More Americans will pack up their household goods and move in June than at any other time of the year.
Uprooting oneself is stressful enough, but for some consumers the move can be a financial nightmare. These are cases where the mover quotes one price to transport household goods, then during the move demands two to four times the original estimate. Sometimes a mover will even hold furniture hostage until the consumer pays up.
Federal law limits how much movers can veer off their original estimates, but it applies only to residents moving from one state to another. That has left Marylanders moving within the state vulnerable to the practices of rogue movers. But under a new state law that takes effect in October, unscrupulous movers won't be able to use such bait-and-switch tactics within Maryland.
Del. Tom Hucker, a Montgomery County Democrat, sponsored the legislation in the General Assembly this year after constituents complained about movers charging as much as four times their original estimate. Movers often raised the price during the middle of a move, Hucker says.
"When you are in a moving situation, you are very vulnerable. You have moved out of your old house or apartment and need to move in your new one the next day," he says. "You can't really say no. You don't have a whole lot of leverage."
One of those burned constituents is Shantell Hopson, who hired a company she found online to move her family from one apartment building to another in Silver Spring in 2007.
Hopson says she didn't expect to pay more than $950, based on the quote from the moving company. But once the movers arrived at the new apartment in the early evening, she says, they demanded $1,440. They refused to unload Hopson's household goods, while she tried unsuccessfully to raise the money quickly.
"They took our furniture and held it in storage," Hopson says. She ended up borrowing the money from a relative and got her furniture two days later.
Hopson has moved a few times since then.
"We just U-Haul. We move ourselves. We don't try any moving companies after that experience," she says.
Under the new Maryland law, movers will have to give customers a written estimate of the total cost of a move made within state borders.
Consumers who receive a binding estimate won't have to pay any more for the services that are spelled out in the agreement.
Those who get a nonbinding estimate can't be charged more than 25 percent more than the original quote.
There will remain a little wiggle room for the cost to be higher in the event of unanticipated circumstances beyond a mover's control, says Glenn Duvall, who works for an Odenton mover and is a member of the Maryland Movers Conference, which is part of the Maryland Motor Truck Association.
For example, if you promised to pack all your belongings and don't finish, your costs could exceed the 25 percent limit if movers must complete the job, Duvall says.
Federal law also requires that estimates be in writing. Consumers can't be charged more than the binding estimate. With a nonbinding estimate, they don't have to pay more than 10 percent over the original estimate.
The federal law also requires movers to give customers a copy of a booklet, "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move."
Duvall says many movers in Maryland already adhere to the practices spelled out in the new state law. He says the law will protect Marylanders from the small number of bad actors who give the entire industry a black eye.
Before you move
•Get at least three estimates from movers — in writing.
•Beware of quotes given over the phone or online by movers that haven't even inspected your household goods in person. Don't just go with the cheapest price; some movers low-ball estimates and hike the price later. Check out the services the mover provides.
•Review the mover's complaint history at the Maryland attorney general's office and the Better Business Bureau. Information on interstate carriers can be found at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration at http://www.protectyourmove.gov.
•Avoid movers who demand cash or a large down payment before the move.
•Be wary of movers whose websites don't contain a local address.