What to do when your movers are late

Have you prepared for your move following the instructions? Did you check the movers throughout before hiring them? If you did so, there is no reason to worry when your movers are late. Be sure that by dealing with best moving companies in California, you are not in trouble. So, they can be late to picking up your belongings. Or, they can be late in delivery. In both cases be sure that they are late for a justified reason. And, it will be enough to give a call to a manager and find out a reason. They will also tell you how such a delay will be resolved. Besides, delays are not as uncommon as people think.

What to do when your movers are late?

As we already mentioned, there are two cases when your movers can be late:

1. They can be late to pick up and load your belongings
2. The due time for them to show up at your new location has passed

In both cases, you should contact the manager. Or, the office of the cross country movers California, in case the manager is not available. They will further contact the moving crew. After that, they will come back to you with an answer. So, stay calm, and let the company resolve the issue.

Possible reasons why movers are late to pick up your belongings

Regardless of how well the move has been planned, unexpected things can happen. So, no need to make the worst-case scenarios in your mind. Especially in case, you are dealing with a reputable moving company. During the moving time, people are usually tense. And such thoughts will just make you more nervous. Moreover, the chances are that the moving coordinator will come back to you with some very simple explanations:

• movers are late due to road conditions (traffic jams, road works, etc.)
• some extreme weather conditions forced the movers to find temporary shelter
• unexpected vehicle malfunctioning occurred
• movers got your address wrongly or mixed it up with a similar street
• there could occur some urgent situation in a mover’s family

As you can see, there could be many ordinary reasons for the delay. And the moving coordinator will give you a new ETA (estimated time of arrival). The bottom line, your possessions are still with you. So, at best, you can lose some time. You can even use that time to recheck the company. Or, if you are dealing with “movers near me“, you can even visit them in their office.

What to do when movers are late with delivery?

It can happen that the movers already have your possessions. However, the moving truck is late. And, as time is passing, you can grow restless. Again, the best is to contact your movers. They will be able to explain the delay. And to tell you when the moving truck will finally reach your new home. For the local moves, the delivery time should take at most a few hours. And, that is depending on the size of your move. And on the distance of your move.

Well, you probably know that a long-distance delivery window can take from 2 to 22 days. However, many movers, in case of long-distance moving, set the 2 weeks delivery window in the Moving Contract/Bill of Landing. So, in case the truck doesn’t show up within the time agreed, you should contact the company. A reliable company will not only offer an explanation and apology. They will also reimburse any cost incurred after the agreed deadline. So, they will reimburse your hotel costs, food, etc. And, that is one more benefit of working with reliable movers.

Whenever you move, be ready for possible delay

It is good to be positive and optimistic. However, preparing yourself for the fact that delays and waiting are not so uncommon, will spare you from unnecessary stress. Therefore, be ready for such possibilities. And, after finding the reason, consider how to use the waiting time. Once again, we have to consider two waiting scenarios:

1. late delivery during the local move
2. late delivery during the long-distance move

You are moving locally, and your belongings are late

In the case of a local move, the moving coordinator can inform you that the moving truck is arriving soon. If so, the best is to just sit and wait.

However, it can also happen that you’ll have to wait for some time. If so, use that time wisely. You can complete some more things in the meanwhile. For example, you can spend time doing some cleaning. Go around the old home and check all premises. That way, you will make sure that you haven’t forgotten anything. You can also inspect the utilities once again. Check if all the boxes are properly labeled. Or, you can simply have a chat with neighbors.

You have moved long-distance and your movers are late with delivery

Once you discuss the late delivery with the moving coordinator, try to calm down. Remind yourself that the long distance movers California will cover your additional costs. So, find out how long the delay will be. That will give you ideas on what to do in the meanwhile. Let us see some possibilities.

• You should expect your movers within several hours
• Movers should reach your new home within two to three days
• They will need a week or two to reach you

What you can complete when your movers are due within hours?

Although this is more likely to happen during the local move, it can also happen during long-distance delivery. So, if you have some extra hours, you will be able to recheck utilities in the new house. Make sure that all are operational, and that soon the movers unload, you will be ready to spend a night in your new home. You can also do some quick shopping. Get some groceries for your first night at home.

