subject: Moving Frauds May Be More Common Than You Think: What To Watch Out For [print this page] In the course of any given year, there are more than 40 million moves that take place. Fortunately, most people who move from one home to another have a fairly pleasant experience. Yet others arent so lucky.
Weve all heard nightmare moving stories before. The stories may involve careless movers that break a valuable piece of furniture or even negligent moving companies that show up hours late for a relocation.
As a customer hoping to move quickly and safely to a new home, how can you protect yourself against such catastrophes? The last thing that you need on an already stressful moving day is to deal with a moving company that is unreliable, unprepared, or just plain unethical in their business practices.
Dont Pay Cash in Advance
One of the most common moving scams out there is when a company requests a large deposit before booking a moving date. Most Austin moving companies will require a customer to pay for service upon delivery. If you are asked to pay upfront, there is absolutely no guarantee whether or not your belongings will arrive to your new home in one piece.
If you do feel confident about paying a deposit for a mover, make sure to use a credit card to protect yourself against fraud. If you pay cash in advance for a move, in a worst-case scenario, you may lose your deposit altogether if a moving company decides to take the money and run instead of showing up on moving day.
Check the Better Business Bureau
Before making a final decision on a mover, its time to put on your detective hat and do a little digging. Its fairly easy to find customer reviews on Google or another customer sponsored website. If a moving company has several bad reviews from customers, take that as a red flag.
While every business has a bad customer experience from time to time, multiple customer reviews with negative feedback could be the sign of a bigger issue. You can then check on a businesss reputation through the Better Business Bureau website. Many times, you will be able to find customer information so that you can call or email past customers to ask questions about their experience with a certain company.
Watch Out for Extra Fees and Charges
Even a seemingly honest moving company can come back to bite you by slapping you with a bill that is much higher than what was first quoted. A moving company is required to tell a customer about insurance policies in advance. Depending upon the company, basic liability insurance may cover $.30 per pound per item for a local move and increase for international relocation.
If you have been charged for an insurance policy that you did not agree to, take it up with a moving company before making a final payment. Ethical movers should provide you with a fair, honest quote in advance that is reflected in the final billing statement presented to you after the move is complete.
Moving companies that exhibit any of the warning signs listed above should be avoided at all costs to protect against unfortunate yet all-too-common moving scams!
