Most people compare movers by asking one question — what will this cost — and then wonder why three answers that sounded similar turned out to mean completely different things.
The questions below are the ones that actually surface a difference. Ask them of everyone you are considering, in writing where you can, and pay as much attention to how readily an answer arrives as to the answer itself. A company that has systems answers these quickly because it already knows. A company that does not will improvise, and you will hear it.
Questions about the written scope
1. Will I get the scope in writing before the day? The useful answer is yes, after someone has reviewed the home — in person, or from photographs and an inventory. A written scope means both sides are working from the same understanding of the job. A verbal impression is not something you can hold anyone to.
2. What is included, and what is specifically excluded? A real written response names the crew and the equipment, the route and distance, the handling of any specialty item, the packing materials if packing is in scope, and anything about the access that changes the plan. Ask directly about the things that commonly sit outside a base scope: stairs, long carries, waiting time, materials, and anything that has to be dismantled and rebuilt.
3. Is there a minimum booking? Most local movers have one. It is not a trick, but you should know before you book whether a small job still carries a floor.
4. How and when is payment handled? When is it due, and what methods are accepted. A company that will only take cash is telling you something about its record-keeping, and by extension about what happens if you ever need to make a claim.
Questions about coverage and liability
5. What coverage applies to my belongings, and at what level? You want this in writing, in plain terms: what is covered, to what limit, and what the exclusions are. Ask specifically what happens to a carton you packed yourself versus one the crew packed — the answer is usually different, and it is one of the most common surprises after a claim.
6. Are specialty items covered, or carved out? A great many general policies exclude pianos, fine art, antiques and safes. If you own one of those, "we are fully insured" is not an answer to this question. Ask about the specific item.
7. Do you carry workers' compensation coverage for your crew? If someone is hurt in your home, this is the difference between a claim that goes through the company and a claim that comes looking for you. Ask for confirmation in writing.
Questions about who actually shows up
8. Do you own the trucks and employ the crew, or do you subcontract? The honest answer here changes everything downstream. When the company that quoted the work is not the company doing it, accountability lives in the gap between them, and so does your claim.
9. What crew size and equipment are planned for my job, and why? You are looking for a specific answer tied to your home and your access, not a general one. Dollies, blankets, straps, floor and wall protection are the baseline. If the equipment list is vague, the equipment on the truck usually is too.
10. Will the person I am speaking to be involved on the day? For a straightforward move this matters little. For a move planned around an older relative, a specialty item, or a job where a relationship has been built during the walkthrough, it matters a great deal. A reasonable answer names who stays consistent and commits to telling you if anything changes.
Questions about specialty items
11. Have you handled this specific thing before? Name it: the piano, the gun safe, the pool table, the slate-topped anything, the large framed work, the aquarium. General furniture experience is not the same skill, and the honest companies will say so.
12. What specialist equipment comes with it? For a piano, expect a proper dolly with rotational casters, a board for a grand, and four-point strapping. For a safe, a rated dolly and a larger crew. For artwork, crating or mirror cartons. Vagueness about the equipment is a reliable predictor of what turns up. This is what specialty and heavy handling is meant to cover, and it should be visible in the written plan.
Questions about what happens if something goes wrong
13. What is the claims process, exactly? Ask for the steps, the timeline and the name of the role that owns it. "That never happens to us" is not a process. Everything is fine until it is not, and the moment you need this is not the moment to discover it was never written down.
14. What do the reviews say when you read them for patterns? Not the score — the pattern. Isolated unhappy reviews are normal for any company that does volume. The same complaint appearing repeatedly, and never being answered, is the signal.
15. Can you point me to work like mine? A senior move, a strata move, a long-distance route, a piano. A relevant reference tells you far more than a general one.
Questions about timing and cancellation
16. How far ahead should I book? The honest answer varies with the season and with the job. End-of-month and the busiest summer weeks go first; a move planned around a downsizing or an assisted-living transition wants a longer runway than a studio flat. Ask for the realistic window for your date rather than the general one.
17. What are the deposit and cancellation terms? Get them before you pay anything. A reasonable policy is written down and states when a deposit stops being refundable. If nobody can tell you, do not send money.
Red flags worth walking away from
- No written scope, only a number over the phone.
- Cash-only payment.
- No verifiable business address.
- Coverage described in adjectives instead of terms.
- Pressure to commit today, with an offer that expires today.
- A large deposit demanded before any work has been done.
- Reluctance to confirm licensing or workers' compensation coverage.
Any one of these is enough. There are plenty of legitimate operators; you do not have to talk yourself into one that is behaving like this.
How to make the answers comparable
Give every company the same information and you will get answers you can actually line up next to each other: both addresses and the floor at each, stairs or lift and whether the lift can be booked, where a truck can park at both ends and how far the carry is, your date and whether it is fixed, a room count with an honest list of the awkward and specialty items, anything needing dismantling, and whether anything is going to storage rather than straight to the destination.
Send the same brief three times and the differences that remain are real differences. Our answers to all seventeen come back in writing before you commit to anything — start your move brief at /quote, or read the FAQ first if you would rather see how we answer them cold.