The truck is booked, and the keys are not ready
A closing can move. A lease can start later than planned. Repairs at the new place can run past the date you gave the mover. However it happens, you can end up with a move booked for one day and a home that won't be ready until another. A gap like that can be handled calmly if you tell the right people early and get each change on paper.
Tell the mover as soon as the date wobbles
Call the company as soon as you think the date may change, even before you know the new one. Then send an email or text that repeats the call: the original date, what has changed and when you expect to know more. Ask the company, in writing:
- What notice do you need to move my date, and is there a charge for changing it?
- What dates do you have open in the next stretch of the calendar?
- If I keep the original pickup date, what can you do with my things until the new home is ready?
- Does any of my deposit change if the date moves?
Keep each reply in your file.
Holding a loaded truck
If the gap is short, the mover may be able to load on the planned day and deliver later. Ask:
- Where would the loaded truck be parked, and is it locked and watched?
- Is there a daily charge for holding it, and from when?
- Does the protection level on my agreement still apply while the truck waits?
Ask for the answers in writing before loading begins.
Storage in between
For a longer gap, the company may offer storage at its own warehouse, or you may rent a unit and have the crew unload there. Each brings its own questions.
Mover's storage. Ask how your goods are stored, whether in sealed containers or on open shelving, who has access, how you can reach an item if you need it, what the storage rate is and how it is billed, and what redelivery from storage costs.
A unit you rent. Ask the mover whether it will unload at the storage site, how it bills the extra stop, and whether it will return to load from the unit later. Ask the storage site about access hours and whether it allows a moving truck at the door.
An inventory for anything going into storage
Before anything goes into storage, make your own record. Number each box and list its contents in a sentence. Photograph each large piece from a couple of sides, and note any scratch or dent it already has. If the crew makes an inventory, read it before you sign it, and write any disagreement on your copy.
Coverage while things wait
Ask the mover what protection applies to goods in storage and whether it differs from protection on the road. Then call your homeowners or renters insurer and ask how your policy treats belongings in a warehouse or a storage unit, and whether anything needs to be added for the gap.
Living between addresses
Pack for the gap as if for a long trip: clothing for work and home, medicines, chargers, important papers, school things for children and supplies for pets. Keep a short list of what is in storage that you might need before redelivery, and ask the mover in advance how to get at it.
Once the new date is firm, call the utilities at both addresses and set the stop and start dates to match it. Ask the post office about forwarding or holding mail for the weeks in between, and give your new date to anyone expecting to deliver to either address.
If the first mover can't take the new date
Before you cancel, line up another company and get its written quote. Ask the license question of the new company too. Then cancel the first booking in writing, and ask the company in the same message what happens to your deposit under the terms you were given.
Redelivery day
Confirm the date, the arrival window and the crew lead's name. At the new home, check each box number and each large piece against your storage inventory as it comes in. Look for damage before the crew leaves, write anything you find on the delivery paperwork, and photograph it. Ask how the company takes a claim and how long you have to make one.
The license question
Ask each company involved: "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?" Note the reply, the date and who gave it. Ask for proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation as well.
Youngstown's land area in QuickFacts
Census QuickFacts gives Youngstown a land area of 33.93 square miles in 2020, and a 2020 population per square mile of 1,770.5.
NOAA figures for the station named Youngstown
NOAA's engineering weather data lists a station named Youngstown. Among the figures it gives for that station are about 57 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year, a 100-year rainfall rate of 2.7 inches per hour, and a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet).
A short list for a slipped date
- Tell the mover early, then confirm in writing.
- Ask about date-change fees and the deposit.
- Get holding or storage charges in writing.
- Make your own numbered, photographed inventory.
- Ask the mover and your insurer about coverage in storage.
- Check everything against the inventory at redelivery.