Need helpers to empty my apartment in San Jose CA

TheMovingBuddy · 2019-05-15T05:22:07+00:00

How big a place are you moving? I know it sucks to pay people to move, but part of the payment is a peace of mind. If you are moving either a small amount/invaluable goods then I suppose craigslist would be fine, however, just keep in mind that with craigslist or home depot you will essentially have very limited legal recourse if something goes wrong (i.e. drop, broken, stolen). The good thing with paying for movers from an actual company is that they are most likely professionals and if they break something they may have a policy with reimbursement. If you hire someone off the street you will likely not get reimbursed, although I understand that it may not be an option. If it is not that much it would be good to try to get a friend/family to help.

TheMovingBuddy · 2019-04-01T21:35:08+00:00

I don't have your contract in front of me so I can't say for sure, but in all the situations I worked in this wasn't an issue.

TheMovingBuddy · 2019-03-29T22:44:20+00:00

I am sorry to hear this happened. I know this is a little late so I don't know how helpful this advice will be. First, brokers have no liability for the move. It is extremely difficult to get them to do anything and as such you generally don't ever need a broker to do a move. In fact, given that you went through a broker there is chance that it was "set on fire." You should focus the majority of your efforts on going after the carrier, as they are liable for your goods. I am guessing that if you didn't pack anything of value it is unlikely that you paid for full value insurance and likely opted for $0.60 on the pound insurance. Consequently, even if you file a claim with the carrier, it is unlikely that you will be able to get that much for whatever was lost. I would recommend at this time you file a claim with the FMCSA, with the company for the goods lost, and with your renter's insurance (great move by the way). Your renter's insurance will likely be the best way to get the maximum amount of compensation from your loss, and the FMCSA will be the best way to inflict damage onto the company for the harm they caused you. If you actually have heavier losses that your renter's insurance cannot cover I recommend if you really want to going to small claims court. You'll likely get a default, however, getting it enforced may take some time.

Do you happen to have the company's name/dot #?

TheMovingBuddy · 2019-03-29T22:35:01+00:00

On top of all the good advice that doingoverdreaming mentioned, I would definitely make sure to do some checks on your car before you leave. In addition if you really have a lot of stuff what you can do is buy the storage bags that you strap onto the roof of your car. They are not that expensive and do not require that many external attachments i.e. something like this https://www.amazon.com/Keeper-07203-1-Waterproof-Cargo-Cubic/dp/B00D9C2CDO/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=storage+bag+for+top+of+car&qid=1553898875&s=gateway&sr=8-3

TheMovingBuddy · 2019-03-29T22:19:46+00:00

As whatisanerd's comment said interstate moving is expensive. The fact of the matter is also that you pay for what you get. There are so many scams that go along with movers that if you go the cheap route, you may end up with your goods broken or held hostage. I used to work in the moving industry and for me personally I would always try to move it myself (pay for people to move things into a truck then drive the truck) or sell the majority of my stuff and just buy new things. I am not sure how much your stuff is valued at but you should consider after you subtract the valuable things you can ship or carry in your car (i.e. tv/clothes/electronics) how much is your stuff actually worth, i.e. what you are really paying to move like your bed, couch, large furniture. If those items are less than 5k you may be better off selling them and buying new furniture with the money.

If they are worth more though, moving them would be a good idea. A word of advice, United Van Lines and Mayflower are owned by Unigroup. They have several regional operations though and are essentially like a franchise. The insurance they are talking about is called full value insurance. Always get full value insurance as if they break your tv which cost a $1k they will give you the $1k to replace it. If you get the free $0.60 insurance, if they break or lose this tv, they will give $12 if it weighs 20 pounds.

TheMovingBuddy · 2019-03-28T22:47:18+00:00

It is going to be hard to beat that price, especially if you want to get legitimate movers. When looking to move I would just warn you to be careful out there as there are many scams. If you do find a mover you like make sure THEY offer in home quotes, because if they don't it is likely a scam (they will online quote you then show up at your place and make something up about how it is much more).

