Moving Stories case 1103073 : Mitch A. from San Francisco

“Moving” Stories case 1103073 : Mitch A. from San Francisco

I found a service provider who quoted me lower than many others and decided to try them out. They took an online payment, a deposit they said, and I got my papers via fax.

My mover told me the insurance I got was no good and even told me they would not work with the service unless I gave them a waiver of some sort. This was odd, I thought, since the stories I heard from friends usually had the insurance disapproving the mover. Turns out the moving insurance I had gotten was from a fly-by-night outfit some jerk was running out of his bedroom pc. That was the last time I bought anything online.

The next morning I went out to an agency referred to me by a friend. This nice lady gave me the usual spiel about needing protection and coverage from theft. I had nothing better to do that afternoon so I sat in on her explanations of their process, besides they had pretty good coffee. I found out that there was a rising number of rogue movers out there matched by a lot of fly-by-night insurance agencies, one of which I had fallen victim to. I was thinking of letting the “deposit” I paid slide but after hearing this lady’s words I was fired up. I wanted my money back.

It was a long and convoluted process and I was eventually able to reclaim only part of what I paid for “deposit” after the credit card charges, but I had satisfaction from shafting the wiseguy.

So the movers came and packed my stuff. One of them broke a vase my sister gave me one Christmas, I didn’t cry for it but I claimed on that. They packed all my furniture and kitchen stuff, and thanks to my paying attention to the insurance lady I kept my own list of items and had the crew chief sign off on it.

Valuing your items for a Moving Insurance

Valuing your items for a Moving Insurance

You can do this by (1) writing down all significant pieces of furniture; glassware, appliances, electronics, personal effects, etc…, (2) give each a mark and an approximate weight. If you have a large number of books that you’ll be packing into boxes, (3) assign each box an approximate weight and state it on the outside of the box. This can be applied to clothes, kitchen items, tools and other loose items. (4) mark each box an approximate replacement value, it would only aid you in the workers handling of your items. Be careful when you price a high value item as the mover may not give you a value you would be comfortable with.

In case you are moving specific and expensive items like works of art or jewelry you must be exact in your details of the item. Some movers would require you to produce an appraisal by a third party of their choosing. Upon approval you must provide specific instructions regarding the handling of the item.

Replacement value means the cost to replace the item with another item of comparable material and quality. The replacement must be used for the same purpose. This applies unless the cost to repair or replace the damaged item is less at the discretion of the insurer.

It is a good idea to take photos of all pieces, especially items of sentimental value or high appraisal. This will assist in keeping track of your inventory despite the list supplied to you by the mover. The idea is to have your own independent system to countercheck the movers and keep them honest. This will help if you need to make a claim.

Packing Heavy Objects

When moving from one place to another, one begins to pack every object in the house. Each object requires a unique way of packing. While methods for furniture, clothes and shoes are relatively simple and easy, electronics and other things require special attention. This is very true of heavy things too. The objects that usually fall into this category are the books, artifacts made of stone and kitchen appliances and utensils that one has in the kitchen. A class apart from all this are the other household appliances like the lawn mower, vacuum cleaner etc.

At the onset of packing, one should make sure that he has all the packing materials and supplies available at hand. The various packing materials available are cardboard boxes of various sizes (small, medium, large and jumbo sized), bubble wrap, packing paper like unprinted newsprint or even newspapers if available, packing peanuts (otherwise called packing foam), plenty of packing tape and permanent markers for labeling the boxes.

One must make a list of all the objects that have to be packed with special attention. From this list, one must begin with the heaviest object. At the onset, one must make sure he has all the required packing materials close by before he starts to pack. Once everything is ready and in place, the actual packing begins. Usually books are the heaviest among the different objects on one’s list. A single book may weigh less, but the collection as a whole is bound to be heavy. Most books fit in neatly into the small boxes and the added advantage of these boxes is their ease of portability. A large box full of books may be very heavy to carry. The best way to pack books would be to keep them vertical to the base of the box, preferably resting on their spines. This is a better arrangement compared to laying them flat. One must take care to strengthen the base of the box with additional packing tape to avoid the books falling out during transit.… Continue reading

Preparing for the Commercial Move to the USA

Commercial Move to the USA

Commercial move/Corporate relocation is not as easy as any ordinary residential relocation. The relocation has to be handled with immense responsibility as the process may disturb the regular productivity and workflow. The entire relocation process requires careful planning and includes various basic activities to be arranged to assure a smooth execution, experts’ warn. As this corporate relocation is an international move, it involves a highly complex set of processes that include complete understanding of customs rules and regulations. Unlike local and long-distance moves, there are no distinct global regulations for international moves. The U.S. has a detailed licensing program for international shipping companies. You have to acquaint yourself with these rules and always be in touch with the U.S federal agency responsible for foreign trade and investment, the Immigrations officials and your country of origin and US consular services. With a help of Movers.Com and various relocation specialists, here is a preset questionnaire for a corporate mover to the US:… Continue reading

Customs Regulations for an International Relocation

Customs Regulations

Customs is one of the major hassles in international moving. Each country has a lot of policies which differ ever so slightly in words but there is usually an ocean of difference in their meanings and implications. So it is with the United States of America. The procedure can be uncomplicated and less demanding as long as one can produce all the necessary documents supporting one’s move to the new country.

Some of the documents which one should have are a valid immigrant visa, a confirmation of permanent residence for all family members travelling with oneself, a current and valid passport or travel document for each one, two copies of the detailed list of all things one is carrying and two copies of the detailed list of all things arriving later by freight. As a proof of good faith, one will also be asked to show the availability of funds for a six month period able to cover food, rent, clothing, transportation and other living expenses. These procedures are similar to the Canadian customs too.… Continue reading