FMCSA says:

“The best defense against moving fraud is to be informed and aware of your options when choosing a moving company.”

The checklist offers tips such as steps  consumers should take before hiring a moving company, reviewing consumer complaint history, and road safety performance records.

You can view and download the free checklist HERE

If you feel you have experienced an unsafe and poor performing moving company, you can call FMCSA’s nationwide complaint hotline at 1-888-368-7238 (1-888 DOT-SAFT) Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Timeor by visiting www.ProtectYourMove.gov

Credit: Promover

In Texas, unlicensed movers can receive up to a $4,000 fine and a year in jail for operating illegally in the state.

Source: http://txdmv.gov/

When it’s time to move, there are certain items to pack and there are items you should avoid. Check out 123Movers.com Top 10 Countdown of Items Not to Pack. Enjoy!

Original article

Carol Parish is happy for a lot of reasons. First, she sold her lower Westchester home quickly; she and her husband got their asking price; and they plan to settle in Florida, closer to their college-aged daughters.

Now comes the hard part: Moving. The couple has a houseful of furniture and memories to pack and transport. After wading through a pile of unsolicited mailings — “as soon as we sold the house, I was getting mailings and cold calls from movers. There must be some kind of a list that goes out,” she says — Parish narrowed down her list to five companies and asked for estimates. One company never called her back. “It was a little surprising considering they solicited us,” she says.

If you’re planning a move this spring or summer, you’ve got company. Between now and Labor Day, an estimated 36 million Americans will relocate, according to the American Moving and Storage Association, a not-for-profit trade group that represents professional movers.

The No. 1 thing consumers can do to ease the trip is to know with whom you’re dealing, says the association’s John Bisney. “People shop for a mover like they do for a new DVD, and that’s fine if you’re buying a DVD,” Bisney says. “In this case, you are hiring people you don’t know to come into your home, lock up everything you own in a van, and drive it away.”

Parish says of the four bids she considered, one was extremely high. “It didn’t have specifics on the weight that we were moving or the cost of supplies, so I cut them. Then the low bid was so low, I was concerned.”

Bisney says that’s a common concern, and if an estimate seems to good to be true, “it usually is. You’ve really got to read the fine print.”

If you’re using the Web to find a mover, Bisney says to make sure the company has a physical address and local phone number. “The word to the wise, if you are going to shop online, examine the website and the business clearly. Our advice is that a mover should come over, give you an estimate in person and provide it in writing.”

Parish narrowed her search to two local moving companies, one in White Plains and the other in Mount Vernon. Both did thorough, in-home estimates. “The walk-through took over an hour; they looked in every room,” she says. Since the family had some larger, delicate pieces to move, Parish was impressed when one company sent its president, who knew exactly how to handle the fragile freight and gave her a detailed plan on how the movers would pack and ship the pieces.

Her one issue? “It was really hard to research the companies online,” she says. She relied on a Department of Transportation site,www.safersys.org, where, with the company’s DOT information, you can check out reliability and consumer complaints. “Everyone has a horror story with moving and it’s usually people who rant and rage on these sites,” Parish says. “I think it’s rare that people who have had a good experience post their comments so it was hard to really get a sense of how bad or good these companies actually were.”

Bisney says to make use of all the resources at your disposal. You can check his site for reputable movers, www.moving.org, as well as the Better Business Bureau and your local Consumer Affairs office.

Credit: Karen Croke for Lohud.com

If you are moving to New York City, there are few tips that could make your moving experience much more enjoyable.  You are probably filled with tons of questions and questionable expectations about NYC and that’s normal. Careerbuilder created a video about working and living in New York City that will hopefully answer some of your questions.

Moving to New York City in the near future and need a moving company? Here are some simple steps before making a decision on a long distance moving company in New York:

•  Get at least 3 in-home estimates

•  Ask for valid moving permit

•  Contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA) to make sure there were no recent complaints against the moving company.

•  Make sure they have valid insurance

•  Get written agreements with valid contact information for who will be handling your move

•  If you don’t understand something, ask questions.

•  Avoid giving a mover a large down payment

•  What is the U.S. DOT number? Each mover should be authorized to move.

•  Just in case the moving company backs out, have a plan B. You just never know!

New York City is filled with endless opportunities and things to dive in to. Everything from career opportunities to events to keep you busy is part of what makes NYC a great place to live.

Video Credit: Careerbuilder.com

When you think of hoarding, you are probably thinking of a disgusting house filled with unsanitary things but that’s not always the case. Some people like to hoard books, make-up, mail and the list goes on.

The Mayo Clinic considers hoarding a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).  If you are holding on to a few items, you may not exactly be a hoarder but that doesn’t mean you don’t have the symptoms.

Symptoms include:

• Cluttered living spaces
• Inability to discard items
• Keeping stacks of newspapers, magazines or junk mail
• Moving items from one pile to another, without discarding anything
• Acquiring unneeded or seemingly useless items, including trash or napkins from a restaurant
• Difficulty managing daily activities, including procrastination and trouble making decisions
• Difficulty organizing items
• Shame or embarrassment
• Excessive attachment to possessions, including discomfort letting others touch or borrow   possessions
• Limited or no social interactions

By no means am I calling you a hoarder but do you have any of the symptoms above? If so, the fact of the matter is it could very well increase the cost of your move. I can’t help you with your symptoms of OCD but what I can do is give you tips on how to save money on your move.

If you are hiring a moving company for your next move, this may be the best time to try and get rid of some items that you have been holding on to forever. Whether it’s items from a past relationship or things you haven’t got around to throwing out, the time is now.  Here are a few items that can definitely be thrown away:

• Old Clothing and Shoes
• Old Paint
• Dated Receipts, Paychecks, and Bills
• Unread Books
• Expired Medicines and Vitamins
• Plastic Containers
• Magazines
• Makeup
• Dated Technology, Including Old Cell Phones
• Coat Hangers
• Toys
• Food
• Baby Items

Getting rid of a few things will benefit you from a price standpoint as well as space in your new home. If you are not comfortable letting go just yet, look in to getting a storage unit to give you additional space in your new home. Movers could spend an additional hour alone moving your unused goods. Cost will also accumulate with packing, wrapping, and boxing as well. If you can let go of a few items, you could ultimately save hundreds of dollars on your move.

Television icon, Dick Clark of the popular American Bandstand died on Wednesday from an apparent heart attack after an outpatient procedure at St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica.

Clark took over the popular American Bandstand show in 1956 hosting the world’s most popular musicians. Across the world, Dick Clark made families dance in front of their televisions.

“This guy was the best,” said singer Freddy Cannon, who appeared on “American Bandstand” 110 times. “He helped me from the very bottom of my career all through the ’80s and the ’90s, and he’s going to be missed a lot.”

Dick Clark was a savvy entrepreneur well known for introducing African-American performers to over 40 million young TV viewers across the nation. Among the first to integrate black and white teenagers through television.

In 1989, Clark made his last appearance and months later the show was cancelled. Clark went on to start his own production company and host the Annual News Years Eve celebration among several other media ventures.

For decades, Dick Clark has moved Americans from  discovering stars, breaking color barriers to New Years Eve party goers. Clark single-handedly changed pop culture and television simultaneously.

Dead at 82, Clark is survived by his wife, Kari, two sons and a daughter.

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