Had a horrible experience with The Other Guys. Upon several weeks of back and forth about my move, working out some details, everything hunky dory, we settled on a date soon. After the date was confirmed, I still had not received any paperwork at all--which was bizarre in and of itself--so I requested that, you know, before I gave notice on my place and all for a move a week hence, could I get a service order?
What I got was a brief one page Word doc termed a "Contract For Hire" with almost no language on it other than pricing and vague descriptors on services. Nothing regarding assembly and disassembly, packing materials--all the standard stuff on every other document I've ever seen.
Naturally I was confused by this, so in doing some research on moving and the law I discovered several areas of concern.
First, The Other Guys never provided me with the Federal Rights booklet that the law requires is issued with every estimate. Every other moving company I've ever used has adhered to this law.
Here is some relevant language from that book:
At the time your mover provides a written estimate, it must provide you with a copy of the U.S. Department of Transportation publication FMCSA-ESA-03-005 entitled "Ready to Move?" (or its successor publication). Before your mover executes an order for service for a shipment of household goods, your mover must furnish you with the following four documents:
*The contents of Appendix A, "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move"--this booklet.
*A concise, easy-to-read, accurate summary of your mover's arbitration program.
*A notice of availability of the applicable sections of your mover's tariff for the estimate of charges, including an explanation that you may examine the tariff sections, or have copies sent to you upon request.
*A concise, easy-to-read, accurate summary of your mover's customer complaint and inquiry handling procedures.
I got none of that. When you dig further, you learn that your estimate is supposed to be a "Order For Service" document that is NOT a contract. The Order For Service is required to include arbitration information and valuation information. The Other Guys didn't include any of this. There was no language on cancellation rights, or any of that.
This led me to consult sites like MovingScam.com on how to choose a mover and protect your rights. They say you should FLEE from any company that does not provide the Rights And Responsibilities document https://www.protectyourmove.gov/consumer/awareness/rights/rights.htm.
Further, they say, among many other things, to ensure that the address on the paperwork matches the address of incorporation.
The Other Guys "contract" had a new address I'd never seen before--not their registered address. A web search revealed the new address was for some other company. The Other Guys did not use their company LLC name on the document, nor did they provide their DOT number or insurance number on the document. This information is in the email and online, but I didn't know if I signed something without their official number, name, and business address if I was taking needless risk.
I just wanted a safe move.
Some of the information I read indicates a mover is in fact legally required to put this information on the "Order For Service." Sure stands to reason.
So I simply sent them an inquiry asking why they had a different address on the contract, why they didn't include the legally required arbitration and valuation language in the document? I assumed they would have a simple answer and amend the document a bit so we could proceed.
Instead, they refused to do any further business with me!
Talk about a RED FLAG!
I don't think they are bad people, and I've never sued anyone for anything, but when I got their document and it was in absolute stark contrast to every other service document I'd ever received from any company, big or small, well naturally I did a little research. When I got doubts if they were adhering to the law, I wondered why on earth would they leave it open for question? Why not put your legal name and address on a contract? Why not proudly display your DOT and insurance numbers on your signature form? Why not provide the Federal Rights moving booklet at the time of estimate per the law? These are easy as pie and ensure trust for all.
If they'd simply edited the contract in compliance, they'd have my money--including the big 50 percent up front they wanted--and we'd be on our way. All I want is my stuff moved. Even a few scratches on things means nothing to me.
Good company or not, there are serious red flags here. If the papers are sloppy, you expect the move to be sloppy. They were often hard to reach too. I would caution anyone considering using them to review the fed booklet, movingscam.com & be wary of anything presented to you for signature.
So sorry I ever found The Other Guys here on Yelp. They cost me severe time & stress at the crucial last minute. Really sucks. read more