If you have already completed all those tasks, you can explore your new neighborhood. You can also check out from the hotel, and bring your belongings home. Also, the previous tenants could leave some furniture pieces for you. In case you don’t like them, you can hire packing services, and someone to haul those pieces away. Will you gift them to a charity, or simply dispose of them, may depend on their condition.

What to do when movers are due two to three days after the deadline?

First of all, stay in contact with the moving manager. That will enable you to follow the whereabouts of your belongings. And will help you to organize the sleeping arrangement. For example, knowing that your delivery window is two weeks, you already had a hotel booked for that period. Now, you will have to prolong that time. Discuss the matter with hotel management. Since you are not sure when you will leave, ask them to book rooms night by night. That way you will easily organize departure once the moving truck finally arrives.

Also, ask the hotel management to issue separate bills for those extra nights. They present your extra costs. And, you will have to file them to the moving company along with the claim for reimbursement. Do the same with bills for food. In case you are having meals in the local restaurants, collect the bills. But, keep in mind. Only the bills from the period after the deadline are reimbursable.

What else you can do when waiting two to three days?

There are always things that you can improve in your new home. And, many repairs you will complete much easier while the house is still empty. So, what else could you complete before the arrival of furniture movers California. Most of the repairs you could already finish during the two-week delivery window. That is if you flew to your new destination. However, maybe you and your family were driving. If so, you could arrive at your new location just a day or two before the foreseen delivery date.

So, now you have time to check the hose. The time is good to repair flooring in some rooms, if necessary. Or, you could repaint some of the rooms, in case you dislike the existing color. You can also check the house exterior, and do the necessary repairs.

What if movers need an additional week or two to reach you?

Well, this is far from the ideal situation. You will still have all the costs of a prolonged stay covered. But, maybe you have to report to your new job. Or the kids have to start attending school. And that is making the entire situation much more complicated. 

However, if you can’t help but wait, you can use the time to complete some big projects in your new home. For example, you can arrange some things in your yard. Or, you can decide where exactly the pool table movers California will unload and reassemble your pool table. So, you can engage local interior designers to redecorate the chosen too. That way, you will not need to do it after the pool table is already in its place. And, your precious piece of furniture will not collect a lot of dust in the process.

If the movers’ ETA is two to three weeks after the expected delivery date, check your contract

If you are lucky, you have signed a contract covering the delay situations and consequences. However, to be sure of what you have signed, check your contract again. You should have it in the essential bag, along with other important documents.

Hopefully, you didn’t fail to check the delivery conditions before endorsing your signature. In case you did, the late delivery will legally not present a breach of the contract. In such a case, the mover will not be held responsible for your additional costs. Well, you can still try to negotiate the reimbursement of the additional costs. But, it will be just their goodwill to reimburse you financially, or not. The only thing that you can do in such a situation is to make review the incident.

What to do if you have already rented storage for some surplus things?

Well, it can happen that you know in advance that some of your items will not match your new home. But, you were not ready to sell them. If so, you have probably already made a contract with storage services CA. In that case, you will be paying for unused storage space. In such a case, you have two possibilities. You can:

• see with the storage managers if you can change the contract, or get the grace period until your belongings are stored in
• ask the storage management to issue a separate bill for the period when you were paying for the empty storage. That bill, along with others, you can attach to the reimbursement claim

Once again, all this is possible when you are dealing with a reliable and trustworthy company. In case you have fallen victim to a fraudulent company, things won’t be this simple.

What should you do if your movers have just disappeared?

This is the worst case that can happen to anyone moving to a new place. And, it is usually the result of not checking the moving companies carefully. Such cases are also happening more often during the peak moving time. Namely, the demand is great. And the number of movers is limited. However, if you are not 100% sure that the movers are honest and trustworthy, try to reschedule your move for a less busy period. When your movers are late, you will naturally try to contact them. The first red flag showing that something is wrong is your inability to locate them. One of the best things is to call the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Soon after receiving your call, they will start an investigation. And hopefully, they will be able to locate your missing belongings and bring them back to you.

Resources

https://www.angi.com/articles/what-do-if-your-movers-and-belongings-are-late.htm

https://www.apartmentguide.com/blog/how-to-determine-the-time-your-move-will-take/#:~:text=Time%20frame&text=Studio%20or%20one%2Dbedroom%20moves,take%208%20to%2010%20hours.

/https://moversville.com/blog/how-long-movers-deliver