Moving Terminology Explained
If you’ve never moved before, you may find it difficult to understand what most salespeople in moving companies are saying. For most people, moving terminology is somewhat confusing when they first start getting into it. And that can be a problem, especially if trying to find the right moving professional. A lot of the moving terms are pretty easy to grasp though as you go along. Unlike some other industries, there aren’t that many things that are not self-explanatory. If you are confused about things like the Bill of Lading, self-service mover and stair carry charges, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s dive into the most commonly used terms and what the meaning is behind all of them.
Bill of lading – the most basic term in moving terminology
One of the most important documents when moving is the bill of lading. Often shortened to just BOL. If there’s one thing that you need to understand among many moving company acronyms, it’s this one. It’s also how you find out if you are dealing with a reliable moving company or not. The most important of all moving terms. The bill of lading is a document that you sign on the pick up/drop off with your mover. It serves both as a contract and also as a receipt. Please make sure to understand everything and only sign if you’re happy with what the bill says. According to law, once you sign it, it’s all set and done.
The BOL serves as both the contract and the receipt you get. Make sure that you agree with everything stated on it before signing.
Appliance service
Straight out of the moving terminology handbook comes out the “appliance service”.This refers to the disconnecting and connecting all of your appliances you are planning to move. Some companies include appliance repair as well. When people ask for this type of services, it’s usually refrigerators, washers, dryers etc. Most movers charge according to the actual amount of time something like this takes, while some add a surcharge to this. One of the most self-explanatory moving industry terms, but still worth mentioning on our list.
Binding and non-binding price
This is where it gets tricky in the moving dictionary. Be very careful with these terms when dealing with movers. Whether the price is binding or non-binding can greatly impact your overall decision. Especially consider something like this when looking for office moving experts in Hawaii. You need to know if the price that you got is guaranteed or not, and it is a key factor in the moving glossary. A binding price is something that you will get after an on-site estimate. No matter how long the job takes, or how many items you have, the company guarantees the full price for their services. A non-binding price, on the other hand, is merely based on their estimate and how much they think it’s going to cost. Make sure to get a binding price before signing a contract in order to know exactly how much you’re spending.
Moving terminology – Expedited service/shipping
If you need it done fast, go for expedited shipping. It’s basically moving in the fastest possible way a moving company can offer you. This might come into play if you are moving into a hot market such as Florida and need the best service providers. Since moving companies will need to clear their schedule and switch their calendar, this type of service costs more than the usual rate. You do not have to wait for an opening in their plans, everything is done at the first available time slot.
Full-service movers
Full-service movers handle every step of the move. If you want to lay back and let professionals cover everything, this is the way to go. They do packing and unpacking, move every single piece of furniture you have and cover appliance services. Basically, every single step of moving is covered in this case and nothing is left for you to do. It goes without mentioning that this type of shipping costs the most. Full-service movers take care of everything for you.
Moving terminology – long carry charges
One of the moving terms that you need to know and that sneaks up on you are the long carry charges. This refers to the distance that the moving crew will have to cover from your home to their truck. If the movers have a long way to go from once they pack the box to actually loading it, that will be charged extra. Ask a company if they have long carry charges and think about the distance they will need to cover in order not to be surprised when they ask for more.
Shuttle service
No, they will not use a space shuttle to transport your items haha. If you live in a dense area such as New York or San Francisco, a huge moving truck will not be able to access your home. People often do not understand particularly this one among all other moving terms. This is when a shuttle service comes in. The meaning behind the term is when a moving company needs to use smaller trucks or vans to transport their items to a bigger vehicle waiting somewhere accessible. Be flexible when it comes to this as there are many places where a big rig cannot reach.
Moving terms – standard coverage
As the word standard implies, this is the basic, minimum coverage you will get by law from all moving companies. It is 60 cents per pound of your items. Although it’s something, this is really not a great amount if you really think about it. This is the reason why we mention it in our moving glossary. Some items that do not weigh much might be extremely valuable and this will not cover them at all. Make sure that the company you choose offers more than this before committing.
Peak season rates
Moving costs more in the summer. This is not one of the moving industry terms we need to explain, but more of a fact that you need to be aware of. Most people want to move during the summer when the weather is good and hence why companies charge more. Their schedules are generally full and often even reject jobs due to low availability. Among all of the moving terminology, this stands out as more of a thing you need to be aware of since it’s pretty self-explanatory as a term. Prices go sky high in the summer and you really need to be aware of this when planning your move.
