Ask Daryl Flood

Many of our customers look to us for expert advice surrounding their move. Here are a few of our most frequently ask questions.

1. What should I avoid when searching for a moving company?

While there are many factors involved in choosing a reputable moving company, we have highlighted a few big red flags that should help you recognize companies you should avoid. The first red flag is a company asking you to put down a deposit for your move. This is not typical of moving companies, and it should arouse suspicion. The second red flag is a company that does not insist on performing a visual survey or video survey. Without doing a survey, a company cannot accurately assess the weight of your goods, increasing the likelihood of your quote being wrong. The third red flag is a company without pricing transparency. It’s important to understand the moving estimate you receive and ensure there are not hidden fees. To learn more about the different types of estimates, check out our blog: Understanding Moving Company Estimates.

If you are concerned about finding a moving company that you trust, we encourage you to visit http://www.protectyourmove.gov and www.moving.org. These resources may help you choose a reputable relocation provider and avoid rogue moving companies.

2. What do I need to do with my appliances before I move them?

Most common appliances are easily prepared for a move. Ensuring appliances are clean, and free of any items will make them travel ready. Do not use your appliances to pack things in. Appliances that require water connections, however, require extra steps to prepare.

For a refrigerator, we ask that you disconnect the water line and cap it at the origin location. Defrost the refrigerator one day before the movers come, so the moisture will not be locked in your refrigerator during the move. This helps prevent mold from growing during transit. For tips on how to prepare your refrigerator for move day, CLICK HERE.

Disconnecting the water line to your washing machine is also necessary. At purchase, front load washing machines come with a kit that includes two to five long bolts that lock the drum in place. This kit is required to prevent damage during the journey to your new home and you will need to provide it for your movers. Your dryer needs to be unplugged and the vent hose needs to be disconnected.

3. Is there anything that you cannot move either because it is too large or dangerous?

There are restrictions on which items we can haul due to industry regulations or due to internal quality assurance measure to ensure our customers’ shipments are safe in transit and in storage. A comprehensive list of items we cannot move can be found HERE.

Most often, moving items that are too large or too heavy is not an issue. If an item is less than seven feet wide, eight feet tall and forty feet long, we can move it!  If we are unable to move an item due to its size, we partner with a network of affiliates to safely relocate your over-sized item.

4. How do you move my large furniture pieces?

We can disassemble and reassemble common furniture pieces without issue. Our policy is “anything we disassemble, we reassemble.” For intricate items, such as a pool table, grand piano or home gym equipment, we hire a third-party specialist to disassemble the item at origin and reassemble it at destination. To avoid losing hardware during the move, we use a “parts box” which is wrapped with the piece of furniture to ensure we have all necessary pieces for reassembly.

5. How do I know if I have all my boxes after the move?

For every move, we provide a sheet of stickers numbered 1 to 500 to label your boxes for inventory prior to being loaded on the truck. On the day of delivery, we will provide an Inventory Control Form that is numbered 1 to 500, which corresponds to the labels on each of your boxes.  You should check each box number off this sheet, as your goods are unloaded at destination as a way to account for receiving all of your items. This process is key when evaluating whether or not you have missing items.

While we take all necessary measures to avoid missing inventory; unfortunately, it does occasionally still happen. In the event you find there are items missing at destination that are on your Inventory Control Form, you will need to file a claim. Our online claim form can be found HERE.

6. How will movers protect my furniture from damage?

When it comes to protecting furniture during your move, our standard practice is to use intrastate pad wrapping. This method involves carefully covering furniture using padded moving blankets, and securing them with clear packing tape. It is our goal to cover all furniture surfaces to avoid scratching during transit. Additionally, paper pad wrap, shrink-wrap, micro foam and dolphin foam is commonly used to help further protect items. Daryl Flood Relocation & Logistics also offers crating for fragile items such as mirrors, artwork, and family heirlooms. We coordinate a professional, third-party crating service to build wooden crates custom designed for your items. To learn more about why we crate, see our infographic HERE.

7. Who do I call if there is a problem with my move?

Upon booking your move, you are assigned a personal move coordinator to serve as the main point of contact for all move-related questions and concerns. In addition, your move coordinator is responsible for keeping you well informed on the schedule, changes and updates throughout your relocation. Their contact information is provided to you in your move introduction email. For general assistance, you can email coordinators@darylflood.com

8. Why are some shipments combined?

The traditional moving business pricing model is based on the weight of the shipment and the distance the truck is traveling. An interstate truck can hold 30,000 pounds and an average one-bedroom apartment is around 3,000 pounds. In an effort to keep moving costs and environmental impact as low as possible, we consolidate shipments to ensure trailers travel as full as possible. This means a customer with a one-bedroom apartment is only paying for a tenth of the trailer space, instead of the entire trailer capacity. This allows Daryl Flood Relocation & Logistics to keep our overall moving costs low and pass that savings along to customers.

9. We packed something by mistake and now it is on the truck. Is there any way we can retrieve it?

Once a shipment is in transit, there is no way to retrieve an item until it reaches the destination. It is important to separate items that should not be loaded at origin, to avoid this situation. Being present during the load process is another measure we recommend to avoid confusion. If the shipment is going to a Daryl Flood Relocation & Logistics storage facility prior to being transported to its destination, it is easier to attempt to retrieve an item. Keep in mind, there is a fee to access the shipment prior to delivery because belongings are kept in large vaults, sometimes stacked high and/or between other vaults, in the warehouse. Once the vault is pulled from inventory, customers can search through it to retrieve the desired item(s).

We hope this helps answer some of your questions about moving with us. Do you have a question that you didn’t find on this list? Contact us and a move expert will gladly assist you!