Why do I find such contradictory answers about how to move my household goods to Mexico?
As you might imagine, at Best Mexico Movers, I get questions all the time about the proper way to move one’s household goods to Mexico. And, if you’ve been in Mexico for any length of time or even if you’re on Facebook a lot or do a lot of research online, you might not find it hard to believe that when most people first contact us, they have at least some of it wrong.
Unfortunately, many of the people who call me have wasted a lot of time, money and / or emotional energy based on this wrong information.
There are three main reasons why you could be getting contradictory (and many times, just plain wrong) answers online regarding the right way to move your household goods to Mexico:
- The person answering is a blowhard who has no idea what he or she is talking about but has no problem giving out information as an expert.
- The answer was correct for that particular person answering in that particular person’s circumstance, at the time and the place and the manner that that particular person moved their household goods, but may or may not be relevant to your situation (sort of like the friend who tells you how to fix your completely unrelated back problem because he had a back problem once.)
- While technically, formally, correct, some laws and rules are not enforced in Mexico as written, while some unwritten ones are.
We don’t have to discuss much about reason number one other than to observe that there are lots of these types of people, especially on Facebook, but other places online as well. Sometimes, you can’t identify ahead of time if the person answering does or does not know what he or she is talking about. You’ve been warned.
Discussing the second answer is a bit more complex, because these people mean well, and their answers can be quite accurate for when and where they did their move.
From a “north of the border” perspective, especially for someone new to Mexico, what can be one of the more infuriating issues of complying with the Mexican system is that rules can change more frequently than you would expect and can also change depending on circumstances, in this case, such as where you cross your household goods into Mexico, what manner you cross your household goods, if you’re a permanente or temporal, etc.
Relative to the third reason, even more mind-blowing is when there is a rule or a law that clearly states how something must be done but it is not followed, which happens al the time, while some unwritten ones are enforced.
Sorry. Don’t shoot the messenger. That’s just how it works here.
Not making mistakes when moving your household goods to Mexico is important. (Just ask anyone who didn’t.) The bad news is that there are plenty of ways to make costly mistakes. The good news is that it’s also quite possible to avoid these mistakes. Here’s how:
Before acting on any information, verify that it’s correct for your specific circumstance, at the place, manner, and time you will be importing your household goods. Ask someone in a position to know the answers and who, if it doesn’t work out, will suffer some negative consequence right along with you; someone like a commercial mover with a good reputation and experience, or a lawyer or someone else who gets paid to give their advice, and not just some random person online.
If you’re worried about the expense of asking a lawyer or someone else who gets paid to give their advice, just start with the commercial mover. Any reputable commercial mover shouldn’t charge you to answer your questions. And do so early in your process. That way, you don’t waste that time, money and / or emotional energy acting on wrong information.
