Moving Companies & Movers at 123 Vanlines .com

Job-related moves can cost a lot, but some moving expenses can be tax deductible - they are deducted when figuring adjusted gross income on your federal income tax return. Moving household goods is tax deductible, as is travel and lodging on the way to your new home.

A tax deduction may be available for the unreimbursed moving expenses of changing residences if the move is made in conjunction with changing the location of your job.

To deduct the moving expenses on your tax return you must meet the following tax tests:

The 50 mile distance test; and
The time test for remaining in your new location.

The new job site for which you want to deduct the moving expenses to must be at least 50 miles farther from your former home than was your previous job site. You must also either work full-time as an employee in the general location of your new home for at least 39 of the 52 weeks following the move for which you want to deduct moving expenses on your tax return; or work full-time as a self employed individual for both 39 of the 52 weeks and 78 of the 104 weeks immediately following the move for which you want to deduct moving expenses on your tax return. This tax requirement can be met either with one job or through a series of full-time positions.

If the above two tax tests are met you may deduct the following moving expenses on your tax return:

Travel costs of yourself and members of your household en route from your old location to your new location; and The actual cost of moving your personal effects and household goods.
Actual car expenses such as gas and oil are tax deductible if accurate records are kept, or you can take a 18 cents a mile tax deduction instead. Parking fees and tolls are tax deductible, but general car repairs, maintenance, insurance or depreciation of your car are not tax deductible.

Other moving expenses that cannot be deducted for income tax purposes include pre-move house hunting expenses, temporary living expenses, meals, expenses of buying or selling a home, home improvements to help sell a home, loss on a home sale, real estate taxes, car tags, and driver’s license and storage charges except those paid in-transit and for foreign moves.

Reimbursed moving expenses are excluded from taxable income (unless you previously deducted them on your income tax return) and unreimbursed moving expenses are tax deductions in computing your AGI rather than your itemized tax deductions.

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You’d think it’d be obvious that anyone shopping for moving and storage services would want to check out any company they were planning to surrender all of their worldly possessions and life’s memories to.The process of ‘moving’ has always conveyed change – either a physical transfer of motion or action, or an emotional response. Unfortunately, the personal life changes affected by relocation planning can become so overwhelming for some that it makes it difficult for them to make good buying decisions.

Don’t become a victim of an unscrupulous moving or storage company or relocation broker. Do your homework!After you’ve obtained each potential vendor’s company details and licensing info, confirm everything is in order. You can verify a company’s information by checking with your secretary of state’s office or state corporation commission. Coordinated Legal provides a convenient resource here.
Twenty-six states have state mover’s associations. Collectively these organizations represent the highest standards of moving and storage professionals by providing the public with resources to assist in making their vendor decision easier. Check with them or the American Moving and Storage Association if a mover claims membership.

The self storage industry is represented in thirty-five states and Canadian provinces. Like the mover’s associations, these professional groups function to protect the interests of those in need of do-it-yourself storage facilities or mobile/portable container options.

In some states like California, Illinois, and Georgia, consumers can easily check a properly licensed company’s service and complaint records at the state commerce commission or public utility websites.

For interstate moves, you can check a company’s credentials, size and safety record, authority history and complaint record using the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administrations Search Movers & Complaint History tool at the Protect Your Move.gov website.

Things you should consider when making your decision are:

Fleet Size – Does the company have dispatch control over enough licensed equipment to meet their pick up and delivery service commitments for all of their customers? A company with only one truck is going to have a difficult time handling more than one customer in different locations at the same time. Beware of small household goods movers and move brokers who advertise themselves as a “Van Line” or “Vanline”. Check their number of licensed drivers and equipment, and scope of operation.

Location – Is it practical to expect the carrier to be able to service your shipment from their location with the amount of equipment that they have qualified?

Tenure – How long has the company been involved in interstate moving? Does their motor carrier or brokerage authority have unexplained interruptions or gaps in their service?

Complaint History – What is the frequency and type of complaints the company has received? No company is perfect and it’s normal for many established, reputable interstate movers and brokers to have some criticisms. Are the number of records and nature of complaints consistent with their size and tenure?
Don’t choose the company with the lowest price when making your carrier selection. Pick the one that will provide the best value!

