I moved my family recently with a moving company, I think it was Upline, and we had a good experience, but I know it's hit or miss. I think the company I used s

I moved my family recently with a moving company, I think it was Upline, and we had a good experience, but I know it's hit or miss. I think the company I used said they used their own drivers. The more the moving company hires themselves, the better off it is to avoid the crazy brokering. Our delivery window was pretty good, I think it was within a few days from original estimation. All boxes were itemized by cost. I think it was around US$9000 after everything, including moving the family and hotels. I think the 'belongings held hostage' stories are rare and there's probably some of the story missing. I think it has to do with shuttling if the trailer cannot fit. Always ask about shuttling fees and take pictures of the destination to make them say if they need to shuttle or not. It's not a glamorous job. Pay the movers cash and tip generously. I've never tried this, but I suppose you could hire a truck and trailer driver yourself, then hire local moving companies to load and unload. For one of our smaller moves, I did hire locally and they were excellent. Good luck, it is stressful, my wife refuses to move again!