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In an industry where a business literally packs up all of your possessions and is responsible for them for certain amount of time, there is plenty of room for fraud. During the time that the movers are in possession of your items, they hold quite a bit of power over you. In the past few years, new ways of committing fraud against customers in need of movers has increased. These fraudulent activities have led to a tarnished reputation of some legitimate movers while the phonies are trying to cash in customers’ vulnerability.
Moving Broker Fraud
One of the ways that criminals have taken advantage of movers is to set themselves up as moving brokers online. The phony companies take the moving order, then sell the moving lead to an actual moving company. The phony company will leave the customer hanging on moving day, and then the actual moving company will “come to the rescue” with huge, jacked up prices.
This puts the customers at serious risk. Here are a few tips to help alert you to the possibility that a moving broker may be a scam.
Phone Estimates
Phone estimates for a moving job are never a good idea, and are very inefficient. If the moving broker you are dealing with wants to only provide a phone estimate, find a new mover. A good, legitimate mover will come for an onsite estimate.
Upfront Fees
If the company you are dealing with requires you to pay upfront fees, that is an indicator that they do not already have the financial backing that a legitimate moving company should have. A dependable company will allow you to pay your full amount upon safe delivery of your goods.
Lack of Information
If the company you are dealing with does not want to fully answer all of your questions, you may want to reconsider. Moving brokers are able to operate because they trick their customers rather than flat out lying to them. This is why you should ask lots of questions to make sure you understand exactly how the moving company operates.