or even just going with the Basic Liability Coverage!

Can I get proof that you are certified?

Fun fact: Canadian movers do not need to get licensed. This means there are no industry-wide standards that need to be adhered to. Now, they do need to follow business standards, depending on the province, municipality, etc. of where they are set up. But this just covers their legality as a business, rather than their quality as movers. Thankfully, there is a potential way to tell if the movers you are considering are of quality. Namely, the Canadian Association of Movers offers certification of its own! And, as the experts from Centennial Moving can attest, this is one of the best reassurances you can possibly get about the quality and legitimacy of your movers. You can, of course, consider movers who don’t have the certificate. We just advise you take a lot more time to vet them and ensure you are actually working with a legitimate business.

Can you give me a quote and do you have any additional expenses I need to keep in mind?

The final of the questions to ask your movers is also twofold. First, you need to ask them for a straight-up quote. You can tack on a question of whether or not the quote will be binding, in order to avoid unpleasant experiences later, but the second half of the question takes care of that rather nicely. Namely, you need to demand an answer to whether there’s any ‘hidden’ expenses you are not informed of upfront. Things such as this might include moving large and fragile items, such as a piano or glass cabinets. Or even additional expenses due to the distance of the move you’re hiring them for. Some movers do attempt to hide these in an effort to make their prices seem more appealing. So, the first thing you need to learn about moving is that if a quote seems too good to be true, it likely is!

A careful approach to hiring movers all the way

Armed with our 5 crucial questions to ask your movers, you should be able to weed out bad moving companies. Never underestimate the importance of doing this, since consequences can be bad! How bad things can really get ranges from just having your belongings damaged to being outright robbed by totally ‘legit’ movers! After all, it’s really easy to drive off with someone’s stuff if they let you load it all up on a moving truck. So, take your time, go over the different moving companies, and never rush to hire someone! No matter how ‘perfect’ a moving company may seem, always keep your options open until you are utterly sure they can be relied on. Even if they’re not planning something sinister, a bad moving company will only do more harm than good!