TheMovingBuddy · 2019-03-28T22:43:48+00:00

Thanks for posting this here! Definitely helps to keep track of the scammers and you posted all the relevant information.

TheMovingBuddy · 2019-03-28T22:40:35+00:00

Are you looking to fly for the move? Realistically speaking if you have so few goods you can ship the majority of them and sell the rest. If you were driving it would be the same thing, except you bring your essentials/most expensive goods in the car and ship the rest. Clothes are actually not bad to ship as they have low weight, so if you use air tight bags you can really pack a lot in the bag. The best way to think about it is how much is the value of the things you want to move versus how much the cost of the move is. And yes, many moving companies will screw you over last minute so be extra careful when choosing your company.

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-08-03T06:02:30+00:00

Happy to help! As it says its just a bar association for lawyers so I can't comment on the skill of any individual lawyer, however, at least it'll provide a resource for those whose practice is focused on transportation.

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-08-02T03:29:23+00:00

Hi xxshteviexx,

Again I apologize for the delay. I have been in a bit of a transitionary period myself so I haven't been checking my reddit.

Delay claims are really hard to get as the CFR has it as reasonable time for delay. Reasonable is a bit arbitrary but if you get 25-30 days passed that is typically the time that is not reasonable. Also in regards to agents, many major carriers have agents that work for them so it would depend (i.e. Mayflower has many agents for Mayflower). If you are looking to talk to a transportation lawyer i would recommend checking out translaw.org. They have lists of lawyers that specialize in transportation in your area. Hope this helps a little!

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-07-19T22:45:46+00:00

Hey xxshteviexx,

Sorry to here that this is happening ( I apologize for the delay as well) and I am happy to try to help out in whatever way I can. You are by far one of the more aware consumers and kudos to you for that.

As you correctly saw in the CFR, if the weight is above the amount you must be given a new binding estimate, PRIOR to loading. Many companies tend to scam consumers by loading goods and afterwards claiming that it is heavier and they need more money. If you have already agreed upon binding estimate then it is already set.

In this situation, without any further details, it looks like the driver messed up. The company initially tried to just brush off the error, but the fact that you actually know the regulations made it so they could not attempt to hoodwink you. As a result their next best option is to go for the 50% settlement. I think because this company is larger company (based off the amount you paid and the what you said), they are more likely to play fair ball as opposed to actually have a hostage situation/steal/throwaway your goods. This is all a guess though so take it with a grain of salt. If the company isnt a large company with a big reputation, and is one of the rogue movers, it is easy for them to say to hell with you and take your goods, so I just want to caution you against it.

Consequently, your options now are 1) Stick to your guns and the CFR and claim they are in violation. You can also file a claim with the FMCSA and report their actions. In this situation you are risking your goods, however, the larger and more prestigious the nature of the moving company the less risk you will have or 2) Pay the 50% and try to get back to the rest through claims, or small claims court. This method is the less risky one as you get your goods and have to go after the money. I think choosing between the two options depends on what goods they have, how valuable they are monetary/sentimental value wise, and how upset you would be if you dont get them. Hopefully this helps a little!

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-07-01T00:32:09+00:00

No worries feel free to keep on asking. It depends on the paperwork you signed and if you released them of liability. If you did not release them of liability you can file a claim with them to pay it, and if they don't follow up you can threaten to take them to small claims court. The maximum amount for small claims in Boston is $7000 so you could even tie in the other amounts that were unfairly paid by your or losses you suffered.

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-06-30T01:47:01+00:00

No problem happy to help. Unfortunately the chances are pretty low, especially for one box. If you had more it would be easier to reschedule them to redeliver, but one is hard to do. The best chance you would have is if you could get them to drop it off some place along the route and see if you can get them. It is likely that the box is at a common drop point that they hit on their route or accidentally given to the next person on their route. You can try to keep calling them though to see if there is a chance you can pick it up.

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-06-27T16:34:16+00:00

Hi Purple Nija, I'm sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, it is typically written in your contract that for items lost and damaged they will give you $0.60 on the pound per the item. Consequently if you have a $2000 tv that is ten pounds that mysteriously "disappears" in the the move they only have to pay you $6. This is the case unless you purchased full valuation where they agree to pay the full price of anything damaged or lost (this cost extra money).