You won’t be disappointed!

http://www.examiner.com

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Grace Fuller said movers had refused to deliver her items unless she paid them more than they agreed in the original contract. State inspectors intervened to help resolve the issue Sunday.
Movers were not only seven days late, but the price agreed upon to move the items had changed.

Fuller called state Rep. Ed Ableser who then called Arizona Weights and Measures.
“It was horrible. It was a bunch of dishonest people trying to take from me,” said Fuller, who moved from Kansas to Tempe, Ariz., to get help for her epilepsy.”I think they knew I was disabled and I think they thought this could be an easy get over,” said Fuller.Fuller initially got a quote from Budget Van Lines, which contracts out to another moving company, Golan Van Lines. The company gave her a binding estimate of $1,024 for her one bedroom apartment.
Fuller said it was all she could afford, but the price kept getting higher.
“They told me, if you don’t have the money now, we’ll just put your stuff in storage and charge you storage,” said Fuller.

Golan Van Lines later gave Fuller a new quote of $1,711. Arizona Weights and Measures said the company altered her original contract after she signed it. Investigator J.J. Stroh with Arizona Weights and Measures stepped in to help settle the dispute and Tempe police officers were on hand as back-up.

The driver told Stroh that he works for Enterprise Van Lines a third company involved in the move.
“We’re not going to play games here I got a real short fuse. I feel that this is a little out of hand already, so this can get ugly quick,” said Stroh.

The driver eventually agreed to go weigh the truck at station. Afterward, movers delivered Fuller’s items, so that they could weigh the truck a second time to find out the actual weight of her goods.
Fuller had already paid $815 in deposits but movers insisted she pay $1,090 more.
Stroh worked out the numbers and found that Fuller only had to pay an additional $300.
“We’re just the contractor delivering the shipment,” said the driver who works for Enterprise and
only identified himself as Eugene. Eugene said he did not book Fuller’s job. He claimed that he’s just
making the delivery. “My job was to pick up the shipment and pick up a certain amount of money,
which is the balance,” said the driver.

A representative for Arizona Weights and Measures, Steve Meissner said state statute allows the department to intercede in cases where there’s a dispute.”We typically do not issue civil penalties to moving companies because candidly there’s no way to get them to pay, we have no lever to get them to collect,” added Meissner. The department plans to pass the case to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that regulates interstate movers.

The company could face up to $10,000 for each violation.Fuller admitted that she didn’t know exactly what she was getting into and trusted what she was told.”I just thank God that I got someone to help me,” Fuller said.The Arizona Department of Weights and Measures said before the economy slowed down, on average the department got three to five moving complaints each week.

http://www.kpho.com/money/18937462/detail.html

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A United Van Lines report shows that 56 percent of its vans that crossed Oregon borders last year were inbound trips, versus 44 percent outbound moves.

The largest percentage of people who moved to Oregon were from California, according to United Van Lines data.

Reacting to the new jobless figures, Gov. Ted Kulongoski said in a statement that Oregon is doing all it can to help its residents weather the economic crisis.

“This report is not just about numbers,” Kulongoski said. “It is about our family, friends and neighbors.”

February’s double-digit unemployment number — the first in double digits since January 1984 — is higher than the national unemployment rate, 8.1 percent.

The last time Oregon’s unemployment rate was this high was in July 1983, when the rate also was 10.8 percent.

Although the losses were widespread, the trade, transportation and utilities industries shed the most jobs, with retail cutting 4,000 jobs.

admin Moving News and Tips

Federal authorities make another dent in the armor of unscrupulous moving companies. It’s another step in squashing a scam News 3 Investigator Darcy Spears first exposed more than a year ago. One of the companies in trouble with the law, US Movers, was the subject of her initial expose. They’re among three New York based movers who have just been fined for multiple violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Commercial Regulations.

The federal investigation was a result of consumer complaints. We first told the story of the consumer who led the charge. When we first met Tyrone Kelley, he’d been living in a nearly empty home for months. “The truck pulled up in front of the house, and I was ecstatic to see it come and I was devastated to see it drive away.”

