Avoiding Mover Scams

The following is an excerpt from Buying a Home: The Missing Manual.

You may have heard horror stories about scam movers who demand a big deposit and then never show up on moving day or who hold people's possessions hostage until they pay an amount three or four times greater than the original estimate. Don't get scammed. If you plan to use a professional mover, follow these tips:

• Choose a local mover. Most scammers operate online only. Work with an established local company whose office you can visit.
• Get in-person estimates. Don't settle for an estimate that you get from a phone call or by filling out an online form. To get the most accurate estimate, have someone from the moving company look around your home to see what you'll be moving. Get written estimates from at least three different companies.
• Be suspicious of lowball estimates. If one estimate comes in much lower than the others, it's probably too good to be true.
• Get referrals and references. If you know someone who's moved recently, ask which mover they used and what they thought of the experience. And before you choose a mover, ask for references from previous customers, then call and ask whether those customers were happy with the mover's work.
• Get a list of reliable movers. The American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA) is the national trade association for professional movers. AMSA's website (www.promover.org) lists certified ProMovers, who must pass criminal background checks and agree to ethical standards (such as honesty in advertising and all business transactions). You can also use AMSA's referral service to request quotes from up to six prescreened ProMovers local to your area.
• Check reviews. Consumers use review websites like Yelp (www.yelp.com) and MoverReviews.com (www.moverreviews.com) to rate and write detailed reviews of moving companies they've worked with.
• Ask for the FMCSA Rights and Responsibilities booklet. By law, a mover must give you a copy of "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move," a publication of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). If a mover can't or won't provide you with a copy, look elsewhere.
• Don't hand over a large deposit before the move. Scammers often demand a big chunk of cash up front—and then never appear to move your stuff. It's not unreasonable for a mover to ask for a deposit of $100 to $200 to cover their costs if you change your mind, but if a mover wants more up front—like 25 percent of the cost of the move—don't pay it.
• Get everything in writing. Make sure the mover's estimate includes the cost of the move and any extra charges (for packing boxes, tape, wrapping materials, and so on). Don't ever sign a blank contract that the mover fills in later.
• Check for past complaints. Contact your local Better Business Bureau to see whether anyone has filed a complaint there about the mover. If you're moving from one state to another, you can also search for complaints filed with FMCSA (which regulates interstate moves).

For a smooth move, think ahead. Unlike Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, you're not going to look out the window one day and discover you're not in Kansas any more. A move happens in stages—and staying on top of those stages at the right time is the secret to a successful move. Use the to-do lists in this section as a starting point for your own, adding any tasks your situation requires.

Comments

[MonkeyMonk]

I've moved cross-country three times in the past decade and I've gone with United Van Lines all three times. Aside from a misunderstanding on an insurance claim once (resolved) they've all been good experiences.

My last move was earlier this year and not only did they not damage a single belonging -- they refunded me nearly $800 because the shipment didn't end up weighing as much as was estimated. They were very reasonably priced compared to estimates I got from Allied, Bekins, and another local mover.

The "no deposit upfront" item above doesn't really apply to long-distance moves because in my experience everyone requires half on pick-up and half on delivery (usually 1-2 weeks later).

[Tyler]

I once had to do a lot of research on the moving and storage industry for an IPO we did years ago. I worked as a mover when I was young. And I’ve moved more times, in more ways that I would like to count. The industry is not consumer friendly. This list is great.

There are two types of moves- short and long haul. Don’t hire a local shop if you are moving across the country. Some local shops will try to do the long move and it forces them to rely on other companies or they will hire the long haul company and charge you a fee. In addition, it can be a mess if something happens and the likelihood of problems increases.

If you are moving a long distance and you hire a long haul mover, you should know a few things.
1. They are franchises. So the group that packed you up is not the same group that will unpack you. You might have hired the best option in LA, but the franchise in NYC is the worst. Do your research for both ends of the move.
2. Unless you can fill an entire long haul truck, your stuff will be mixed with other people’s stuff. (You wont fill a long haul truck unless you live in 10,000+ sq feet)
3. The ‘insurance’ tends to be by the lbs. So don’t expect very much money if something gets damaged.
The process:
1. They empty your house and pack up a truck. You wave goodbye to all your worldly possessions and hope to see it in a few weeks in the condition you left it.
2. The team heads back to the warehouse and empties out the truck. Your things sit in a pile at the warehouse roped off from all the other moves. It will sit there, exposed to everyone in the warehouse until they have enough moves to load an entire truck. (This is when things get lost in the back of someone’s car and why you should be careful what you write on the boxes.)
3. Everything gets loaded on a truck going east. 4,5,6 homes worth of stuff gets loaded and mingled. Yet another place where things get lost. (We thought your new TV was Billy’s in KS City.)
4. Your stuff arrives in NYC and is unloaded in yet another warehouse.
5. They reload all your goods into yet another truck and drive to your new place where they unload it.

The main product of a moving company is the labor. If you are moving within 50 miles, consider hiring the labor yourself. If you hire the labor yourself, you will also need to rent a moving vehicle. From what I know, this is the only structural way to save money.

Don’t cheap out on people. If they say you need 3 people, ask if 4 would be better. If you only have a move that requires 2 people, you should really consider doing it yourself with some friends.

Everything goes in a box. Everything- no exceptions. You want to make the move as easy and fast as possible. If you're major cost is people, and they charge by the hour, speed is key.

The last time I moved across the country I used a company like pods (not pods) that dropped off the boxes, I locked them up, and they sat in a storage facility for a few months. I hired movers to do the lifting. It was the best experience I’ve had… and I’ve moved a lot in many different ways.

[Cristina]

I've hired movers to load a U-Haul truck that I then drove to my new location. Since I had friends on the other side to help me unload, it ended up being cheapest to do it this way. Plus, there was no worry about my stuff being held hostage.