Is there a difference between moving brokers and regular movers?

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-> Other questionsMay 01, 01:02
Question by Esther (Esther)

Is there a difference between moving brokers and regular movers?

Any info on Nationwide Relocation Services/movingcost, Top Relocation Moving services M.C.#496975-B or World moving services: dot#mc45-9615b?

In general, is there a difference between a moving broker and regular movers?

May 01, 16:19
Answer by bobfein (Bob F.)

Esther,

There is a huge difference between moving brokers and real movers.

First of all, the three companies you mentioned are all moving brokers, in fact World Moving Services is a clone company of Nationwide Relocation Services.

We have reports on two of the companies you mentioned right here:

Nationwide Relocation Services: http://www.movinganswers.org/thread/73/Consumer-Report-Nationwide-Relocation-Services.html

World Moving Services: http://www.movinganswers.org/thread/158/Consumer-Report-World-Moving-Services-MC-459615.html

A quick research also showed that the third company (Top Relocation) is not any better then the other two.

Now to the differences between movers and brokers:

Brokers that only have MC license don't have trucks. They will book your move and then hire a real moving company to do the move. You have no control over who will be hired - it could be unlicensed movers or known scammers.

Some movers also broker out jobs. If you book with a moving company that is not located in your area chances are they will "outsource" it to one of their affiliates (I would say "friends") in your area to do it. Those movers must have broker's license (needless to say for many its not really an obstacle...)

How do you distinguish between movers and brokers? Movers must have valid USDOT license. Also, they should be in your area and should have enought trucks to handle the moves volume (although many do rent trucks at peak season, which is perfectly fine if you ask me).

Long distance movers. Many long distance movers actually only have local trucks and they only do pick ups. Those movers use other companies (transportation companies) to haul the shipment to the final destination. Officially, its not called brokering since they are directly involved in the move process, but you should be aware of that process.

To summarize, we recommend people to stay away from brokers, unless they are really in a mood to hire a company that will organize their move. In that case I would recommend deep research of each candidate company (there are some decent moving brokers out there, but they constitute a tiny minority).

You can actually ask us to help you research any company you consider hiring.

Good luck with your move,

Bob F. @ MovingAnswers.org

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