Officials and Victims Speak Out Against Unlicensed Moving Companies

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People should think twice before hiring unlicensed moving companies, if the complaints that the Oregon State Police (OSP) recently received are any indication.

Victims of unlicensed movers have complained about their belongings being stolen, sold, or held for ransom for hefty sums of money by the movers in question. These complaints eventually led to the OSP's latest crackdown in late July, when they gave out 18 citations to unlicensed and uninsured movers, which included tickets for Unlawful Pack and Load Operations.

Though the crackdown was in Oregon, moving industry officials encourage people across the globe to be wary of the dangers of trusting unlicensed moving companies. As one official stressed, “The lower price is simply not worth the risk”. To the countless victims of moving scams, truer words were never spoken.

“It's not even a matter of how well they handle the move,” says a victim who wishes to remain anonymous. “With movers like those, delays are the last thing you should worry about. Worry about what happens when they run off with your stuff.”

There is ample cause for concern, since unlicensed moving companies routinely get away with numerous offenses. Having no authority to answer to, these movers are bound only by their own code of ethics.

While it's a mistake to assume that all unlicensed movers have the same illicit intentions, it's not wise to trust them when many of them have proven capable of exploiting the trust of their customers.

Those looking for bargains are thus advised to do so the old-fashioned way: by obtaining several moving quotes and hiring the licensed mover that offers the best price. At a time when moving scams are prevalent and new moving rules require accredited moving companies to better serve their customers, trusting a licensed mover has never been a safer bet.