Unlicensed and uninsured movers take the lion’s share
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‘We would like to thank Bob Hope School for allowing us to transition all their classrooms into their new facility,’ Moving 409 posts online as they finish up the move Dec. 26, despite not being listed as properly licensed with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
Owning and operating a small business in today’s economy can be a challenge, especially so for those making an effort to do legitimate business legally and ethically.
Although illegal for a mover to conduct intrastate transport of property without a license, according to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), several Southeast Texas companies are doing so and, in turn, arguably undercutting the competition.
According to the DMV Truck Stop database, there are a total of five active and insured household goods movers in the city of Beaumont out of the many more conducting business throughout the city and Southeast Texas.
Footing the bill for proper licenses and insurance in Beaumont are Olson & Kellogg Moving and Storage Co., All Around Movers & Son, Burris Transfer & Storage Co. Inc., Able Moving & Storage LLC., and Safemove SETX LLC; another licensed local mover is in Lumberton, doing business as College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving.
Missing from the list is Moving 409, a company advertised as “excited to be moving the new Bob Hope School,” a job that a licensed local mover lost to the unlicensed company cashing in on a state-funded public charter school. Licensed movers just can’t compete in bids; insurance isn’t cheap.
“The bid was $19,000, and it was a fair bid considering our expenses to do business,” one local licensed bidder for the Bob Hope school move said in a confidential interview with The Examiner. “Of course, if they don’t have to be licensed, inspected, or insured, I guess it would be easy to underbid us.”
According to the Moving 409 commercial, “Whether you’re moving locally or out of state, Moving 409 has you covered,” and, according to their social media, this unlicensed company has been moving families to and from places like Milwaukee, Las Vegas, and as far as British Columbia, Canada.
The Examiner reached out to Moving 409 owner Will Barksdale, who said he, “didn’t know whether the company was registered with Texas Department of Motor Vehicles but that Ethan Pelt would get back” with the answer at a later time.
Despite having revoked certification with the TxDMV for “not enough coverage,” Al Anselmo with Texas Storage and Moving said he is accepting clients, as does his Facebook page.
Cardinal Moving LLC of Lumberton is accepting customers despite having an expired certification with TxDMV and extremely poor Google reviews.
Despite great Google reviews, Allstar Moving of Beaumont is doing business without TxDMV certification, as are ASAP Movers and Piano Moving of Beaumont, Mula Movers of Orange, 5 Star Moving of Port Arthur, Two Bulls and a Truck of Beaumont, and many other companies.
While it may seem trivial to some, the DMV warns of financial risk to doing business with unlicensed and underinsured movers should there be an accident or property damage during the move.
“The lowest price may not make the best deal,” TxDMV advised. “Licensed movers are insured and will provide you with the proper documents for your move.”
All licensed movers are required to provide clients the “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move in Texas” document prior to loading items, according to TxDMV. Unless the mover and shipper agree in writing to a higher limit of carrier liability, a household goods carrier’s liability for loss or damage of property is set at $0.60 per pound, per article. Claims for loss or damage of property may be settled based on the weight of the article multiplied by $0.60. For example, if a 50-pound television is damaged as a result of a move, the mover is only required to reimburse $30 (50-lbs. X $0.60 = $30).
Customers looking to hire legal and insured movers are encouraged to visit https://apps.txdmv.gov/apps/mccs/ truckstop/, where each company can be searched by name and/or city after choosing “household goods carrier” as the carrier type.