Another moving question.

[BigNavyPedsGuy]

So, I've never had movers help me move before. So do I box up all of my stuff and have it ready when they get here? Or do they do that? Or do I box up the stuff I want done right and let them do the rest? Can they just move my house because real estate is ridiculous in CA?

 

[orbitsurgMD]

So, I've never had movers help me move before. So do I box up all of my stuff and have it ready when they get here? Or do they do that? Or do I box up the stuff I want done right and let them do the rest? Can they just move my house because real estate is ridiculous in CA?

Pull the stuff you need with you for the next couple of weeks, including working clothing, meds and critical documents and any small valuables. Photograph the things you have that might get damaged in transit. The moving contractor will send a packing crew to pack your household; they supply everything. The moving crew follows. If you want to clean your place after they leave, you should anticipate what you will need for that work and pick or buy what you will need. Flammables, fuel, liquor and cleaners and solvents cannot be shipped. They sometimes will accept bottled goods with intact seals.

For an overseas move, more planning is needed as the shipments are broken into immediate need, short-term and long-term. Advice on what to pack and what to leave stateside, including vehicles, is something you should work out with your relocation office because needs can be highly location-dependent.


Me: 1 DITY, 4 contract. Consider contract moving a significant convenience.

 

[NavyFP]

So, I've never had movers help me move before. So do I box up all of my stuff and have it ready when they get here? Or do they do that? Or do I box up the stuff I want done right and let them do the rest? Can they just move my house because real estate is ridiculous in CA?

They do it all for you. Keep the gotta have stuff in your car or someplace else, because invariably they will pack it. Take out the trash prior to the movers as well. They have packed trash on many occasions. Small pets are in danger. I have heard stories of cats jumping into boxes and getting sealed in.

 

[colbgw02]

They have packed trash on many occasions.

This is absolutely true. Ridiculous, but true.

It used to be that you could pack certain valuables yourself, as long as you marked them PBO (packed by owner). For my most recent PCS, I was told that wasn't allowed anymore, at least officially. It turns out my packers were two clowns who would let anything slide, so I did some things myself.

 

[resxn]

Photograph the things you have that might get damaged in transit.

You'll need to photograph everything you own

My packers literally took a draw of stuff from our kitchen and dumped it into the bottom of the box. We were so stunned by the state of things that when we arrived we actually took pictures of our stuff just piled into the bottom of several boxes without any padding paper or otherwise placed in their for protection.

We earned about $5200 back in damages and it is a royal pain in the butt to do the paperwork to collect it.

 

[West Side]

Having used movers a few times in my life, I approach the situation thusly:

Assume movers are going to be larcenous mobsters with advanced stage muscular dystrophy. Examine any items in the context of said people handling them. Breakable? Valuable? Be willing to never see them intact again if left with the movers.

There's a reason there's an entire website called movingscam.com. Visit it, believe it! The moving industry isn't exactly pulling the savvy movitated individuals destined for the C-suite. Best of luck with the move.

 

[runningmom]

Set aside a closet or small room and put all the stuff you DON'T want them touching there. Lock it, duct tape it, something - seriously, they will just start throwing things into the truck at the last moment if they can get in there.

Keep the vaccum cleaner out. You can vacuum/clean as they clear out the house. If you don't have room for the vacuum in your car, they'll pop it in the truck at the last minute.

It was said before - but definitely take out the trash. They will pack up your trash cans with or without the trash. I've also seen them wrap toilet paper rolls in several sheets of packing. They get paid for the amount of packing they use, so my experience is they use it liberally.

Ask for stand up wardrobes for your hanging clothes. Otherwise they'll toss everything in the bottom of a box.

Separate your professional items (books are the heavy points here) so you don't go over your weight limit. Your limit is probably not in danger unless you have a full household complete with outdoor items and heavy sporting goods or weights or something.

Roam your house as they pack. Being there tends to make them take more care of your things.

I usually get them some drinks, Coke and water or Gatorade, and a few pizzas for lunch. Good will goes a long way in keeping your stuff well cared for.

I tell them which restroom to use. That lets me clean (or keep clean) the others.

Take digital pics of your house a few days before they get there. Put special focus on the big, expensive stuff, but just having the pics will usually be enough. I put this on a thumb drive and carry it with me.

If you have room in your POV, do a partial DITY for all the stuff you are going to carry yourself. It is usually more than worth it and not too painful. In truth you'd end up carrying the same stuff and just not get paid for it if you don't.

