Last time I researched this issue, I found good information on the Federal Trade Commission website at www.ftc.gov

I'll weigh in again. When we moved cross country we rented the largest U-haul truck they have, loaded it and unloaded it ourselves. No problems, no moving contracts, no delays and nothing damaged.

We dropped off the truck after unloading it and everthing was finished. I had lots of peace of mind knowing we were in control of everthing.

I've got two words for you: INSURANCE FIRE.

In all seriousness, I've done a few of these. My best moves have been they ones where I rented a truck (Ryder).

If you get a moving company, here are a couple of things to watch out for.

1) When they estimate how long it will take to pack (and how many people they will use), argue with them an force them to add more people/more time. In every case, it took longer than they estimated and they ended up just throwing things in boxes as they loaded up the truck. Resulted in damaged items and lousy inventory control.

2) Make sure that they give you the delivery day in writing. The biggest problem I ran into was a move to Virginia in which they loaded up the truck and put my stuff into storage (we needed to find a place to and then have the stuff delivered. We set a tentative delivery date for 1 week after the original move). When I called them 3 days after arriving in VA to get the stuff delivered, they said the earliest delivery date available was 3 1/2 weeks later.

3) Expect damage. They don't treat your things like you treat your things. We had a couple of boxes each time that looked like they had been run over.

4) Make sure the cost/weight of an item makes moving it worth while. That old dresser that you've had since college may not be worth moving. Those boxes of old books and magazines weigh (literally) a ton.

Good luck!

Hi there -- having done this a few times in the last few years, and planning another move for next month, I found some good info on how to research moving companies on the following websites: American Moving and Storage Association, www.moving.org -- they have a very detailed and helpful consumer handbook, and the site explains alot of the details involved in getting an estimate and choosing a mover in clear language. Easy to follow.
Another site I just found recently was movingscam.com, which has an active message board. While the site itself seems rather militant (can't think of better word) it does have some useful information, such as the article titled "How to Find a Reputable Mover" on the left side of the home page. While I have not ever gone to that extent in verifying that my movers were legitimate, I can imagine it would certainly put you at ease.
Hope this helps and good luck with the transition!

You might want to contact your local Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org/) and see if they have a list of BBB approved local moving companies. Once you've gotten cost estimates from a few check the BBB for complaints logged against them. Also, some companies will give you a cost estimate and others will guarantee the cost. I'd read an article that claimed some companies will deliberately give a low estimate and then stick you with the higher cost, so I only considered companies that would guarantee the price.