Miles and Miles of Texas:
Moving Across the Lonestar State

Written by Consumers Union Southwest Regional Office
This report is also available in PDF format.

Executive Summary

In 1995 and 1997, when the Texas Legislature passed new laws governing household goods movers, Consumers Union Southwest Regional Office (SWRO) advocated for legislation and rules to protect consumers against unfair industry practices and improve the resolution of disputes. In particular, SWRO recommended additional information about the value of the insurance consumers buy to protect their goods and a cap on the total charge a consumer must pay after getting a non-binding estimate. We still believe these reforms will significantly improve customer experience with the moving industry.

For this report we reviewed consumer complaints at TXDoT, reviewed company performance statistics also filed with TXDoT and went through the process of obtaining estimates for a move in order to determine how well existing consumer protection guide-lines are working. Texas consumers report wide variation in service, and bigger is not necessarily better.

• Overall, 12 percent of moves result in either a claim or additional charges of at least 10 percent over the estimate. On average, 9 percent of all intrastate moves in Texas resulted in some type of claim, although Roadrunner and Hill Grain report very few claims. More than one in three moves with Mayflower resulted in a claim, and 15 percent or more of moves with some of the other large van lines, including Allied, North American and Bekins resulted in a claim.
  
• Moving companies report that the average time to resolve a claim can vary from one company to the next by three months or more. While the average reported time for all companies to resolve a complaint is about a month, several companies report that it takes on average 60 to 120 days. Current regulations give companies as long as 180 days before a customer may request help from TxDOT.
  
• A significant number of consumers pay a bill more than 10 percent over the estimate at the end of the move. Three of these companies, Bekins Moving and Storage Company of Texas, North American Van Lines of Texas, and Watson Van and Storage, all reported that more than one in ten customers had to pay at least 10 percent more than the estimate.
  
• While some of the larger companies like Roadrunner report few complaints, several of the smaller Texas companies also had a good track record with their customers.
  
• We contacted six different moving companies from the yellow pages and asked them to estimate the cost of a household move from Austin to Houston. We found that estimates varied considerably, even between the two agents for the same van line, and that phone estimates were usually lower than the final estimate. We also found that the two non-binding estimates were among the lowest estimates given, making them a temptation for consumers who don't realize that the final charge can significantly exceed the estimate.

Recommendations

• Require every moving company to offer binding or binding-not-to-exceed estimates.
• Cap the charges for a non-binding estimate at 110 percent of the estimate when no addi-tional services have been provided.
• Prepare an inventory on all shipments at no cost to the consumer.
• Clearly identify the bill of lading as a contract with a statement that the bill of lading governs the rights and responsibilities of the carrier and shipper in the transaction. Require estimates to clearly state which company will move the consumer.
• Direct movers to give consumers a copy of their most recent annual performance report when they show up to do an estimate.
• Regulate insurance coverage purchased through moving companies to ensure consumers are not charged excessive rates.
• Shorten the claims process from 180 days to 90 days.
• Require that the household goods moving companies utilize mediation panels that are independent of the moving industry.