12 questions to ask movers before you book

Legitimacy: is this a real moving company?

Three questions establish whether the company on the phone is a regulated business or a person with a truck and a website. Ask them first, because nothing else matters if these go badly.

1. What is your ODOT certificate number?

Oregon regulates intrastate household goods movers through the Oregon Department of Transportation. Certified movers operate under regulated rates and services, and they have a certificate number on file. For a move that crosses state lines, the equivalent question is the company's USDOT number, which you can check yourself in the FMCSA household goods mover search.

A good answer is a number. That is the whole answer. The person on the phone either knows it or can read it off in a few seconds, and they will not be offended that you asked. An evasive answer sounds like reassurance instead of information: we have been doing this for years, we are fully legit, nobody has ever asked that. Reassurance is free. Numbers can be verified.

2. Who actually shows up, employees or subcontracted crews?

The company you vet on the phone is not always the crew that rings your doorbell. Some companies book jobs and hand them to subcontractors or day labor. That is not automatically bad, but it changes who trained the crew, who supervises them, and who answers for them if something goes wrong.

A good company will tell you directly how its crews are staffed and who is responsible for their work. An evasive answer talks about the network, or partners, or gets vague about the difference between our guys and a crew we use. If the person quoting the job cannot tell you who is carrying your dresser, keep that in mind when you compare quotes.

3. What written documents will I receive?

Before an Oregon intrastate move, a certified mover is required to give you the state's General Information Bulletin, a consumer document that explains your rights and how regulated moves work. Beyond that, ask what you will hold in your hands before move day: a written estimate, the paperwork describing your coverage choices, and anything you signed.

A good answer lists the documents and when you get them. An evasive one treats paperwork as something that happens on the truck. If the first time you see the terms is when a crew member hands you a clipboard at seven in the morning, the time to negotiate has already passed.

Money and scope: how the number is built

The middle of the call is about the estimate. Not the total. How the total is constructed, and what makes it move.

4. How is the estimate built, and is it binding or not binding?

Ask what the estimate is based on: an inventory you provided, a walkthrough, a video survey, or a guess from a two minute call. Then ask which kind of estimate it is. FMCSA's consumer guidance for interstate moves distinguishes binding estimates, which set the charge for the listed services, from non-binding estimates, where the final charge follows the actual weight or services. Oregon intrastate moves have their own regulated framework, and the General Information Bulletin covers how estimates work here.

A good answer names the type and explains what would make the final bill differ from the paper. An evasive one is a single number with no method behind it. An estimate built on nothing binds nobody.

5. What specific conditions change the final number?

This is the question that prevents the move day argument. Every honest mover can list the conditions that add time or charges: flights of stairs, a long carry from door to truck, an elevator that has to be shared, a driveway the truck cannot reach, packing that was supposed to be finished and was not. In Portland that list gets local fast. A West Hills driveway with no turnaround, a downtown building where the elevator reservation ends at noon, a block where the only legal truck spot is around the corner.

A good company will walk through that list for your specific addresses and tell you which items apply. An evasive answer waves it off with a promise that it will all work out. It might. But you want the conditions in writing before the crew is standing in your living room.

6. What is included, and what is not?

Two quotes with the same total can describe two very different jobs. Ask specifically about materials such as boxes, tape, wrap, and mattress bags, about travel time or a trip charge, and about disassembly and reassembly of beds and furniture. If you want the crew to pack, ask whether packing service is included or quoted separately, and for which rooms.

A good answer sounds like an itemized list. An evasive one says everything is included until you ask about a specific line, at which point it turns out that item is extra. Get the inclusions in the written estimate, not in the conversation about the estimate.

Protection: what happens if something breaks

Nobody plans to file a claim. Ask these three anyway, because the difference between companies shows up most clearly when something has gone wrong.

7. What coverage options exist, and can I get them in writing?

Moving coverage is not one thing. FMCSA's consumer materials describe the general distinction between released value protection, a minimal weight based level, and full value protection, which costs more and covers more. Ask what options the company offers for your move, what each one covers, and what it excludes, such as boxes you packed yourself.

A good company will put the options and their terms on paper before you book. An evasive answer is a one word yes to the question are you insured, which tells you almost nothing about what happens to your specific broken item.

8. How are claims handled, and in what timeframe?

Ask how you report damage, who reviews it, and how long the process takes. There are real answers to these questions at any company that has been operating for a while, because claims happen to everyone eventually.

A good answer describes a process: document it, submit it here, expect a response within a stated window. An evasive one insists nothing ever breaks. Crews are human and stairwells are narrow. A company that claims a spotless record forever is either new or not being straight with you.

9. How do you protect floors, rails, and doorways?

The stuff in the truck is only half the job. The house itself, both houses, can take damage during a move: hardwood floors, stair rails, door frames, freshly painted corners. Ask what the crew brings and uses as standard practice. Floor runners, door jamb protection, rail padding, and furniture blankets on the pieces, not just in the truck.

A good answer names the materials and when they go down. An evasive answer promises the crew is careful. Careful is a personality trait. Runners and padding are equipment, and you can see whether they came off the truck.

Logistics: how move day actually runs

The last three questions are about execution. They matter more in Portland than people expect, because access here is rarely simple at both ends of a move.

10. How do you handle parking, permits, and building reservations in Portland?

Somebody has to figure out where the truck stands. Downtown and in the close-in neighborhoods, that can mean a reserved curb space through the city's permit process, and in managed buildings it means an elevator reservation with a hard start and end time. Ask who is responsible for each piece: the company, you, or the building. The worst answer is three parties each assuming someone else handled it.

A good company asks you access questions before you can even ask yours, because the answers change the plan. If your move touches metered streets or a permit zone, read the Portland moving truck parking permit guide before the call so you know what the process involves and can pin down who is doing it.

11. What happens if the date or the weather changes?

Closings slip. Landlords change turnover dates. And this is Portland, so at some point it will rain on a move. Ask what the rescheduling policy is, how much notice is required, and what the crew does differently in weather. A January move here should involve rain wrap on upholstered pieces and mattresses as a matter of course, not as a favor.

A good answer covers both halves: the paperwork side of a date change and the practical side of a wet one. An evasive answer treats the question as unlikely. In this city, it is not.

12. Who is my point of contact on move day?

When the truck is late, or the elevator is locked, or the buyer's agent is standing in the driveway, who do you call? Ask whether there is a crew lead on site with the authority to make decisions, and whether the office is reachable during the move.

A good answer is a name and a number, or at least a clear role: the crew lead runs the day, the office backs them up. An evasive answer routes everything through the same general line you called for the quote. On move day, that is not good enough.

How to use the answers

Ask every company on your shortlist the same twelve questions and keep the answers side by side. The comparison is the point. One company's vague answer looks normal in isolation and looks like a warning next to a competitor's specific one.

Remember that an evasive answer to a simple question is itself an answer. You did not ask anything hard. Certificate number, what changes the price, who shows up. A company that cannot handle those on a sales call, when it is trying to win your business, will not get more forthcoming after you have paid a deposit.

Put everything in one folder: the written estimates, the coverage terms, the General Information Bulletin, your inventory list, and the access photos from both addresses. Before you make the calls, have this ready:

• Both addresses, including unit numbers and cross streets.
• The target date and any dates that absolutely do not work.
• A room by room inventory, even a rough one.
• Stairs and elevator details at each end.
• The parking situation at both addresses, with photos.
• A list of large or unusual items and anything fragile you care about.
• Time constraints such as building move hours or an elevator window.

With that in hand, every answer you collect is about your actual move. The quotes become comparable, and the company that engaged with the details stands out from the ones that quoted a shrug.