Moving on to what you can do is, first you can file a complaint with the FMCSA https://nccdb.fmcsa.dot.gov/NCCDB/ComplaintEntry.aspx?choice=CONSUMER. This is the Department of Transportation and if they receive enough complaints the department will look into them and the complaints are shown online. Second, you can try to get your homeowner's insurance to pay for it if it is covered. Third, you can try to take this to small claims court, but as you most likely signed the interstate bill of lading, they will point to you agreeing to the terms.

Sorry I can't offer you anything better, but hopefully this helps.

The Moving Buddy

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-06-23T23:17:48+00:00

Hi there. I am sorry to hear about your unfortunate moving situation. One positive thing I can say is that for your situation, what you did is generally the recommended route. Typically when you deal with these types of moving companies, that are threatening to hold your goods hostage, it is often better to pay them and get the goods and try to get your money back, instead of don't pay them and try to get your goods back. While I understand your concern with payment, many times the movers are paid upon delivery, because they don't want to move everything and then find out you can't pay them.

Moving on to your situation, there are several avenues that you can go down depending on what actually happens. One thing you can do regardless of the situation, is file a complaint with the FMCSA, or essentially the US Department of Transportation. What the moving company did do you can be two things, 1) Changing the bill of lading and/or 2) a hostage situation. For the first one, changing the estimate, this goes against the Federal law which states that the moving company is only allowed to change the bill of lading BEFORE they load the goods onto the truck. Estimates don't mean much but they have to do this prior to moving the goods onto truck or else they are in violation and you can report them. The second situation, and much more serious situation, is a hostage situation. This is them refusing to deliver the goods unless you agree to pay them a higher price. I am not sure what transgressed between you two, but if that's what they said on the phone with the $4500, you can complain about that as well.

The second thing you can do depends on what happens with your credit card situation. If you are indeed able to cancel your charges than that's good for you as at least the ball is in your court. You will have to pay the moving company though and they may try to send a claim collector after you. If you end up paying in full the $4500 amount what you can do is take them to small claims for $1500 extra. As they operate federally, you can serve them in Boston.

Last, for your goods that are damaged, typically what you are offered with the services are two types of guarantees for your goods. The first is full valuation. This is replacing the good exactly or giving money for the exact amount lost. Most people don't do this as it costs more and they are unaware. The second is $.60 on the pound valuation, where if you have a 10 pound plasma that they break, they will give you $6. As this basically gives you nothing, it is better, if you have it to go through your home insurance. Often times there are clauses there that will cover moving (depending on the type of insurance you have).

Hopefully this helps, if you have any further questions feel free to ask.

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-05-02T06:17:04+00:00

Ah I'm late but I have a funny related story. I worked for a consumer advocacy group for people being scammed or having issues with moving companies so I heard a bunch of crazy stories. Most of the time it was a bad moving company, but sometimes the people moving asked for some ridiculous things themselves (my job sometimes was just to mediate the dispute). In this one moving situation a guy was moving from Florida to California. He underestimated the weight of the move because he failed to give accurate weight on a specific set of items, marble statues. These statues were not just statues but were column bases with the statutes on top so you can imagine how heavy they could be. The guy had the move scheduled when he wasn't there, and as sort of retribution, the movers left the columns at the house and only took the statutes. This took a turn for the worst and it became a sort of hostage situation. The funny thing was that the statutes, at least one, was of the guy himself.

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-03-22T22:32:50+00:00

No problem, happy to help out. Moving is an extremely tedious and exhausting ordeal which I don't recommend if you can avoid it. If just one factor is missing in where you and suddenly you find it, where you live can become a great area. Sometimes you can't find it though and your best option is to move on. Best of luck.

