Moving Brokers
A moving broker is definitely not a moving company. Brokers do not have the operation departments and logistic capabilities that the movers have.
Be wary dealing with move brokers, because you’ll usually have little idea if the moving companies they use are properly licensed and insured or meet basic quality standards.
Moving brokers are usually professional sales teams that book your moving job and forward it to an actual moving company for a commission. Usually all the communication goes through the moving broker including booking, coordination and even damage and insurance claims.
Sometimes the broker is not able to sell the job (and forward it to an actual moving company) for various reasons – availability, low estimate, resources, etc. In a case that your move is not forwarded to an actual mover, you can get stuck without a moving company on your moving day.
How do you know if the company is a broker? Sometimes it is difficult as they present themselves as the actual mover. One way is to ask for an estimator to come to your home but I have recently found that the more savvy brokers are enlisting “salesman” in major cities.
Ask for the identity of the mover, get a local phone number, an office address and their licensing information; if you can’t get it, find another mover.
