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Researching Haulers
When you
are having your valued items shipped, it is important to find the
best hauler for job, not necessarily the cheapest. Customer
service, reliability, and trustworthiness are all important factors
in choosing a transport company. An unscrupulous trucker can
cost you money, damage your property, and cause you a hard time.
Recommended Steps to take before hiring a transport company:
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Ask
Questions - When you first contact a hauler, you should ask
as many relevant questions as you can regarding the care they
will take with your property, scheduling, contract issues, what
type of equipment they have, licensing, insurance, and take some
time to get a feel for the type of people you are dealing with.
The vast majority of truckers / haulers are reputable business
people that simply want to help you, the best way to weed out
the few that aren't is in this first stage.
-
Get
References - Most haulers should be prepared to
provide you with several references in regards to RECENT
jobs they have done. If time allows try to contact every
reference and ask questions regarding the type of service they
received from their hauler. Remember, that no one is
perfect all of the time, so if there are any less than perfect
reviews, follow up with a question to see how the hauler
resolved the issue.
Sample
questions to ask provided references:
- What did you have __(company name)___ haul?
- When did they haul it?
- Did they keep you well informed of their pickup / delivery
schedule?
- How well did they keep their original promised schedule?
- Did they take good care of your (car, boat, horse,
furniture, etc..)?
- If any problems occurred, how did the hauler resolve them?
- How would you rate your overall experience with this hauler?
- Would your recommend this hauler to others?
Use the
above questions in an e-mail or as a template for a phone
conversation with the provided references, and you will have a very
good idea of what to expect when you use the hauler yourself.
-
Check Licensing - Your hauler should be able to provide you
with his DOT number, and MC, Number. You can check the
validity of their DOT number at the
FMCA website - A DOT license lets you know that the
hauler has filed the proper paperwork and pays the proper taxes
and fees when hauling your items.
-
Check Insurance - It's important for you to know that your
carrier has adequate insurance to cover potential damage to your
property. If you choose an uninsured or underinsured
transport company you risk not being compensated for loss or
damage of your (car, boat, horse, furniture, etc..).
-
Check FindAHauler Profile - If your hauler has a
profile in the
FindAHauler.com Directory you can view any feedback left
regarding the hauler by other visitors to the site.
-
Read
contracts carefully - Many haulers will have you execute a
transport contract prior to hauling your (car, boat, horse,
furniture, etc..). Make sure that you read the contract
and understand the provisions of the contract. If there is
a down payment required, make sure you know the conditions under
which it will or won't be refunded. Is the down payment
due prior to the pickup of your property, when is the full
payment due?. It is generally not advisable to pay a down
payment prior to pickup of your property. If it is
practical, you may want to negotiate the full payment upon
delivery of your property.
If you
follow the above advice, you should have an easy and stress free
experience having your car, boat, horse, furniture, etc...
transported. Thousands of people have had their cars, horse,
boats, trailers, livestock, etc... shipped using FindAHauler.com
since September of 2002, and it is very rare for any of them
to have a problem with a hauler they have found using our site.
We have a very aggressive stance on any users of our site not
operating in an ethical and straightforward manner, and do our best
to provide an easy and safe environment for all.
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