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For intrastate moves only about half of US states require a license. For long distance, interstate moves it's federally regulated and requires a license. Do a
by rcarrigan87 9y ago
For intrastate moves only about half of US states require a license.
For long distance, interstate moves it's federally regulated and requires a license.
Do a quick google search on 'moving scams' and this should give you a good idea why licenses and regulations are a good idea in this industry. It's ripe for scams and shady characters.
Unbelievable, some of the stories I could tell...
- craftyguy 9y ago> Unbelievable, some of the stories I could tell... .... go on...
- Groxx 9y agoProbably not hard to fill in the gaps. Step 1: encourage people to put the vast majority of their material possessions in someone else's vehicle, and pay for the privilege to do so. Step 2: drive away.
- paulcole 9y agoMuch more commonly, bait and switch on rates, holding possessions hostage until the new rate is paid, etc.
- jstarfish 9y agoI had a locksmith pull that on me once. They gave me one quote over the phone, unlocked my car, then invoiced me for double. Car movers are also notorious for this. The fun part there is that if you don't pay the new rate, they hit the road again and it can be another week before you get your car back-- assuming it hasn't been impounded.
- craftyguy 9y agoWhat's a 'car mover'? Do people pay others to move their car for them? I can understand if the 'move' requires transit over water, but is there another reason for this?
- mgerdts 9y agoI think it's fairly common with corporate relocations for the package to offer to put your cars on a car carrier and send you and the family via plane. I've had this opportunity a couple times and took advantage of it once. If you see a car carrier unloading a car or two in or near a residential area or in a corporate parking lot, it's quite likely this is part of a relocation package.
- beambot 9y agoBeen a while since I used one... But $500 for cross-country car move as part of relocation. Beats the cost of flying back to home city, 48 hours of driving and multiple hotel nights.
- cafard 9y agoTime. My son, then living in Washington, DC, got a job offer in California. He had little time to find an apartment, etc., and it did not seem practical to spend what time he had driving across the country. We stuffed the trunk with what it would take, drove out to Montgomery County, and handed off the car to the mover.
- jstarfish 9y agoRelocations mainly. If you have two cars with any value left in them and are moving cross-country, there are better uses of time and money than selling/rebuying or flying back and forth and driving the same distance twice just to move your cars.
- Groxx 9y agoIn addition to the other threads here: Buying specific cars tends to mean they're all over the country. Easier to fly there, check it out, and have it moved for you. Car collectors, for instance, though I assume the rich ones don't have these problems. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy a car in state X and move it to you rather than buying it where you live. Also other countries, etc, though I assume you put that in the same mental-category as "over water" :)
- irrational 9y agoThat's why I always go through my insurance. They don't try this kind of stuff (in my experience) when they have been contracted through a company that will stop using them over one complaint.
- gambiting 9y agoDo people not sign contracts for moves?? I've moved a few times in UK using different moving companies and there's always a written contract saying that company X will move me on day Y, for Z amount of money. Why would a licence be necessary to do that???
- sfifs 9y agoYes. Those will generally be significantly pricier. These kinds of problems happen when folks try to minimize cost
- gambiting 9y agoBut if someone is trying to minimize cost so much that they don't sign a contract, then surely they are not going to care if the company is licenced either?
- sfifs 9y agoYes. But if someone without a license pulls this kind of a scam in a regime with licensing and the victim complains to the police, the police can catch the scammer on basis of operating without license. Conversely, a licensed operator is unlikely to scam.
- astura 9y agoThey absolutely should. However, some people are much to trusting and don't think to.
- brailsafe 9y agoMoving can be dirty business.
- konschubert 9y agoOkay, but why limit the number of licenses? Since these licenses are limited in number, yet sold freely, it's clearly a gatekeeping scheme.
- rcarrigan87 9y agoTo my knowledge, licenses aren't limited anymore and it's fairly easy to get an interstate license. State licensing varies but generally, it's easy as well.