FINDING A MOVER
-> Licensing questionsOct 25, 21:36
Question by vitog (Victor)
Using local mover from New Jersey for move in New York
I plan to move from Brooklyn to Staten Island. The house in not ready yet, so I plan to store my stuff in a storage place in Staten Island. My friends recommended a company in Bayonne (its in New Jersey), and I met the owner and I like him. Now, the problem that I see here is this: the guy has a local New Jersey license, but my move is technically in New York State, so it basically means that he can't move me. I think it's ***sensored***, because Bayonne is just across the bridge from Staten Island, and I don't want to look for other mover, because I just heard so many horror stories about New York movers that I only want to work with somebody whom my friends recommend.
Please let me know how can I use this guy for my move, are there any exceptions from the rule or any other way I can hire him legally for this move.
Thanks,
Victor
Oct 25, 22:56
Answer by alexzehn (Alex Z.)
You described an interesting situation. Basically, your Jersey mover is not allowed to do local jobs in the boundaries of New York State, and there are no exceptions to that rule.
New York State DOT has a good reason for not allowing movers licensed locally in New Jersey to do moves in New York. Usually, it takes only few months (as of this writing) to get a local moving license in NJ, while in New York any moving company would have to operate for at least two years as an interstate mover before it would be considered as a candidate for local NYS moving license. This situation was created (and you mentioned it yourself) by the level of moving fraud in New York (especially around New York City) in previous decades.
One more thing worth mentioning is this: it is NOT recommended for any Jersey mover to do local moves in New York. Not only it it is illegal, but in case they get caught (and they DO get caught) they are going to loose both their local and interstate licenses, meaning end of their business. The risk is certainly not worth it.
However, lets get back to your case. If you are 100% convinced that this Jersey mover is the best candidate to move you then I could think of one possible solution for you. Basically, you mentioned a storage in Staten Island that you plan to use for your items. I understand your plan was to hire a mover first to move your belongings to this storage, and then some time later to have this (or other) mover to get the items from the storage to your new home.
Here you have a choice to actually store your items in New Jersey (there are even few storage companies in Bayonne as far as I remember). This change in your moving plan will actually release your mover from the need to have any kind of local license at all. Since this move is technically between two states it is no longer regulated by NYS DOT (or NJ DOT for that matter) but by US DOT. I assume that if your mover is licensed in New Jersey then chances are he also has US DOT license (but you should still check if his license is valid. See this thread for tips on checking mover's license).
Hope this advice will help. If you still prefer to store your items in Staten Island I would not recommend using Jersey movers. You can check this site for information on New York City movers. It lists hundreds of movers in each NYC borough. You still should check each of the candidates, use our site for that purpose.
Good luck with your move,
Alex Z. @ MovingAnswers.org
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