Written estimate first
You see the number, the services behind it, and what would change it, before anything is booked.
- Transparent written estimates
- Dedicated move coordinator
- Nationwide carrier network
Ranked #1 by 8 Top Movers
Your cross country move, run by one coordinator
Written estimates you can hold us to, and one name to call from quote through delivery day.
Request a free estimate from Bristol Moving
Quotes coordinated via 8 Top Movers
Three steps, one coordinator
Nothing gets booked until the estimate is in writing and you have said yes to it.
Step one
Survey and written estimate
We walk your inventory by video or over the phone, then send the number in writing with every service behind it listed.
Step two
Pickup window confirmed
Your coordinator locks the load date, the crew size and the truck, then calls you the day before to confirm.
Step three
Delivery and walkthrough
The crew places what you point at, you check the inventory together, and the file stays open until you sign off.
How your move actually runs
A coordinator books the crew, confirms the window, and stays on your file until the last box is off the truck.
(800) 555-0188What sits behind the number
One coordinator
The same person handles your survey, your pickup window, and the call when plans shift.
Crews in every state
Vetted carriers matched to your route rather than whoever happens to be closest to the warehouse.
How to check any interstate mover, including this one
Long distance moving is federally regulated, and most of what protects you is public or printed on your own paperwork. Here is where to look and what the words mean.
Registration
Federal, and public. You can check it yourself in a couple of minutes.
- USDOT number
- Any company moving household goods across state lines has to be registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and carry a USDOT number. Ask for it before you talk about price.
- Where to check it
- Registration, operating authority and insurance are all published. Search the number or the company name and read what comes back.Look up a mover on the FMCSA SAFER company snapshot
- Consumer guidance
- The FMCSA runs a site of its own for people planning an interstate move, written for the household rather than the carrier.Read Protect Your Move, the FMCSA guide to interstate moves
Liability
Two levels exist. One of them is thinner than it sounds.
- Released Value Protection
- Included at no extra charge and pays 60 cents per pound per article. Weight decides the payout, not what the item was worth, so it is very little cover for anything valuable.
- Full Value Protection
- Costs extra and covers repair, replacement or a cash settlement. It is the default unless you waive it in writing, so read which level your paperwork assumes before you compare one estimate with another.
Estimates
Three kinds, and the word printed on yours changes what you owe.
- Binding
- Fixes the price for the inventory listed on it. Add to the inventory and the estimate has to be written again.
- Non-binding
- Can change once the shipment is weighed, so the number you were quoted is not necessarily the number you are billed.
- Binding not-to-exceed
- You pay the lower of the estimate and the actual cost, which makes the estimate a ceiling rather than a target.
- Paperwork you are owed
- Before the move, an interstate mover has to give you a written estimate and the booklet Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move.
Three things that should end the conversation
- A quote given over the phone with no inventory and no survey behind it.
- A demand for a large cash deposit up front.
- A company that will not put the estimate in writing.
What we hold ourselves to
- The estimate arrives in writing, with the inventory it was written against, before anything is booked.
- Your liability level is stated on the estimate. Full Value Protection stands unless you waive it in writing yourself.
- You get the booklet and the written estimate before load day, not on it.
After the truck leaves
“The estimate we signed is the number we paid. Nobody added a fee at delivery.”
“Our window moved twice and the same coordinator sorted it out both times.”
Questions people ask before they book
How a long distance move is priced, covered and scheduled, without the parts that only sound reassuring.
What does having one coordinator actually change?
One person holds your file from the survey through delivery, so the inventory you described, the estimate you signed and the instructions the crew works from all come off the same record instead of being explained again at every handoff. The trade-off is availability. One contact is not a round the clock desk, so ask who covers your file when your coordinator is away, and ask before you sign rather than on load day.
Why can the price change after the truck is weighed?
It depends which kind of estimate you were given. A non-binding estimate can change once the shipment is weighed. A binding estimate fixes the price for the inventory listed on it, so it only moves if the inventory does. A binding not-to-exceed estimate means you pay the lower of the estimate and the actual cost. All three are legal, so the useful question is which of the three words is printed on your paperwork.
Which liability level is on my estimate?
Full Value Protection is the default unless you waive it in writing. It costs extra and covers repair, replacement or a cash settlement. The alternative, Released Value Protection, is included at no extra charge and pays 60 cents per pound per article, which is settled by weight rather than by what the item is worth. If one estimate looks unusually cheap next to another, check which level each one assumes before you read anything into the gap.
Can you price a cross country move over the phone?
We can talk through a range on the phone, but a firm price with no inventory behind it is not an estimate and it is a warning sign rather than a bargain. A survey, by video or in person, produces the item list the written estimate is calculated against. That list is also what protects you later, because a binding estimate is only binding for the inventory printed on it.
How firm is a delivery window on a long distance move?
It depends on the distance, on the time of year, and most of all on whether your shipment travels on its own truck or shares a trailer with other households. A shared trailer costs less and gives you a spread of days rather than a date, because the route has to serve more than one delivery. Ask for that spread in writing on the estimate and ask what would change it. A date promised before the shipment is loaded is a plan, not a commitment, unless the estimate says so.
Still weighing it up? Put the question to a coordinator on (800) 555-0188.
Ready for a real number?
Tell us where you are going. Your estimate comes back with the services behind it spelled out.