Hiring one of the San Jose moving companies might seem like a difficult task. People find moving to be quite stressful and emotionally challenging. This is especially the case if they are looking for residential movers and are starting their lives in a new place. That is why many people are quite cautious to allow anyone to enter their living space, which is completely understandable.
It is often thought that for motivated, trusting, and professional movers you need to allocate a lot of money. But trust us when we say that is not the case. There are many top-notch movers in the area that are both affordable and professional. You just might need to have some time to do your research and make sure to hire movers who can provide service for what you exactly need.
Moving Companies in San Jose Charge Different Things
In order to find the best San Jose moving company to suit your exact needs, it is of utmost importance to fully understand the way their policies work. That means you should fully understand their pricing, arrival window, insurance, and the exact service they will provide. Knowing their policies, especially their pricing is the best way to make sure you’ve hired some budget movers, and make sure to avoid any unnecessary or unexpected charges. Let us guide you to the basic charges most moving companies base their pricing on.
Basic Pricing
Even though the moving industry is quite large already, it is still constantly expanding. The demand for moving services is pretty high, and it is not very difficult to find a company for many different move types. Depending on the exact characteristics of your move, you should check which of the two basic pricing models would suit you better. Of course, in order to properly assess the move, you can rely on a company’s representative for help. The two most common payment types are:
Hourly Based
Paying movers by the hour means that the total amount you will be paying depends on the total duration of the move. The hourly rate will vary depending on the number of movers and the number of trucks needed for the move. What you should bear in mind is that most companies have a minimum hours policy (most companies in the San Jose area have two or three hours of minimum).
This means that even if the entire move is completed under those minimum hours, you will still be obligated to pay for the minimum. This payment method is mostly used for local moves, and more than one item moves. Most local office movers, residential movers, or commercial movers charge their services by the hour.
Flat Rate
Receiving a flat rate for your move means you will be asked to pay for a certain amount of money no matter how long the move will take. The amount is usually based on the size of your move and the distance between the locations. In other words, it is used whenever hourly-based pricing wouldn’t make much sense (imagine an over 100 miles move being charged by the hour). So, logically, this is the type mostly used for charging long-distance moves.
On the other hand, flat rate pricing is also better if you are having only one item to move. It’s not that rare for people to need help with only one heavy armoire, dining set, or piano, for example. Having in mind most hourly-based moving companies have minimum hours policy, it seems reasonable that flat-rate pricing suits better in these situations as well.
Additional Charges
Regardless of the basic pricing method, there are often additional costs moving companies charge. Additional fees exist to cover the expenses a moving company has for providing moving services or providing you with a specialized moving service. We will mention the most common additional expenses you can expect in just a moment. Before that, we would like to emphasize one thing you should be cautious about.
What is important to mention at this place is making a difference between additional and hidden fees. As long as the company informs you that they have a certain additional fee, so that you are able to give your informed consent – this fee is not hidden and it is as a matter of fact pretty expected in the moving services industry. The problems occur when the company fails to inform the customer about the existence of the expenses and their amount.
This places a customer in a position of having no choice to accept or decline the charge based on their free will and it is considered to have a hidden fee. That is why it’s important to ask the right questions and ask the company to provide you with their quote or booking confirmation in written form. If a company fails to do that, you can consider this to be a clear red flag. That is when it’s the right time to start looking for another San Jose moving company.
Most Common Additional Charges
Even though there are many expenses a certain company can charge additionally for, we will mention some of the most common ones. Please bear in mind that this doesn’t mean all of the expenses will be charged, nor that every moving company has additional expenses. However, these are some you can expect if you are looking for a San Jose moving company to help you with your move.
The fuel fee is the one that covers the fuel expenses. It is usually a flat, one-time fee on top of the total amount. Its amount usually depends on the mileage the movers need to go.
Double drive time is a fee existing in the state of California. The way it works is that the time spent commuting between the pickup and the destination address is doubled. For example, if it takes 30 minutes between the locations, you will be charged for one hour of driving time. Even though this might sound a bit confusing and unclear, its purpose is to limit the amount a company can charge for the fuel. You can check this short video form for a more visual explanation:
Heavy items fee is the fee companies charge for moving extra heavy or bulky pieces (gym equipment pieces, pianos, armor, chest drawers). As in most cases, these items require special skills, tools and equipment, companies charge extra for such a service.
A service fee is another flat fee, mostly used to cover the expenses of truck maintenance, or fuel if a company is not charging a fuel fee separately.
The processing fee is the fee companies or, more specifically, their merchants, charge for credit or debit card payments. The amount might vary, but it is usually under 5%.
Packing service is often additionally charged. When you call to hire movers, many companies will only send you movers, and if you want to hire packers and movers, make sure to clearly express that. In most cases, there will be an additional fee for including the packing service, or a company’s policy will include adding an additional mover in comparison to only moving service.
Companies With No Extra Fees
You might wonder if it is possible to find a company that has no extra fees. Of course! What you should bear in mind though is that these companies usually have higher basic charges in order to compensate. Basically, it means that one way or another, you will still be covering for the expenses that the company has, but with additional charges, these segments are just displayed in a more transparent manner.
How To Best Manage The Budget?
One of the first steps to take when starting to plan a move is to carefully check what is the budget you have dedicated to the move. Every other step you plan from that point on will depend on this. The next step is to start your little research in order to find the best San Jose moving company that will be able to provide you with the exact type of service you need.
In order to do that, we encourage you to go online, as the internet is today the most powerful tool for investigating anything, including moving companies. Public image is crucial to every business, so rest assured that you will find much precious information online. After you have narrowed down your options, start obtaining quotes from the companies you find most suitable.
Make sure to give them as many details as possible, so that they can get a clear image of what you need and how to help you best. Bear in mind the most common additional costs we have mentioned in the section above and write down the expenses and the approximate expected total cost of the service for each company. Once you finish obtaining quotes, you will have a closer idea of which option suits you best.
Some people tend to hire the first movers they come across. We strongly recommend you to take a look at at least a couple so that you can compare their policies, pricing, public image. Even though this might seem like a lot of work that requires a lot of time, it is better to do everything you can in order to prevent issues or resolve them at an early stage.
Instead of a Conclusion…
Planning a move, and managing all the things you need to sort out before the moving day is not the easiest thing. Budget management is, just like in everyday life, one of the main sources of stress, for many people. It is completely understandable how people find hiring movers is pretty expensive in comparison to moving on on their own. However, we believe we have succeeded in showing how the most important thing for stress-free budget planning is actually being aware of all the expenses you are facing. Without knowing your expectations, you might end up feeling unhappy and frustrated.
By taking some simple steps, being informed, and asking the right questions to receive the pieces of information you are missing, you are creating a familiar atmosphere and feel in control of the process. Keep in mind that the movers are your co-workers and that you both have the same goal.
If you are currently looking for a San Jose moving company to help you plan, organize and accommodate your move, this article might be exactly what you need to guide your next step. If you haven’t done it yet, we proudly invite you to check on the moving services 680 Movers offer and request a quote! It would be our pleasure to help you go through this journey you’re taking!