Three Classic Moving Scams

Moving scams perpetrated by dishonest movers not only hurt the consumer, they also do a disservice to those whining the industry that are working hard to deliver great customer service to their customers.

The best way to defend against moving scams is to do your research before hiring a moving company  and to recognize the signs of a scam or shoddy business practices. Below you’ll find a list of three things to look out for and what you should do when you recognize a scam:

• The Name Changer: To get around poor ratings with the Better Business Bureau and other scam exposing companies, dishonest moving companies will frequently change their name to dissociate themselves from poor reviews. To defend against this, always make sure the company has a local address, get all of their “Doing Business As” names, and be absolutely sure they are licensed and insured.
• The Sight Unseen Estimate: A mover who doesn’t perform an onsite estimate is giving you one that is guaranteed to be inaccurate. This leaves the door open for a dishonest moving company to give you a price that is (usually) too good to be true and leaves them plenty of room to raise the price later by stating they misestimated your move. To defend against this, always insist on an in home estimate. If a moving company will not provide one, choose one that will.
• The Big Deposit: Honest movers won’t demand cash or large deposits before moving you — dishonest ones will. If you pay a large deposit up front, you’ll have no control over when you’ll see your precious belongings again, and a dishonest mover will hold them ransom at some point. Simply walk away from companies that demand big up front deposits.

As stated previously, take your time, do your research and you can avoid the pitfalls associated with moving scams.