Relocations can get complicated, stressful, and quite hard. This is why we want to have professional moving assistance whenever we can. However, another issue is that relocating your entire household can cost quite a bit. You will almost always want to reduce those costs as much as you can. And this means that you may be dealing with fraudulent moving companies in your efforts to do so. These companies will try to lure you in with the promise of cheap relocation, only to pile on the costs when you can’t do anything about them. It is always better to go with established movers Los Angeles has on offer than to risk your belongings with one of the “shady” companies. In this article, we are going to teach you how to recognize and deal with the moving companies that wish to trick you.
How to be sure that you are not dealing with fraudulent moving companies?
Here is what you will need to do if you want to avoid dealing with fraudulent movers in the first place:
- Ask a lot of questions to make sure that you are not dealing with fraudulent moving companies
- Compare moving estimates
- Check with BBB and FMCA
- A professional moving company never asks for an up-front deposit
- Report them to the authorities
Whenever you feel that something is “wrong”, do not hesitate to put a stop to the negotiations and think about it. Most fraudulent companies will try to lure you in saying that this is “a one-time deal” or that you need to act fast or you will lose your chance. Don’t fall for this, ever. There are no residential or commercial movers Los Angeles has that will “bully” you into signing anything that is timed. No trustworthy ones, at least.
Ask a lot of questions to make sure that you are not dealing with fraudulent moving companies
Fraudulent movers do not like being asked a lot of questions. Which is exactly what you need to do in order to expose them. Reliable and reputable moving companies will have absolutely no qualms with answering any and all of your questions to the fullest. Here are some of the questions that you might want to ask:
- Ask for the licenses
- Demand a written agreement
- Ask about their equipment
- Insurance plans
Ask about everything, actually. How big is their fleet? How long have you been in the business? What was your most complicated relocation? The thing is, you are not actually listening to the answers but the way they are answering. True professionals will be talking in a sure and confident manner. They know the answers and do not need to think twice in their head about what their “story” is. Fraudulent movers do. If you see that they are hesitating a lot, or sweating profusely, this might be your signal to run.
Compare moving estimates
Another great way of figuring out if your moving company is “on the up and up”, is to compare their moving estimate with others. There are standards in the industry and very rarely do movers significantly deviate from them. At best, movers can offer you around 10-15% better price than their competition. And those are the outliers. Most of the time you are looking at below 5%, if so. But the moving industry is a competitive environment and there are always movers Santa Clarita CA, for example, that want to break through the competition. But fraudulent movers do not care about this. They will provide you with estimates that are 20-30% lower than their competition. This will, of course, pique your interest and make you think about what you can do with the money you will save. And that is how they get you into their trap.
Check with BBB and FMCSA
Normally, fraudulent movers are not going to be a part of reputable organizations. But to be completely honest, there are (very few) moving companies that are not a part of either the Better Business Bureau or the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. However, for the most part, if a company is not registered with either, they are either a new company or a fraudulent one. Therefore, you will always want to check out the BBB moving companies, as well as the FMCSA moving directory. If a company is a member, great, they are most likely not “out to get you”. But if it is not, be really careful.
A professional moving company never asks for an up-front deposit
While this is not true in every single situation, it holds merit for 99% of them. All trustworthy moving companies will never ask for a large, up-front, deposit. If your movers ask for one, politely decline and contact another moving company. That way, you will not have to deal with anything else that they might want to try on you. However, do try to apply logic to the process. There can be times when you ask your movers to acquire something expensive for you and they might simply want to protect themselves. But other than that, professional movers will not ask for any deposits before they provide you with their services.
How to deal with fraudulent moving companies? – Report them to the authorities
If you figure out that you are dealing with fraudulent moving companies, the best recourse is to slowly back off and report them to the proper authorities. That way, they will not be able to harm anyone else, and you will do your civic duty. It is a good feeling when you expose someone for what they are and protect countless people in the process. For that is exactly what you will be doing if you report these companies. Not only will you make your money safe, but you will also protect many others as well!
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