Damaged or lost goods during the move - what to do?

When you decide to move it is extremely important to find a trustworthy moving company that will provide quality moving service. Reliable movers will make sure your belongings are delivered safely and without any damage. Avoiding a scenario where you’ll end up with damaged or lost goods during the move is a priority. But, the question is how to achieve that?

Unfortunately, some moving companies happen to damage or lose the items during the move. Luckily, you can always choose reputable NYC movers. Reputable moving companies usually prioritize their customers’ happiness and satisfaction, so they are willing to resolve any possible issue and provide instructions on how to proceed in problematic situations.

How does damage take place?

Usually, damage to the items subjected to moving takes place because of inappropriate packing, carrying, loading, and transporting.

Avoid damaging your things

The best is to try avoiding the slightest possibility of damaging your items. It is the first step to a successful move, so it’s a good idea to explore a little what you can do about it.

Pack your stuff like a pro

Packing is one of the most important stages in the moving process. your job here is to protect all the items and make sure that they don’t get damaged in transport. During the packing stage, it’s crucial that you don’t skip the steps that make the whole packing process a success.

To pack for moving like a pro, you need to:

• Get quality moving and packing supplies and materials, such as moving boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard protectors, and styrofoam protectors.
• Pack your items into the appropriate moving boxes, and make sure the size and purpose of the box fit the object. With a little effort, you can find cheap moving boxes of different sizes to fit your needs.
• When packing, make sure there is no room left between the edges of a box and the item you are packing. Use Styrofoam, packing paper, and cardboard to make sure the item stays in place. Check if you did a good job by shaking the box.
• After placing and securing items, you need to seal the boxes with packing tape.

There is one more step left, and it is labeling. You can label the moving boxes using permanent markers. Labeling moving boxes is important because it’ll make the unpacking process much easier. And not only that. It’ll also help your movers know where to place boxes inside the moving truck. Labeling is a must-do stage for successful packing, especially if you’re packing fragile items.

Hire reliable movers

As we mentioned earlier, one of the main reasons for damaging things when moving is lousy, unprofessional, and irresponsible handling by the people who operate the move.

Our professional advice is to try and avoid this.

There are too many shady moving companies out there, especially in a big city like New York. After thorough research on a moving company, do not enter into a business arrangement with them if you have any reason to doubt their legitimacy. Keep yourself posted on how to identify rogue movers in NYC and how to avoid a moving scam.

Instead, make sure you are doing business only with insured movers NYC. Trust your relocation only in the hands of experienced professionals who know what they’re doing and have all the necessary resources to complete the job successfully.

Professional movers know which are the most commonly damaged items during the move, so they know the best ways to protect them.

Unfortunately, damage does happen

Even if you did everything right, unpredictable things might happen. So, you might end up with damaged goods in the end.

If it happens to you, don’t panic. It’s important to know that there is a solution to this. If you are dealing with trustworthy movers, you can take a few steps to get compensation for your damaged goods.

So, what are your options, and how to get compensation? We’ll discuss it in the continuation.

How to make a claim for damaged goods

Once the problem arises, a responsible moving company will do anything to amend the situation. They will either try to locate the lost items or reimburse you for the damaged ones. The most reasonable thing to do in this situation is to file a claim, which will be a bit easier with the following guidelines.

• Check your inventory list and see whether each item has been delivered intact and do it in front of your movers.
• Have in writing what’s missing or damaged. Provide detailed description and take a picture as proof.
• Determine monetary value of damaged items.
• Save all pieces of the broken items and use them as evidence if necessary.
• Note relevant dates and times of each contact and conversation with your moving company. Also, add every contact information you have.

Movers’ liability

Before filing a claim or complaint, make sure you know what the moving company’s liability is and check it. There are probably certain limitations as to their liability. Most moving companies offer liability coverage based on weight with no additional charges, and charge additionally for the full value protection. The type of company’s liability is stated in the contract you have signed, so make sure you are familiar with all terms of the move. Depending on your contract, you can demand for partial or full value of the damaged belongings.

Documents and lists

Keep every relevant document you received from the moving company – bills, receipts, letters, emails.

Make a list of the damaged or lost items along with their monetary value. It might be difficult to establish the monetary value of some old items. However, the value of recently bought items can be easily determined by visiting the store or the website where products’ costs are listed.

Inform the movers

Inform your moving company that you are going to file a claim and ask if there are any specific legal procedures you have to follow. Every moving company has their own dispute settlement procedures you need to be informed about.

The time frame to file a claim is within 9 months of the delivery date. So make sure to act promptly and to submit the claim form within the deadline.

Moving companies are obliged by law to notify the customer that they have received the claim. After the request has been processed, the matter must be sorted out within 120 days. In case they don’t reach out, you can file an official complaint with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or the Better Business Bureau.

Legal actions

If you are not satisfied with their final decision and offer, you may want to take some legal action and sue the moving company, but the procedure will probably take a few months.

In order to prevent damaged goods think twice when choosing the moving company. Finding a reputable moving company is not an easy task, so take the time to research several moving companies and ask for quotes so that you can decide which offer works best for you. Recommendations and other people’s experiences can be really helpful for those who are planning to move. Luckily, people tend to share both positive and negative experiences, so many moving companies reviews in NYC are available online. Also, to-good-to-be-true offers are usually questionable, so try to avoid them.