How To Avoid Moving Scams
Use Research to Avoid Moving Scams
Everything that we can tell you in this post can be summed into the advice of “Use your research skills to avoid moving scams!” Spend as much time as you can reading about moving companies. Call plenty of people. Ask which company they used. Would they recommend them to a friend? Did they have any problems?
Get online and read reviews. You want to devote plenty of time to this kind of research. It could save you lots of money and a massive headache down the line. We go in-depth on how to research a moving company in our comprehensive moving guide. This short article will tell you everything you need to know on how to avoid scams.
Websites to Visit
We encourage you to read through as many websites as possible to learn about the moving companies you’re interested in. It never hurts to absorb as much information as possible. First, however, we think you should know the websites we recommend when you’re surfing the web for customer reviews of moving companies to avoid moving scams.
moveBuddha is a website dedicated entirely to moving. It isn’t a moving company but rather a company meant to help customers learn about the moving industry and the moving process. They give plenty of tips, tricks, and valuable information for individuals looking to move. They also provide their own reviews for moving companies across the country. They give an excellent run-down of the company.
The Better Business Bureau is a tried and true website that tons of people visit every day. You can easily search companies, find their contact and company information, read reviews, and read complaints.
MyMovingReviews is a website similar to moveBuddha. They provide customer reviews and give extensive information about the company. Their blog also provides plenty of helpful information that’ll make your move easier.
Another great resource to use is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Their online database tracks complaints. And if you can’t find a company on this website, they aren’t registered with the federal trucking authority and should be avoided. Checking a company of this database is a great way to avoid moving scams.
When you’re reading these online reviews, do some extra investigation when companies have a lot of one-star and five-star reviews. This could signal that the company consistently delivers horrible service and pays people to write positive reviews.
Red Flags
You can usually avoid moving scams by finding some quick red flags. If any of the following apply to a company you’re interested in hiring, run!
- The company has no physical address
- The company asks for 100% deposits before the move
- The company asks to sign blank or unclear documents
- The company has no warehouse
- The company says it will calculate all costs after loading
- The company offers a quote that’s too low to be real – get several quotes for comparison!
- The company’s employees don’t say the company name when answering the phone
How Long In Business
Companies that have been around longer are almost always more reputable than those that haven’t. You absolutely have to find out how long the company has been in business in the moving industry. Many moving companies that try to scam customers end up changing their name after a few months. When the bad reviews start to roll in after scamming a few unlucky customers, they begin to advertise under a different name. With some thorough research, you can almost always avoid these moving scams. Double-check the company’s state and federal license numbers with the FMCSA database we mentioned earlier.
Safebound Moving & Storage is registered with both the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. We’ve been in business since 2016 and haven’t ever changed our name. So give us a call or contact us to get started with a free moving quote from a reputable moving company!
Don’t Fall Victim To Moving Scams
It isn’t hard to find horror stories of those who fall victim to these moving scams. If you read enough one-star reviews in which the company doesn’t respond or appear to try to resolve the issue, you’ll certainly find a prime example of a scam.
The storyline doesn’t change much from victim to victim or company to company. The company offers a quote that seems a bit too good to be true. When moving day comes, an unmarked truck shows up. The movers load your stuff and then demand much more than the quoted price because they claim the load is much more than anticipated.
After a bit of arguing, the customer forks over more cash before the movers take off with the customer’s belongings. Then, it’s usually a long time before the customer sees their stuff. The company basically takes the customer’s items hostage until the customer hands out the rest of the payment. They end up paying far more, often quadruple of what they thought they’d be paying to get their things back.
The mistake all of these victims make is that they didn’t do their research. In a lot of the testimonies, you’ll see them admit that they jumped at the unrealistic quote price and didn’t ask enough questions.
To avoid moving scams, it falls on your shoulders to do your research. Spend plenty of time gathering as much information as you can about the companies. If possible, get some references from friends, co-workers, and family. At the end of the day, as long as you do your due diligence, you’ll be alright.
