Questions to AskBefore You Hire
The seven questions that separate honest San Diego movers from surprise-bill operators, from a family owned company serving San Diego since 1997.
Quick answer: Before hiring any San Diego moving company, verify their license, confirm the full hourly rate including fuel and drive time, and get the minimum hours in writing. The questions below protect you from the surprise bills and no-show crews that generate most moving horror stories.
1. Are You Licensed and Insured?
Every legitimate California mover has a BHGS permit number and a US DOT number, and will give them to you without hesitation. Discount Movers holds CAL-T #201759 (BHGS) and US DOT #4372335, and you can verify both on our legal resources page with direct links to the state and federal lookup tools. If a company hesitates on this question, end the call.
2. What Is the Full Hourly Rate, Including Everything?
Ask specifically about fuel charges, drive time, stair fees, and equipment fees. California law requires double drive time on local moves, and honest companies explain it up front. At Discount Movers the numbers are public: $119 per hour cash for 2 movers, or $129 per hour by card, a flat $75 fuel fee in San Diego County, no stair fees, and blankets, shrink wrap, and dollies included. Full rates are on our pricing page.
3. What Is the Minimum, and How Do You Bill After It?
Most San Diego movers have a 3-hour minimum. The important follow-up is how time is billed after the minimum. Companies that bill in full-hour blocks charge you 60 minutes for a job that runs 10 minutes over. We bill in 15-minute increments after the minimum, so you pay for the time actually worked.
4. Who Actually Shows Up on Move Day?
Ask whether the crew is employees or day labor hired that morning. Experienced crews work faster, damage less, and have done hundreds of moves together. Ask how long their movers have been with the company.
5. What Happens if Something Is Damaged?
Every licensed mover must include basic valuation coverage at no charge, and should explain their claims process in plain language before you book. Get it in writing.
6. Can You Provide a Certificate of Insurance for My Building?
High-rises and senior communities in San Diego usually require a COI before movers can enter. Ask whether it costs extra. We provide COIs at no charge and coordinate directly with building management.
7. Do You Have Real Local Reviews?
Look for a consistent record across Google, Yelp, and Nextdoor, with reviews that mention specific crews and neighborhoods. Discount Movers has been family owned and serving San Diego since 1997, with over 50,000 moves completed and 4.6 stars on Google from 176+ reviews, and 596 reviews in total across Google, Yelp, Customer Lobby and Facebook.
8. Do You Require a Deposit?
The answer we would want you to hear from anyone is no. A company that has not seen your load and has not agreed a price in writing has no reason to hold your money, and a deposit taken early is the leverage that makes a revised price stick later. We do not take deposits in any form, and we would treat a deposit request from anyone else as a reason to ask more questions rather than fewer.
9. Is My Move Hourly or a Flat Rate?
These are two different products and the answer should not be vague. A local move is hourly: a crew rate, a three hour minimum, and the drive between your two addresses billed twice under California double drive time. A long distance move is one flat rate agreed in writing before anything is loaded, so the number you agree is the number you pay.
If a company quotes a long distance move hourly, ask what happens when the truck sits in traffic in another state. If it quotes a local move flat without seeing the load, ask what happens when the load is bigger than described.
10. Is the Delivery a Date or a Window?
On a long distance move this is the question that separates a carrier from a broker. We give a date, from simple arithmetic: about 550 miles a day counted from the day after we load, and same day delivery for anything within 200 miles, which includes Los Angeles. A two week window usually means the load has not been placed with a driver yet.
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Call us at (858) 490-0155 and ask every one of these questions. We are happy to answer all of them, and the free estimate takes just a few minutes. You can also size your crew instantly with our crew calculator.
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Will You Put a Not to Exceed Price in Writing?
The state's household mover regulator says estimates for a California household move must be in writing and given only after an inspection of the goods to be moved. Verbal estimates and estimates given over the internet are illegal and may not be enforceable, according to the Bureau of Household Goods and Services. So the question to ask is not "how much" but "will you look at the load and then put the number in writing." A figure named before anyone has seen the load is not the document the state describes.
