How to do a moving company’s background check

It’s far from an easy process to do a moving company’s background check. So, why do we do them? The answer is quite simple. You don’t want to get crossed over, scammed, or ripped off. It usually all goes together. You need to find the right choice if you want a good relocation. Think about how affordable it is. Do you have a budget? Try to choose one with enough experience. You don’t want them to mishandle your possessions. There are many different factors you need to pay attention to when doing a moving company’s background check.

There are basically two ways it will end. Either you will get ripped off and your stuff will be damaged or you will find some really reliable guys who will do everything according to your needs. Let us help you prepare to do a moving company’s background check well. Following the right steps will get you to a successful end. Don’t worry, you will find a great moving company.

Verify whether the company has licensing credentials

So, one of the first steps, before you choose the right residential movers in NYC, is to check if they have the proper licensing credentials.

Any legit professional mover is a licensed and registered mover. Especially if they want to operate with full transparency and legally. Requirements are different in every state but every properly certified moving company has an MC number you can ask for or see on their site (interstate movers have a USDOT number, too). This is one of the main characteristics of good, legit credentials of a company and an essential part of a moving company’s background check.

These numbers can help you a lot. You can use them to get a lot of info regarding the company. So the first step when doing a moving company’s background check is to visit the official FMCSA’s website, put in the company’s number and search, and click the report button. That way you will see the moving company’s profile on the MCMIS and within a few seconds, you will know if the company has a valid license and a permit to transport household goods, belongings, furniture, and if it’s allowed to perform moving services.

You should make sure that the company’s name and all the contact information match those that are listed on the mover’s paperwork. That’s because rogue movers often use another company’s DOT number and that way mislead a lot of potential customers. It is highly illegal but it happens to people every once in a while.

Moving company’s background check includes checking the black list

Blacklists identify shady individuals and companies you can’t trust. They are really useful. If there is one thing everyone will agree on, it’s that you don’t want to hire bad movers. You want reliable and affordable movers like Best Movers NYC, so avoid all the companies that are blacklisted, no matter how big their discounts are or if the extra services they offer are free. It’s just a plain fraud and you should run as fast as you can.

There are ways to check if a moving company has been blacklisted. Just search on websites specialized for that kind of task. Just browse through the list of blacklisted movers or type the name of the company you want to learn about in the search tab. It’s an easy and efficient system that makes your searches quick and you can easily learn about that kind of stuff.

You will want to know the complaint history of a company

Now that you know that a moving company is licensed and not on any black lists, the next thing to do is to check out its complaint history. By reading a company’s complaint history you can learn a lot about it. How do they treat their customers? What are their bad sides? Reading the complaint history will give you an answer to all of that. Usually, the complaints reveal some details you won’t encounter that easily.

Visit FMCSA’s complaint database and input the company’s MC number (aka DOT number). Once you do that, a reliable breakdown of a certain number of complaints that were reported against the moving company for the period of the past 3 years will come up. Of course, the fewer complaints the better. However, you need to also pay attention to the type of complaints – there is a significant difference between stuff like delivery delays and something as serious as holding shipments hostage.

Read moving company reviews

Try to browse online reviews and see what shows up when you search for good commercial movers. Often times reviews are what make the customer opt for a certain company. And that’s nothing to be shocked by. A well-written review can give you a really big amount of information. With the right information, you can do a lot while trying to find the right moving company.

Reviews left by people who used companies’ services can tell you a lot about a moving company. In other words, you will get a picture of what to expect from them. Maybe they like to overpromise or overcharge, and it would be very useful to know that. Maybe they aren’t trustworthy or should be avoided, etc. That kind of insight gives you an advantage over scammers. A complaint or issue may never end up in the FMCSA. However, it will definitely appear on sites like Yelp – and satisfied clients have no other way to actually show their appreciation but to leave a positive message. That’s the reason moving reviews are the best sources of reliable information about relocation companies.

However, don’t forget that scam companies often use fake reviews. They do that to boost their rating and drown out complaints. Be sure to visit only trusted customer review websites and look for a few different reviews of the same company. Try to find it on several different websites. That way you will find the best long distance moving companies NYC and be much more sure it will all work out fine.