Reviews
Why the same mover has five-star and one-star reviews
Moving is a crew job on a calendar. The same company sends its best crew on a Tuesday in February and whoever is left on a Saturday in July. Mixed scores are usually a scheduling story, a subcontracting story, or a claims story. Read which one before you decide.
Anthony BaleMoving industry professional, author and writerReviewed 29 September 2026
What the licensed review rows say. 31087 dated rows, as of 2026-10-29. Counted by phrase, not by sentiment.
| Phrase family | Rows | Share of rows |
|---|---|---|
| Careful, wrapped, padded | 5006 | 16% |
| On time, early, punctual | 5098 | 16% |
| Damage, broke, scratched, dented | 9876 | 32% |
| Late, delay, delivery window | 3924 | 13% |
The three usual splits
Peak crew vs off-peak crew. Summer weekends bring temp labor and long days. The five-star review names the lead by first name; the one-star review says the crew was different from the estimate visit.
Own trucks vs a partner. A long-distance move often changes hands at a hub. The origin crew wrapped everything; the delivery crew was a different company. Ask who owns the truck at each end.
The claim. A good move with a broken dresser becomes a one-star review when the claim takes 120 days and pays 60 cents a pound. Read the damage reviews for what happened after the damage, not just the damage.
What to ask when the scores split
Which crew will do my job, and is it the crew that did the estimate visit. Is any leg subcontracted. What valuation the low reviews were on. Whether the company answered the low reviews with a claim number or a lawyer.
Then sort our thread by lowest, read the dates, and call.
Before you hire
Four checks before a deposit
Written estimate after a look
Interstate movers must give the booklet and a written estimate after a survey or a full description. A $499 ad is not an estimate.
FMCSA Protect Your MoveLegal name matches SAFER
USDOT on the paper, the truck doors, and the census. A different name is the walk.
USDOT / Companies House lookupWalk from cash and blank paper
FTC: unregistered interstate, huge deposit, cash only, or a blank contract. Photograph and leave.
FTC: hiring a mover110% on a COD non-binding job
Pay up to 110% plus agreed extras and they must hand over the load. Not a cap on extras you signed.
US interstate rules
Reviewed 29 September 2026 by Anthony Bale. Numbers on this page carry their own dates; the official pages below are the sources.
Sources
Links go to the publisher. Haulest does not add findings. Checked September 2026; if the live page moved, believe the agency.
Ask out loud
Questions people ask
- Is a mover with only five-star reviews safer?
- Not by itself. Ten dated rows with two honest threes tell you more than a wall of fives with no dates. Check the count, the dates, and the USDOT.
Next steps
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About Anthony Bale
A moving industry professional, author and writer. Anthony has been at different positions in the industry for the last 10 years, gaining significant knowledge on the relocation process. He himself has moved 6 times already, which helped him explore the other side of the moving process.
At Haulest he writes the US cost, hiring, and rights pages, reading the licensed review file every week so the numbers on the page are the numbers people reported.
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