Why Victor Alvarez started Cardinal Moving
Victor Alvarez spent seven years writing estimates for a large regional van line before he owned a truck of his own. The job itself was simple: walk the house, count the boxes, write the number. What never sat right with him was what happened after he left. The crew that showed up on move day was almost never the crew — or even the one person — who had actually walked the house. A dispatcher just pulled whoever was free that morning and handed them someone else’s sheet. Victor watched homeowners open the door to strangers working off notes they hadn’t written, and he watched the surprises pile up: the wrong truck size, a flight of stairs nobody had flagged, a piano nobody mentioned until it was standing in the doorway.
In 2015 he started Cardinal Moving on one rule that hasn’t changed since: whoever quotes your move is on the truck that shows up to do it. Darnell Osei, our in-home estimator, walks your house and books your crew — and that’s the same crew your neighbors see pull up on move day. It’s a staffing decision more than a slogan, and it’s a big part of why so much of our business now comes from repeat customers and referrals across Edison, New Brunswick, and the rest of Central Jersey.
The people behind the trucks
Cardinal Moving runs eight trucks and sixteen people on payroll — all employees, no subcontractors, no day-labor crews brought in for a busy Saturday. Renee Castellano has run the office and the schedule since 2017; if you’ve called to book a date or move your date up by a week, you’ve talked to Renee. Darnell Osei has handled in-home estimates since 2019, and the number he writes becomes your crew’s marching orders. Latoya Simmons has led one of our crews since 2018 and is usually the first face you’ll see on move-day morning.
Licensed to move households in New Jersey
Cardinal Moving is registered with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs as a Public Mover and Warehouseman, the state’s requirement for any company moving household goods within New Jersey. For moves that cross state lines — Edison to Boston, or Edison to Richmond — we operate under US DOT and interstate MC operating authority, the federal registration required of interstate household goods carriers. We keep both current and are glad to walk you through what each one covers when you call.
Basic released-value protection rides along on every job at no extra cost, and Darnell will walk you through full-value coverage at your in-home estimate if the higher payout ceiling makes sense for what you’re moving.