Home Ownership You can protect yourself and negotiate a favourable deal by getting at least three estimates; by considering independent moving companies; and by getting a guaranteed weight estimate.

Here are some additional cost- saving measures:

• True weight: Many agents now offer consumers the opportunity to follow the van to the government weigh scales after it has been loaded. This concession is the result of complaints about past abuses. Consumers tell stories of trucks weighed with a load of snow on top, full gas tanks or a big heavy driver in the back. Remember that the van is weighed before and after loading and you pay the line-haul rate on the difference. If you can arrange it, witness the weigh-in.

One moving maxim is "Keep the weight down". Even though the rate per hundred pounds falls as the total weight shipped increases, you should hold a garage sale or give away heavy items before moving day. There are certain break points in the tariff book where the rate changes. A household move will generally fall between 4000 and 16 000 pounds. At 8000 and 12 000 pounds the rate changes. Be aware of the break points; if your total weight is close to a break point it might be worth bumping the weight up to the next category to get the lower rate. But don't pay to ship heavy, low-value items such as firewood or fertilizer just to get a lower rate.




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November 20, 2008