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3 On Your Side: Moving Company Ratings

Jim Donovan reports...

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Over 37 million people in the United States moved last year. Were you one of them? Hiring a quality moving company can literally and figuratively take a load off your shoulders. But how do you find a good mover? 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan has some information to help you out.

There is no such thing as a stress-free move, but choosing the right moving company can definitely help things go smoothly. When Delaware Valley Consumers' Checkbook rated area moving companies, they found dramatic differences.

"Checkbook has rated a lot of moving companies in the Delaware Valley area and as we so often do, we found big differences in quality among these firms," says Consumers' Checkbook President Robert Krughoff.

Consumers' Checkbook subscribers were surveyed on the quality of the moving companies they've used in the past, while researchers did secret shopping on price, comparing multiple local and long distance moves.

Krughoff says that before hiring any moving company, be sure that they give you an on-site estimate. "The firm comes to your home it gives you a bill of lading and a contract that lays out exactly what is going to be moved, and that has a detailed inventory of all the items that are going to be moved, including all of the boxes that are going to be moved."

Krughoff recommends getting a fixed price estimate, or at the very least, getting an estimate with a cap so that your price won't be anymore than what that cap is. He says, "They should tell you how they are calculating their charges. If it's per hour, how much it is per hour? How many people are going to be on the crew? And if it's per weight and mileage, what is the charge per weight and miles?

These area moving companies received Delaware Valley Consumers' Checkbook top rating for quality:

F. Ambrose Moving of Montgomeryville, PA

Gene's Moving Services of Philadelphia, PA

Hercules Movers in Berwyn, PA

Heritage Moving Systems in Concordville, PA

Lee's Moving & Storage in Roslyn, PA

Louis Wilson Moving & Hauling in Pittman, NJ

Moody Movers in Holicong, PA

For the next week CBS 3 viewers will have exclusive free access to the full list of moving companies that were rated by Delaware Valley Consumers' Checkbook. Simply click here.

Reported by Jim Donovan, CBS3

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