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8 Costly Moving Mistakes to Avoid
Curb expenses and mitigate the risk of damage to your possessions with these tips
.jpg?anchor=39,12&q=80&color=ffffffff&u=nkrkrm&w=375 "8 Costly Moving Mistakes")
C.J. Burton
Key takeaways
- Rushing a move can limit your ability to thoroughly vet companies and cause you to miss red flags.
- Carve out time to shop around, but don’t simply pick the mover that offers the lowest quote.
- Asking about claims procedures, liability coverage and handling practices can help protect you if belongings are damaged during a move.
My husband and I thought we had done everything right when we planned our move this summer from Kentucky to Connecticut.
We got quotes from multiple reputable moving companies. We painstakingly went through our stuff to determine what could be given away or tossed to reduce the amount we needed to transport. Then we carefully packed everything that was left, labeling each box with its contents, the room it belonged in and the word “FRAGILE” in all caps for anything that needed to be treated gently.
But our meticulously organized move quickly unraveled after our belongings were loaded onto the truck.
Our boxes and furniture were delivered to a warehouse in Tennessee, where they sat for nearly two weeks as the moving company tried to line up a driver to take our things to Connecticut. When the truck finally arrived at our new house, the driver warned us that many of the items were already damaged when he picked them up.
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My heart sank with every battered box that was unloaded. The tears came when I saw the antique rolltop desk that belonged to my late father being carried off the truck in pieces. One of my most sentimental possessions was broken beyond repair — along with several other pieces of furniture and numerous lamps, plates, glasses and small kitchen appliances.
As it turns out, our moving fiasco was hardly an isolated incident. “Your experience is very common, especially for long-distance moves,” Kevin Brasler, executive editor of Consumers’ Checkbook, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, told me. Moving companies tend to have the lowest ratings among the businesses and services that Consumers’ Checkbook evaluates, he says.
My husband and I now know that we made missteps along the way that led to many of the headaches we experienced with our move. And there were questions we didn’t know to ask that would have saved us money.
If you’re planning a move — perhaps because you’re downsizing or moving to a 55-plus community — make sure you don’t make these costly mistakes.
Rushing
My family had less than two months to sell our house, buy a new home and move, because of the timing of a job offer my husband received and the start date for his new position. The tight schedule left us little opportunity to conduct the thorough research and planning we would have wanted to ensure a stress-free move.
Try to avoid planning a move in a hurry. Ashley Graber, co-owner of Cool Hand Movers, a full-service moving company in New York City, recommends beginning your planning as soon as you start considering a move. The more time you have for each step of the process, the better, she says.
If you plan to hire a full-service mover, start researching and vetting companies 60 to 90 days before the move, says Ron Oliver, chief operating officer and part owner of Sterling Interstate, a Phoenix-based moving company. That’s because many highly rated companies are booked 30 days in advance of moves, he says.
If you’re planning to rent a moving truck or use a service that provides portable storage containers, you’ll want to give yourself at least eight weeks to prepare for the move, says Michael McAlhany, founder, president and CEO of UNITS Moving and Portable Storage. This should give you enough time to select a rental truck or portable storage provider, purge items you don’t need to bring, and pack, he says.
Picking a moving solution based on price alone
Brasler recommends getting at least three estimates for the type of service you plan to use, whether it’s a professional mover, portable storage unit or rental truck.
The lowest estimate isn’t necessarily the best deal. Helen Maffini, 56, the founder of training and curriculum organization MindBE Education, says she made a mistake when she chose the company with the cheapest rate for her move from the United Arab Emirates to Malaysia. The movers picked up her belongings in January and promised they would be in transit within two weeks. Seven weeks later, when her items were finally loaded onto a ship, the U.S. war in Iran began. Since then, her possessions have been sitting in storage in the UAE, with storage fees costing her about $700 a month.
Her takeaway? “You should really check the reviews,” she says.
When you’re reading reviews on independent websites such as the Better Business Bureau, ConsumerAffairs or Trustpilot, look for patterns in complaints, such as delayed deliveries or damaged goods.
Verify that a moving company is licensed by checking your state’s department of transportation. Interstate movers must have a U.S. Department of Transportation number, which you can confirm using the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s mover search tool. The tool also shows consumer complaints filed against carriers.
Be mindful that the estimate you receive might not be the final price. Your bill could increase, for example, if your belongings weigh more than the mover estimated. “They can demand full cash before they take anything off the truck,” Brasler says.
That’s why it’s important to get a written estimate based on an in-person inspection of your goods. Try to get a binding estimate that states you won’t be charged more than the quoted amount, Brasler says.
If you’re deciding between hiring a professional mover and doing it yourself, look at the total cost of a DIY move, including the rental truck fee, gas, packing supplies and any additional insurance you may need, Oliver says.
