Moving Scams

For the most part, the moving industry consists of businesses who care about your move and want to offer their particular services to make the job easier. Still, there are people in the moving business just like everywhere else who are frauds and have very well laid out scams to separate you from your hard-earned cash. These criminals do nothing but tarnish the reputation of moving companies in general, so that legitimate moving companies lose business.

 

Because you, your family or friends may someday be the victim of a moving scam, we have a story to tell you which illustrates how a scam might work. While most moving companies and suppliers are forthright and honest, you still need to be aware of what can happen if you run across a scammer. Here is an illustration of the dark side of the moving business.

 

John was recently promoted to Regional Store Manager of CV Pharmacy. His promotion required him to move from his quiet suburban home in North Carolina to the busy streets of LA. This coast-to-coast trip was John’s first-ever move.

 

Being the new guy in the moving industry, John searched for a long distance or interstate moving company online and through the yellow pages. After some coercion from friends,obtain few moving quotes and being persuaded by their internet site, John finally chose Move-a-lot company. They offered him the rate of $3.00 for every cubic foot of his belongings. After the initial assessment, his cost was based on 500 cubic feet. John agreed to this estimate of $1500 plus an additional $500 for the packages and boxes. The mover’s truck would arrive Saturday at his home, and would deliver his goods to his new apartment in California in around 2-3 weeks.

 

Come Saturday, the driver arrived early and started packing John’s belongings. John had already made an initial deposit of $300 for the truck and the driver. The driver loaded John’s moving boxes and furniture into the truck, and when he was finished, John signed the delivery papers. He was told to expect arrival of the truck at his new location in 3 weeks.

 

John arrived in LA a week later. He followed up with the mover’s customer service hotline and was informed that the truck was still in transit and he was assured his belongings would arrive on time.

 

Another two weeks passed, and his items still had not yet been delivered. John called the movers once again, and was informed that his items had arrived at their warehouse several days ago. He was told that he would need to either pick up his possessions, or have the truck deliver them to his home for an additional charge. Being new at this, John agreed to this arrangement. When the truck arrived with his belongings, he was informed that he would have to pay another $1500, which was for the mileage of the truck from the warehouse to his apartment, plus the “rent” John needed to pay because his items were stored in their warehouse for 5 days.

 

John’s agony didn’t stop there. Not only was his property delivered late, most of his items were also damaged. A few months later he heard on the news that the moving company he hired was shut down for their illegal operations.

 

This is only one account of the numerous moving scams that are happening every day across the U.S. Because of our desire for immediate answers to our relocation problems, we tend to do little research to see if a moving company is reputable or not. The internet is a great source of information but don’t ever take what you find there at face value. Not all movers with websites or yellow page ads are legitimate. Always ask a lot of questions, check out their ratings if possible, and ask for references. A reputable company will be happy to provide these.

 

And, remember that as in all things, the cheapest moving service is not always the best. As the adage goes, you get what you pay for - if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Do a little bit of investigation and comparisons of moving companies and you will be able to avoid the scammers.

 

Learn more and find a handy moving checklist at MovinGood.com.