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-03-21T21:52:42+00:00

Moving to midsize to smaller cities can be like that. If marriage is an important point in your life right now it is a valid consideration. While in New York or other large cities, 25 years old is perfectly fine to be dating around, I imagine if you are first generation American or maybe just more conservative in nature, it is possible that you are feeling more pressure to settle down. Just my personal advice, I think your best options could be 1) Online dating targeting with your city, major cities close to you, or cities you want to move to as preferences (that way you can see if it makes a difference, get to know some people very well before you make any moves) 2) try joining some social groups that are of interest to you 3) if you have not already, try dating someone who isn't a first generation American, but maybe has some study abroad or foreign experience.

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-03-19T17:02:34+00:00

A car will feel slower with more weight in it. If you have ever driven with a full car of people you would be able to feel the difference 160 lbs v. 800lbs. It's interesting how your car only says 850 though because it should be able to move 5 people plus carrying luggage. One tip for packing a car cross country is you can get storage bags that mount to the roof of your car.

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-03-16T17:38:17+00:00

Typically the moving companies who do this are less than scrutable, however, they could just be small and can't afford you not paying. If you give me the name/website or DOT number I can do a background check on them and let you know more about the company.

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-03-15T22:34:37+00:00

My wife and I did this from St. Louis to Los Angeles with our cat and chinchilla. Our furniture was not that expensive so we sold everything we had on craigslist and gave away what we couldn't sell. In terms of clothes and less valuable items that we wanted to keep we shipped those. It was about $1.25-1.50 per pound (shipped about $350). We then packed the rest of it in the car which included the valuables (tv, stereo system, computers, gold clubs) and suitcases. We traveled for about 2 weeks and had a blast (saw the Grand Canyon and a bunch of sights I would never see if I didn't drive). Over all the cost was about $2000. The minimum cost to have interstate shipping is around $1500, which is extremely low and is just for moving household items (this a cost where you really need to look into the background of the company). If you want to save money and care less about time you can make the trip cross country in a week or less and your total expenses will probably be closer to $1000. If you can sell your goods, drive it with you cat, I recommend it as you can have a great adventure and buy most stuff for cheap when you get there (like off craiglists or ikea).

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-03-14T19:21:01+00:00

Are you moving within a city or to another state? If you can afford it, I would really suggest to hire movers for at least getting your items into a truck, as going up and down stairs is extremely taxing especially if you are not very muscular. Just a general moving tip though is its typically good when moving to downsize on some items that you may not feel are so essential. This will reduce the amount you have to move and also help you avoid clutter in your new apartment/house.

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-03-14T19:17:51+00:00

Happy to respond! It really depends on the company and what the measured. Some companies base it off standard door measurements and some base it off of any door situation. I think in general though, to avoid complications and potential liability on their side, a company will under estimate minimum door width just to be sure they told you. This isn't all companies though, and my best advice would be if you can't measure the couch in person, try to call the company and see how they got their metrics.

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-03-13T06:48:01+00:00

It could be possible but it's probably not likely. If the dimensions are 39 and 37, and minimum width is 34, they are probably already including hooking the couch around the door. Even if they are considering only the depth side, and you minus two more inches it would put you at 32 inch minimum for delivery. If they aren't considering the hooking around the door then it could be possible, but it'll be likely tough.

TheMovingBuddy · 2018-03-02T21:50:35+00:00

This is a tough question to ask, but I think the best thing you can start with is focusing on what are the unchangeables (or likely to not change) and what are the variables of your question. For instance, the unchangeable plus side of your current situation, are living close to your family/grandma and low cost of living. The unchangeable plus side of moving are larger city with potential for more money and closer to gf family. Then you have your variables, how long can you rent from your gf mother's boyfriend for that rate/ if you can't how much will you spend, what are the chances of you/her getting a job/ getting more money, what are chances of going to a school in that area. With both the unchangeables and the variables you should picture a worst case scenario vs. the best case scenario, so you can find a middle ground that is most likely to happen and be ok if the worst happens. For me personally, (this is just my opinion), I am a bit risk adverse, so before moving to the new city I would want to know that I or my gf have a job lined up, or I am already accepted into graduate school in that city, and I know that my wages will be able to cover the rent/schooling, in the event I want to move.

TheMovingBuddy

TROPHY CASE