The written estimate for a California household move must carry a Not to Exceed price. That figure is the maximum you can be charged unless you request additional services, and any such request has to be detailed in a Change Order for Moving Services. The BHGS also states that a Change Order cannot be used simply because the mover underestimated the job. A crew that arrives and announces a higher number without a new request from you is asking for something the rules do not allow.
On an hourly local move the Not to Exceed price works as a cap on the total, not a flat fee, so ask what hours the company assumed when it set the cap and what happens if the crew finishes early. Our local jobs are billed by the hour with a three-hour minimum, and the same rule applies to us as to anyone else. If a company will not name a ceiling, or names one and then tries to raise it without a signed Change Order, you have a clear reason to call the Bureau.
Which Documents Will You Send Before Move Day?
When a California moving company is hired three or more days before the move, it must give you three things: a copy of its moving services agreement, a document called the Important Notice About Your Move, and the booklet Important Information for Persons Moving Household Goods (within California). The booklet lays out the rules a moving company has to follow and your rights. Ask for all three by name.
The point of asking is not the paperwork itself but what it reveals. A company that sends the agreement and the state booklet without being asked is operating inside the licensing system and expects you to read the rules. A company that has never heard of the Important Notice, or says it will bring "the forms" on the truck, is telling you something about how it handles the rest of the job. Read the agreement before move day so the crew rate, the minimum, and the coverage option are the same on paper as they were on the phone.
The BHGS also urges you to confirm that the company is licensed by the Bureau, because unlicensed movers operate outside the rules that protect you. The License Search button on the Bureau's site is where you check, and its site is also where a complaint is filed. If a company cannot be found there under the name on its quote, stop before you sign anything.
Binding Estimates and Brokers on Interstate Moves
For a move that crosses a state line, the question changes from Not to Exceed to binding or non-binding. Under the federal booklet Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move, a binding estimate guarantees you cannot be required to pay more than the amount on it, while a non-binding estimate is an approximation and the actual transportation charges may come in higher.
Ask which kind of estimate you are being given and get the word "binding" on the document, not just in the conversation. Our long-distance work is one flat rate agreed in writing before the truck is loaded, which is the binding kind, and we do not take a deposit to hold it. If a company answers the binding question with "it depends on the final weight," it is describing a non-binding estimate, and you should ask what the number could rise to before you agree.
The company that gives you the quote and the company that shows up with a truck are not always the same business. The FMCSA describes a moving company as one that owns trucks and has staff that handles your move directly, and a moving broker as an entity that arranges transportation and hires an actual moving company to do the physical move. Both must be registered with the FMCSA, so a registration alone does not tell you which one you are talking to. The FMCSA mover search does.
That search shows the location of the company's headquarters, its contact information, its registration status, and its type of business, listed as carrier, broker, or freight forwarder. Run the DOT number from the quote through it and read the type line. Discount Movers is registered as a carrier under US DOT #4372335, which means we handle the move with our own trucks and staff rather than selling it to another company. If the type says broker, ask which carrier will actually take the shipment and check that carrier's number too, because that is the company whose estimate and liability terms apply.
What Does Your Coverage Pay Per Pound?
When a mover says damage is "covered," ask what the coverage pays per pound. On an interstate move the FMCSA explains that released value protection costs nothing and is offered at no additional charge, but the mover is responsible for no more than 60 cents per pound per article. Ask whether that is the coverage the quote means when it says damage is included, and know the figure before the truck leaves. Details are on the FMCSA liability and protection page.
The same page describes the full value protection option, so the question to ask is which option is written on your agreement and what it costs. For a move inside California, the BHGS booklet described above covers the options for additional protection and how value is set, which is why asking for the booklet and asking about coverage are the same conversation.
Common Questions