The Benefits of Choosing a Licensed or Registered Moving Company

Any interstate moving company you hire in the United States is required by federal law to have a license to transport goods. State laws cover transportation of goods within the state boundaries. However, there are still movers offering their services without a license or proper registration. You should avoid these movers and choose a moving company with a license that’s current. Here are the benefits:

Research

You can review the history of a licensed or registered moving company. You can research whether there were any fines assessed against it, as well as complaints by customers. Go to www.safersys.org, enter the company’s information, and you can find its snapshot and other pertinent information. For example, you can order a company’s safety profile, which can tell you much of what you need to know about its reputation for delivering other people’s things. A moving company with no history will also tell you a lot. It may not be worth the risk to hire them to transport your valuables if they’re not proven.

Accountability

A licensed moving company is also held accountable by various entities, such as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Moving company “A” is less likely to scam customers if they know that they can jeopardize the license they need to run their business, while moving company “B” has nothing to lose. That’s not to say that a licensed or registered moving company will never scam you. However, the license and registration is one additional safety precaution that you can count on to reduce your chances of getting your goods stolen or carelessly damaged.

Experience

A licensed or registered moving company has rules to follow to obtain and maintain its licenses. This process requires the company to gain more industry knowledge than one that doesn’t have a license. Having a license also results in the company being hired more often than a company without a license, which means more experience. The worst thing you can do is choose a moving company that has no experience in handling goods, especially across state lines. Even when a company has a license, it’s important to find out how long they’ve been moving items, and get references. Otherwise, you’ll open yourself up to unnecessary risk of loss or theft.

Insurance

A licensed moving company must also carry the requisite amounts of insurance. The two go hand in hand. Therefore, it’s almost a guarantee that a registered company will have the insurance needed to protect your belongings up to a certain amount. The benefit of working with a licensed company is that you can research whether they have the insurance they claim they have, on www.safersys.org.

Some of your personal belongings are irreplaceable, and it can be devastating if they get lost or damaged. While some things can be shipped through the mail, there are others that you must pack and load on a moving truck with the rest of your items. This makes choosing the right moving company all the more important: one that is properly licensed and registered.