This Philadelphia Story Wasn’t Funny

Question: Isn’t there any control at all over household movers? I recently moved from Pasadena to Philadelphia. I have a very small house with limited furniture, and about 80% of what I do have is boxed. I got an estimate on what it would cost to move myself, and it came to about $1,800 exclusive of gas but including towing my car. I figured I was looking at about $2,000 minimum.

So I called and got the local number for Bekins Moving & Storage and described to the man, in great detail, what I had. He estimated it at about 1,000 pounds, making the total cost for the move “at about $1,000,” which I thought was great.

When the paper work showed up for my signature, though, there was no mention of the $1,000 estimate, so I called and asked about it and got a second man. We again went through the detailed description of what I had, and he too said: “Yeah, that’s about right--1,000 pounds or $1,000.” After the pickup of my stuff, though, I got a call from Bekins’ man saying the weigh-in actually came to 2,845 pounds or $2,574!

Report of Friends

I hit the ceiling and reminded him that this was a full 257% off the estimate! I had been told by friends with more experience that estimates are commonly $400 to $800 under the actual cost, but I figured that I could live with that. But 257% off? Come on, now!

I called and talked to someone at the Interstate Commerce Commission and was told that while the fares are pretty well controlled in terms of weight and distance, there is no control at all over estimates. That they can tell you that a move from California to Pennsylvania will cost you $1.85, and if you’re dumb enough to believe them, there’s nothing the ICC can do. Is there anything at all I can do about this?--J.L.C.

Answer: Mother Nature is tricky: Between household moves she wipes clean the memory of what it was really like to make the move. Otherwise, no one would ever undertake the chore a second time. What we may have here is a slippery matter of semantics: Where does an “estimate” stop and a “rough quote” begin?

According to Al Brown, the Interstate Commerce Commission’s public information officer in Washington, it isn’t how much this estimate you received was off-base that is the critical issue. It’s the fact that the estimate was made over the phone--which, in the eyes of the ICC, is a strict no-no. (The second figure you were given is actually 157% off, not 257%--even though that’s still gargantuan.)

It is true, however, that the ICC has no control over the accuracy of estimates. It can crack down only when a carrier exceeds the miles-plus-distance rates that it has posted with the ICC. Still and all, there’s this nagging business about the propriety of a Bekins representative giving you an estimate without physically seeing what was entailed.

“It’s a little hard for me to imagine,” the ICC’s Brown says. “Bekins is a very savvy outfit and unquestionably too, very solid.” And it’s an appraisal borne out by Consumer Reports’ latest study of the household-moving industry, where it asked about 20,000 of its subscribers about their latest move and asked them to rate about a dozen national carriers.

Ranked High

Bekins’ Satisfaction Index was quite high, and it was the carrier rated best on, of all things, accuracy of estimate. Bekins, which is active in all 50 states and is headquartered nationally in Glendale, operates--as virtually all household carriers do--through a vast network of independent contractors (who do the actual moving) and stationary company-operated agencies providing the initial sales work (including estimate) and related services (such as arranging for packing).

An independent transporter wanting to become affiliated with Bekins, according to the moving company’s president, Thomas Epley, isn’t even considered unless he already has at least five years’ experience in the business and is then constantly monitored.

Would a “binding” estimate have solved your problem? Under this arrangement, a physical inspection is made of what the move entails, and the mover is then bound by his estimate, regardless of how far off target--on actual weighing--it might have been. It’s a protection that costs you, however.

Many Exclusions

“Actually,” Epley adds, “virtually all binding estimates given by other companies have a lot of exclusions.” If the weight is off, for instance, then only the posted rate applies to the difference. Or, there will be other services--such as carrying items on stairs--that aren’t included. “Bekins is the only company that has a ‘guaranteed price offering’ though, which is, just as the name says, guaranteed .

“It costs a premium, depending on the size of the move, of course, but it averages about $25 to $30. Naturally, it certainly requires a physical inspection of what’s involved.”

Back to the semantics of where “estimate” and “rough quote” become involved. “There is a lot of room for misunderstanding,” Bekins’ Epley agrees, “when you get into the interpretation of conversations and facts. We’ll frequently have people call and say: ‘About what would it cost me to move a two-bedroom house from Los Angeles to New York City?’ Then they’ll call back later and authorize the move on the basis of what was really just a conversation.”

Whether that was the situation in your case will require some more investigation. The ICC’s Brown suggests that when you get settled in Philadelphia, you hand-deliver the paper work to--and file a complaint with--the ICC office there; it’s a regional clearinghouse where most East Coast disputes end up anyway. It’s at 3535 Market St., Room 16400.

And Bekins’ president assures you the complaint will be thoroughly investigated, and “if we find any evidence of misrepresentation on the part of anyone with Bekins, we’ll view it very seriously.” But don’t count too heavily on a rebate at this stage of the game.