How to Choose a Moving Company in Macon GA

9 steps 8 min read

The rules that protect you depend on where the move starts. The Georgia Department of Public Safety’s moving guide says: “The Georgia Department of Public Safety has jurisdiction for all household goods moved within the State of Georgia.” The department “does not have regulatory authority over moves where the point of origin or destination is within another state”; those interstate moves are regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. A move from Atlanta or Savannah to Macon is a Georgia move under state rules. A move from Ohio or Texas to Macon is an interstate move under federal rules. Settle which one yours is, then check each company against the rules that apply.

A Move Within Georgia: Start With the State’s License List

Every mover working under the department’s jurisdiction “must hold a certificate from the Department”, the guide says, and “Unlicensed movers operate outside the law, and they may provide little protection for loss or damage to your property- or none at all.” The department publishes a list of licensed household goods movers on its household goods page and recommends “against using a mover that does not appear in our database of licensed movers.” Ask each company for its certificate number, which the guide says “should be apparent on its all paperwork and advertising”, and look it up before you book.

Then compare quotes on the same basis. For moves of less than 50 miles, the state’s tariff bases charges on “the number of workers and hours”; beyond 50 miles, on “the total shipment weight and distance”. The guide adds that “all rates are negotiable” and tells you to “Get a written signed estimate and keep it.” On a move priced by weight, you may check the truck’s empty “tare weight” before loading and are “entitled to witness the official weighing of the loaded vehicle.”

Decide How Your Belongings Are Protected

A mover’s liability is not insurance: the guide says a carrier’s liability and insurance “are not the same thing.” Licensed movers must give you a liability addendum with three choices:

  • Released Value Protection, which reimburses loss or damage “at a rate of $0.60 per pound per article” and carries no extra charge;
  • Full Value Protection, based on current replacement value, with “Additional charges” depending on the value you declare;
  • a replacement-value option with “a $300.00 deductible for which the shipper is responsible.”

Under the first option, a lost item is paid by its weight, not its worth: for example, imagine a 10-pound television; at $0.60 a pound, the reimbursement would be $6. Choose the level before you compare prices, because two estimates with different protection levels are not the same job. The guide also suggests asking your insurance agent whether you need additional coverage.

Georgia Estimates, Payment and Claims

The department’s household goods rules, in the Georgia rules compilation, add three protections for a move within Georgia.

  • An estimate binds only by agreement, on the department’s form. Under Rule 570-38-3-.08, estimates “shall not be binding on either the customer or the carrier unless both the customer and the carrier agree to a binding estimate and the terms are clearly stated using the Uniform Estimated Cost of Services Form”. Ask for the estimate on that form, marked binding or non-binding.
  • On a non-binding estimate, the same rule requires the mover to deliver once you pay no more than 110% of the estimated charges and to wait 30 days for any balance above that. Charges can still rise for services you request or consent to beyond the estimate.
  • A claim for loss, damage or overcharge must be submitted “in writing (print or electronic) no more than 90 days after delivery”, under Rule 570-38-3-.17. If the mover never delivers, the 90 days run from the scheduled delivery date, and if the mover tells you delivery will come later than scheduled, they start from that later date. The carrier must handle the claim “in a reasonably timely manner and within 90 days of the filing of the claim with the carrier to the extent feasible”; if it cannot, it must give “a reasonable explanation as to the cause of the delay” and still complete the claim within a reasonable time.

Rule 570-38-3-.13 prohibits movers from requiring “a waiver or release of liability form of any kind.” A company that asks you to sign one is telling you something about how it handles claims.

A Move From Another State: Federal Rules

For an interstate move, the federal consumer statement that movers must provide, reproduced in Appendix A to 49 CFR Part 375, advises you to “avoid brokers and movers that are not registered with FMCSA or refuse to perform a physical survey of your household goods.” The same statement defines a broker as “A company that arranges for the transportation of household goods by a registered moving company”, so ask whether the company quoting you will move your goods itself or hand the job to another carrier, and get that carrier’s name. If a broker or mover requires cash, the statement says FMCSA “advises you to retain all receipts and supporting documents associated with the transaction.” Two kinds of estimate are allowed, and the difference decides what you can be charged at delivery.