When you get to the other end, they are required to put your funiture down once and to unpack and remove the packing for anything they packed. They won't want to, but unless you want to deal with the massive amount of packing and boxes, I would recommend pushing the issue. We end up doing about half of it and then hubby gets annoyed with them and kicks them out of the house so we end up having to get rid of the other half of it. Ugh!

That's all I can think of right now, but if I think of something else, I'll put it in up. This is coming from some 12 yrs of military moves experience... FWIW, the movers have done less damage to my house than my children have.

 

[orbitsurgMD]

Having used movers a few times in my life, I approach the situation thusly:

Assume movers are going to be larcenous mobsters with advanced stage muscular dystrophy. Examine any items in the context of said people handling them. Breakable? Valuable? Be willing to never see them intact again if left with the movers.

There's a reason there's an entire website called movingscam.com. Visit it, believe it! The moving industry isn't exactly pulling the savvy movitated individuals destined for the C-suite. Best of luck with the move.

Military moves come with a few more protections than typical non-government private moves. Scams do not typically occur there because oversight is through relocation departments and the companies doing the moving have a lot at stake--tens of millions of dollars--in findings of non-performance, and that includes theft and damage. The federal government is very good at getting moving contractors to perform. That doesn't mean they are perfect, but they are better than not having the government behind you. All government moves are inventoried and all contractors bear first dollar liability on losses by the terms of their contracts with the military.

The typical civilian move may or may not include full insurance, the default common carrier liability is basically peanuts, based on tare weight. Inventoried loads, custom packing, extra insurance are extra-cost services. Getting a binding estimate is extremely important, and that is one avenue where without one you get fraud and scam activity (i.e., "pay us another x thousand or we don't unload the truck", or worse.) All these elements are taken care of when you move with the military. One important thing; make sure you have homeowner's insurance that also covers your goods in transit.

Inspect your things carefully when they arrive. Do not sign off until you have done that inspection. Claim absolutely every form of loss or damage you can find. Everything.

In my time in service, the best moves I heard of seemed to be on service members being returned from Japan. Apparently Japanese moving companies are exceptionally scrupulous, and seal all shipments in crates before being containerized. They make a very big deal about breaking the seal, apparently.

 

[West Side]

Military moves come with a few more protections than typical non-government private moves. Scams do not typically occur there because oversight is through relocation departments and the companies doing the moving have a lot at stake--tens of millions of dollars--in findings of non-performance, and that includes theft and damage. The federal government is very good at getting moving contractors to perform. That doesn't mean they are prefect, but they are better than not having the government behind you. All government moves are inventoried and all contractors bear first dollar liability on losses by the terms of their contracts with the military.

The typical civilian move may or may not include full insurance, the default common carrier liability is basically peanuts, based on tare weight. Inventoried loads, custom packing, extra insurance are extra-cost services. Getting a binding estimate is extremely important, and that is one avenue where without one you get fraud and scam activity (i.e., "pay us another x thousand or we don't unload the truck", or worse.) All these elements are taken care of when you move with the military. One important thing; make sure you have homeowner's insurance that also covers your goods in transit.

Inspect your things carefully when they arrive. Do not sign off until you have done that inspection. Claim absolutely every form of loss or damage you can find. Everything.

In my time in service, the best moves I heard of seemed to be on service members being returned from Japan. Apparently Japanese moving companies are exceptionally scrupulous, and seal all shipments in crates before being containerized. They make a very big deal about breaking the seal, apparently.

Ah ha. That's great to hear.

Well, my advice stands for all you folks getting ready to rejoin the regular world. I assure you your standard moving company (including Maynards, Allied, etc.) can be as unscrupulous as they come. Beware. I had friends that had to contract what amounts to a police force 1,500 miles away to "liberate" their goods from a particularly excrable company.

 

[Ex-44E3A]

Consider moving very valuable things yourself, particularly stuff that's small and easily stolen/pawned: Jewelry, laptops, guns, silver, and so forth.

You can actually make money on DITY moves if you get some buddies to help you load and unload, and don't mind doing the work yourself.

 

[Jet915]

So I can't pack all my stuff in boxes and have them just pick up the boxes? I plan on taking my valuables in my car (cpu, tv's) w/me in my car but it seems like a pain if they just take your stuff and dump it in a truck.