Assuming bigger is better
This is where my husband and I made a critical mistake. We thought that hiring a major national moving company was the best route. What we didn’t realize was that many large moving companies partner with third-party agents that handle the move.
If a company says it plans to hire a third-party agent, check the company’s reviews — something we didn’t do. We also didn’t realize that more than one agent would handle our move, or that our belongings would be moved from one truck into a warehouse with other people’s stuff, then transferred to another truck.
The more crews that handle your stuff, the greater the risk of damage. “Every time those items are touched, you’re adding a point for human error,” Graber says. “Find a carrier who keeps your belongings in their possession for the entire trip.”
Or consider renting a portable storage container. You can rent one through companies such as UNITS Moving and Portable Storage, 1-800-Pack-Rat or PODS Moving and Storage, which will deliver the unit to your current home and transport it to your new one.
Using a moving broker
Be wary of brokers when searching online for movers. They might appear to be moving companies, but they’re actually middlemen who arrange moves for a fee. “They take your job and try to find a mover to do it for a lot less than they’re being paid,” Brasler says.
Furthermore, brokers aren’t responsible for transporting your goods, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). “There’s no accountability,” says George Clements, a fourth-generation mover and owner of Can’t Quit Moving in Sparta, New Jersey. “Everyone points the finger at someone else” when problems arise.
Ignoring red flags
“People really need to be aware that there are a lot of criminal scam artists out there posing as movers,” Brasler cautions.
If you’re planning a move at the last minute and don’t have time to thoroughly vet movers, you might miss warning signs. Make sure any company that you’re considering has a physical address listed on its website and verify it on Google Maps, Brasler advises. Also, beware of companies that won’t come to your home to inventory your belongings for a quote or provide a written estimate, he says.
“A really big red flag is if a company asks for payment up front,” Brasler says. Some reputable long-distance movers require a down payment, but you shouldn’t have to pay the full price when you sign a contract. It’s standard for movers to ask customers to pay at delivery before items are unloaded.
Paying to move things you don’t need
Although Maffini has made 16 international moves, she admits she still transports things she doesn’t need to keep. “I hold on to things,” she says.
That can be a costly mistake, considering that many full-service movers charge by the pound for long-distance moves and local movers typically charge by the hour. Even if you’re doing the move yourself, transporting more stuff could require you to rent a larger truck.
Take the time before moving to go through your things and identify stuff you can sell or donate. Before we knew for sure that we were moving, my husband and I started decluttering, which proved rather time-consuming. We gave several pieces of furniture to family and friends, donated five carloads’ worth of items and threw away a lot of things we no longer needed. Yet we still ended up with too much stuff for our smaller home in Connecticut.
Packing poorly
Packing up a whole house can be stressful; in fact, nearly 2 in 5 Americans who said they planned to move in 2026 reported that packing is the most stressful part of moving, according to a survey by home warranty provider American Home Shield.
Clements recommends individually wrapping breakable items in paper such as newsprint and inserting cushioning in both the bottom and top of boxes. A rule of thumb: “You shouldn’t hear things in the box rattle,” he says.
Also, make sure boxes are completely filled — partially full boxes could collapse when other boxes are stacked on top of them, Oliver says.
For a DIY move, how you load the truck can help prevent damage to items. Put appliances in first and place mattresses along the walls, McAlhany says. Furniture should be wrapped in blankets. Place heavier boxes underneath lighter ones, and place boxes with fragile items in the corner, secured by other boxes, he says.
Not asking how a mover handles claims
Although we packed well, many of our boxes arrived crushed, with a lot of items damaged. Unfortunately, we hadn’t thought to ask before the move how the company handles claims.
Movers might tell you that they don’t cover damage to items you pack, Oliver says, but FMCSA regulations require moving companies to assume liability for the items they transport.
If your contract states that you have “full value protection,” which ours did, the mover must repair, replace or make a cash settlement for items that are lost, damaged or destroyed while in their possession — up to certain limits, which you should ask for in writing. The cost of full value coverage varies by mover and may be subject to deductibles.
You can waive full value protection and opt for free “released value protection” to save money, but this coverage limits movers’ liability to 60 cents per pound per item. For example, if a 25-pound television gets destroyed, you’d receive only $15.
Oliver recommends taking pictures of damaged boxes and their contents, which my husband and I did. You have nine months after your items are delivered to file a claim. We have yet to file a claim because we’re still unpacking and cataloging the damage.
Given that the moving company we hired has received numerous complaints and negative reviews about its claims-handling process, I don’t have high hopes of being reimbursed. But that won’t stop me from trying — that would be one more mistake.
The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
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