Tyrone hired his moving company through a web site where movers can bid online for your business. He got the price in writing to move to Las Vegas from Boston, $1482. But when the movers arrived at his new home, “They demanded triple the amount of the contract in cash and they were claiming that it was because the shipment weighed substantially more than what they had estimated.”

Federal law says movers cannot charge more than ten percent over any written estimate. Tyrone’s movers wanted nearly $5,000 for a $1,400 move. “And I’m thinking, ‘No way. This can’t be happening.’” Federal authorities say he’s the victim of a shakedown scheme where moving companies bait customers with low ball estimates, then on moving day, demand excessive cash payments.

“It’s definitely extortion, racketeering, whatever you want to call it.” The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sent US Movers a cease and desist letter to shut them down for operating without the proper licenses. They also found the company had used false weigh slips for Tyrone’s move. US Movers has to pay a $32,500 civil penalty for things like failing to participate in a dispute settlement program, failing to follow loss and damage claim procedures and failing to properly weigh shipments.

The two other companies found in violation of federal regulations are Access Van Lines, Inc., and Regal Van Lines, Ltd. Consumers may file moving complaints on a nationwide hotline at 1-888-368-7238. You can also file online using the links below.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Fines Three Movers for Violating Commercial Regulations

www.dot.gov/affairs/fmcsa2403.htm
Safety Violation and Consumer Complaint Web Site

www.fmcsa.dot.gov
Moving Advocate Team

www.movingadvocateteam.com
Moving Scam Web Site

http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=1511355&nav=15MaIvBe

admin Moving News and Tips

If forced to choose between childbirth and moving a household, I’d pick childbirth any day.

Both can be deeply painful and expensive experiences. But on moving day, no one offers you an epidural. And labor tends to produce a wonderful result at the end, while moving just leaves you surrounded by boxes.

There’s another thing the two ordeals have in common: over time, the most excruciating details tend to fade from memory, which is why we’re willing to do it more than once.

With that in mind, I thought I’d remind veterans and terrify novices with some of the many hidden costs that accompany shifting from one household to the next. Given that it’s prime moving season, some of these details might be helpful to know — so you can avoid them, plan for them or use them as an excuse to stay put.

The actual move
You may think you’re prepared for the big expense of hiring professional movers, or at least a rental truck. But that’s just the beginning.

Moving supplies. Unless a corporate fairy godmother is paying for your move, you’ll need to worry about the costs of packing supplies — boxes, tape, markers, paper, bubble wrap. Boxes alone can run $2 a pop and up, with the average eight-room house requiring more than 100 boxes.

You can reduce the cost with a little footwork. Liquor stores and some grocery stores may have boxes to give away; if you start collecting a few weeks in advance, you can drastically reduce the number of boxes you need to buy. Also, check Craigslist and Freecycle.org for people who have recently moved to your community and have boxes and other supplies to give away (or to sell for less).

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/Homebuyingguide/P121550.asp

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Few tasks are more stressful than moving. But imagine how much more stressful it would be if you had to pay ransom to recover your kidnapped goods. Moving scams are out there - whether your movers lowball you on the estimate or tack on extra fees at the end - and you need to know how to protect your money and your belongings. Joe Ridout of top watchdog group Consumer Action offers these tips:

1. Make sure the mover is licensed in your state.

2. All movers have something called a ‘claim ratio,’ which is how many claims they’ve received versus how many moves they have made. If the ratio is troubling, keep looking. The Better Business Bureau also has a database where you can find out about your mover’s reputation.

3. Find out in advance about all applicable details of the move that might affect the cost (ie. how many flights of stairs, parking, etc). If you don’t ask, they probably won’t tell you.

4. Go online. One of the best resources for consumers is MovingScam.com, a user-generated web site with great information on specific ‘problem movers.’ You can learn how others have dealt with movers taking your stuff hostage and learn which companies have track records that inspire confidence and trust.

5. If you’re moving across state lines, take comfort in knowing that there’s a federal body that regulates interstate moves. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is part of the Department of Transportation. Check out its publication, Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/28199985

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