New York ? Finding a mover is not a task to be taken lightly. After all, families are entrusting most of their worldly goods to a stranger.

But some people make only a few cursory phone calls or pick a company at random off the Internet and end up with a mover who doesn’t respect pickup and delivery schedules, tries to overcharge or won’t take responsibility for damage.

Consumers need to do solid research to find a reliable mover, experts say, and they shouldn’t wait until the last minute or they’re more likely to be the victims of a scammer.

Better Business Bureaus around the country received more than 10,200 complaints about movers last year, making it the 16th largest category out of 3,480 different business the bureaus track, according to Sheila Adkins, spokeswoman for the Council of Better Business Bureaus Inc. in Arlington, Va.

“What we usually get are contractual issues, refund issues, holding goods ‘hostage’ issues — essentially money issues,” Adkins said. “The biggest problem seems to be that consumers are quoted one price when the goods are picked up but, at the destination, they’re told that price was wrong and they’re given a different, usually higher, price.”

David Sparkman, of the American Moving and Storage Assn., a trade group headquartered in Alexandria, Va., said that consumers “should do the same research in selecting a mover as you would if you were buying an auto or house.” And he recommends families insist on detailed bids in writing.

The association offers a handbook for consumers titled “A Practical Guide to Interstate Moving” on its Web site at www.moving.org. It also has a referral service for moving companies that have agreed to abide by the association’s standards.

“The single biggest mistake is that families don’t plan ahead,” Sparkman said. “It’s not uncommon for a mover to get a call asking for a truck next week.”

He recommends consumers start their search for a mover six weeks to eight weeks before they want to move.