Everyone moves eventually — across town, across the country, or out of a childhood bedroom. It's a lot of logistics, and the single decision that most affects how it goes is which moving company you hire.
Cheapest is rarely best. Moving scams are real, and the version where a truck pulls away with everything you own and the delivery date keeps slipping is a genuinely bad month. A little vetting up front prevents most of it.
Start by getting written estimates from a few companies. Any quality household mover will come to your home, walk through what's actually being moved, and give you the estimate in writing. A quote produced over the phone without seeing your furniture is a guess, and guesses get revised upward on loading day.
Once you've got a shortlist, ask these three questions.
1. What's Actually Included in the Price?
"Included" means different things to different companies, and the gaps are where surprise charges live.
- Who packs? Are you boxing everything yourself, or is packing part of the service? Are materials included or billed separately?
- How many movers? A crew of two versus four changes how long loading takes and, on an hourly contract, what you pay.
- How are antiques and valuables handled? Ask what special crating or care they provide, and what it costs.
- What's the delivery commitment? A firm date, or a window? Long-distance moves often run on a spread of several days.
- What's the valuation coverage? Basic released-value protection is typically calculated by weight, not by what your belongings are actually worth — which can mean pennies on the dollar for something damaged. Ask what full-value protection costs.
- Stairs, elevators, and long carries? Many companies charge extra for these. Better to know now than on the invoice.
Read the contract. All of it. It's fine to take your time, and a company that pressures you to sign without reading has told you something.
2. Who Is Actually Moving Your Belongings?
This one matters more than people expect.
Ask directly whether the company doing your move is the company you've been talking to, or whether the job gets subcontracted out. If it's subcontracted, the crew showing up at your door doesn't work for the people who sold you the service, and accountability gets murky fast when something goes wrong.
Agents are different from subcontractors. Large national brands operate through networks of local agents who've been vetted and have to meet the brand's standards. That's a legitimate structure, not a red flag. What you want to avoid is a broker quietly handing your move to whoever bid lowest.
While you're asking: can they move your vehicle? Most household movers aren't auto transporters. Some partner with one, some will tell you they can handle it and then subcontract it anyway. Cars, motorcycles, boats, and RVs need different equipment, different insurance, and different licensing than a household truck carries.
3. Can They Give You References — and Will You Actually Call Them?
Ask for three or four recent customers you can contact. Then follow through, because the asking isn't the useful part.
When you get someone on the phone:
- Did the final price match the estimate?
- Did they arrive and deliver when they said they would?
- Was anything damaged, and if so, how was the claim handled?
- How did the crew treat your home — floors, doorframes, walls?
- Would you hire them again?
That last question tends to produce the most honest answer.
Verify Them Yourself Too
References are curated by definition. Do your own checking alongside them.
Interstate movers are required to register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and carry a USDOT number. You can look up any mover's registration, insurance status, and complaint history in the FMCSA's public database — the same way you'd verify an auto transport company's MC number.
Then read reviews across more than one platform, check how long they've been operating, and pay attention to how the company responds to complaints rather than just the star rating.
Two Jobs, Two Specialists
Household movers move households. Auto transporters move vehicles. The overlap is smaller than most people assume, and hiring a specialist for each generally works out better than asking one company to do both.
Crestline partners with moving companies as an extension of the services they offer, and works directly with families handling their own relocations. Beyond cars and trucks, we transport motorcycles, boats, RVs, and ATVs — the things that don't fit in a moving van and shouldn't be towed behind one.
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For pickup details and transit times at either end of your move, see any state we serve.