A binding estimate must be in writing, under 49 CFR 375.403. Under 49 CFR 375.703, the most a mover can collect at delivery on a binding estimate is “the exact estimate of the charges,” and on a non-binding estimate “110 percent of the non-binding estimate of the charges,” but in both cases plus charges for additional services you request after the bill of lading is issued and, where they apply, charges for “impracticable operations” defined in the carrier’s tariff. Those impracticable-operation charges are capped at “15 percent of all other charges due at delivery.” The 110 percent figure is therefore not an absolute ceiling; ask each mover what it would treat as an additional service or an impracticable operation at your Macon address.

If something is lost or damaged, the federal statement gives you “9 months from the date of delivery” to file a claim, and it “must be submitted in writing to your mover or to your mover’s third party insurer”.

Warning Signs to Walk Away From

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration publishes a list of red flags for interstate moves, and several of them are worth checking on any move. Among them:

  • an estimate given “over the telephone or online”, with no inspection of your belongings;
  • no written estimate, or a promise to “determine the cost after loading”;
  • a company that “demands cash or a large deposit before the move”;
  • a mover that “asks you to sign blank documents”;
  • a website with “no local address and no information about their registration or insurance”;
  • a phone answered with “Movers” or “Moving Company” rather than the company’s name.

The federal consumer statement adds a plain rule for the paperwork: “Do not sign entirely blank documents.”

An inspection does not have to happen in person. Federal rules define a physical survey as one “conducted on-site or virtually”, and a virtual survey must let the mover “view the household goods through live or pre-recorded video that allows it to clearly identify the household goods to be transported”, according to 49 CFR 375.103. You may also waive the survey, but under 49 CFR 375.401 the waiver must be in writing and signed before the shipment is loaded. The warning sign is an estimate that no one has based on seeing your belongings, in person or on video, not the use of video itself.

Local Movers Among Your Options

A Macon-based company is one option to put through these checks. Ready To Move, for example, says on its website that it has been “making moving easy for military servicemen, families and businesses in Macon and Warner Robins area since 2005”, and its service menu lists residential, commercial, packing, piano and military moves. That description is the company’s own, not an independent review or a license check, and the company is named here as an example rather than as a ranking or review; look up its certificate on the state’s list and ask it, like every other company you consider, for the same written estimate and protection options.

Questions to Ask Every Mover

  • Is this move inside Georgia or interstate, and which license or registration covers it?
  • What is your certificate number with the Georgia Department of Public Safety, or your FMCSA registration for an interstate move?
  • Is the estimate written and signed, and is it priced by hours or by weight and distance?
  • Which liability option does the price include, and what does full-value protection cost?
  • For an interstate move, is the estimate binding or non-binding, and what would count as an additional service or impracticable operation at the new address?
  • Will you survey the household goods before quoting?
  • Will your own employees do the work, or will another carrier or subcontractor?
  • What payment is due at delivery, and which payment methods do you accept?
  • What are the cancellation and rescheduling terms, in writing?
  • How is a damage claim filed, and to whom?

Comparing Estimates Line by Line

Two estimates can differ because they describe different jobs. Before comparing totals, check that each one covers the same: the inventory, stairs and elevators at both ends, long carries from the truck to the door, disassembly and reassembly, packing and materials, heavy items such as a piano or safe, storage, travel time and, for a Georgia weight-and-distance move, the fuel surcharge. Any item on one estimate and missing from the other is a question to ask before you sign. How the fuel surcharge and the other Georgia charges are calculated is shown in the cost of moving and living in Macon.

Choosing the Company

Hire the company that holds the right license for your kind of move, gives a written estimate on the basis the rules require, and explains its liability options in writing. When two companies meet those tests, compare their prices at the same protection level. Do not book one that cannot show you a certificate number or registration, or that will not put the estimate in writing. What to check when the crew arrives and before you sign for the delivery is in the moving day checklist for Macon.