Loading
Off to a New Place through Moving Companies
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 37.5 million people moved in the United States between 2006 and 2007, not counting those from abroad. Of these, 25.2 million moved within the same county, 7.4 million moved within the same state, and the rest are interstate moves. Such is the need for reliable moving companies.
A moving company, also called a van line, is a company that assists people, families, or businesses in transferring or relocating possessions from one area to another. Vans and trucks are customarily used by these movers. For a moving company to operate, it must first obtain a license from the Federal Highway Administration or the State Commerce Commission. It can then carry on with its services either in a large-scale, where there are local branches or affiliations widely distributed all over the country, or in a small-scale, where an independent company is confined and made to function only within a local area, like in a county for instance.
Moving Options
Moving companies offer a wide number of options for their clients. The first is where they take care of everything, from packing all belongings, to the transport, to unloading and unpacking. Of course this entails a huge amount of money, which brought about the second option, where the client packs the stuff himself just to keep the moving costs from escalating further. Movers called them the PBO’s, which stand for packed by owner. In this option, there is an inherent risk of damage to the goods due to the lack of experience or training in packing. There is also the choice of packing and moving the goods yourself, but needing the moving company for rental of vans, trucks, trailers, or other moving equipment and supplies. This last one is for the do-it-yourself mover.
The Arduous Process of Moving
As stated, PBO’s run the risk of having a dispute with the moving company after the move due to damages on the goods, possibly due to the customer’s inexperience in packing, or the mover’s mishandling of the boxes during transport. Thus, customers should be made aware of this likelihood, and, if they still decide on packing by themselves, care should be taken to ensure that everything is properly wrapped and packed in a manner that presents with the least possible odds of damage. Polished surfaces should be protected by using blankets or cardboards. Breakable goods should be well-protected also, either in wooden chests or cardboards. Furniture should be carefully secured inside the moving vehicle, with the aid of wall bars. Also, as a means to keep moving costs down, the space inside trucks and trailers should be maximized, such that there are no wasted spaces inside.
DIY Moving
A lot of moving companies offer rental services for their trucks and moving equipment, as well as driving and delivery services, but the customer does the packing. Aside from the moving vehicles, the customer can also rent furniture pads, dollies, and conveyor belts to make moving trouble-free. Some can go as far as buying packing materials from the moving company, which includes boxes, tapes, cartons, bubble wraps, cardboards, etc. Although significantly cheaper than the typical full service moving, there are limits to the liability for damage falling on the mover. The moving company will only be liable for damage if it resulted from the actual transport, like in a traffic disaster, while the customer carries the burden of liability for the damage that results from loading, packing, and unloading.
Moving can be a long, stressful process. Remember though that with sufficient research and planning, careful selection of a moving company, not to mention early disposal of unnecessary belongings, things can actually go very smoothly.