The Warning Signs to Rogue Moving According to BBB
Familiarization with red flags of rogue movers is your first defense to avoid scam moving companies
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns customers against hard to spot rouge movers. Although the moving industry is saturated with a majority of reputable moving companies, scam movers cause great hardships to their victims by holding hostage belongings until customers pay up a price exceeding initial moving quote. As from 1995 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) lacks authority to obtain court injunction on behalf of consumers that have been stung by scam moving companies. Without any legal backup consumers must do everything in their own power to avoid rouge movers, and for this reason the BBB points at common red flags to help customers distinguish pro from con.
According to Linda Bauer Darr, president and chief executive of the American Moving & Storage Associations: "In a hostage-goods situation, somebody has already moved your stuff and quoted you one price. But by the time you get to the destination, they're holding on to goods and they ask you to pay an inflated price: we all know that when someone's charging twice the amount they originally quoted, something's gone afoul". The BBB and FMCSA suggest that the best defense available to the consumer is to identify rouge movers before handing out belongings and signing the bill of lading. Look for the following red flags before hiring a moving company:
-You are given a moving estimate over the phone without a representative conducting an in-home inspection and formulating an inventory document of your belongings to ship. The moving quote sounds too good to be true, and does not fit with the moving estimates received by other moving companies.
-The moving company accepts cash as the only form of payment, or alternatively demands a large deposit before the move.
-The company's web site has no contact information including, local address and further lacks information regarding licensing and moving insurance, yet claims for full coverage of goods in transit by the company's insurance. Typically the home page of reputable moving companies will contain the above information. A great example of reputable moving company who makes available the above information on its home page is Mover New York.
-Your mover does not provide you with “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” booklet when preparing for an interstate move, despite Federal regulations to do so.
-On moving day instead of the company's tuck, a rental truck arrives to transport you belongings
In addition to looking out for the above warning signs, the BBB urges all customers to research the moving companies before selecting one. Obtain several moving quotes in writing by different moving companies. The price quote is typically provided by a representative from the moving company conducting an in home inspection of all your belongings to be shipped, and formulates a moving estimate according to calculated weight and distance. The moving representative will provide you with the inventory record of your articles. On your part it is highly recommended to show all of your items to the moving representative in order to obtain an accurate moving price as possible.
The good news are that rouge movers are a minority in comparison to the vast numbers of reputable moving companies who place the customer's rights as first objective. Nonetheless due to no legal support for the consumer who has fallen prey to scam movers, being familiar with red flags can save you from entrusting your belongings in the wrong hands.