Common Scams by Sketchy Moving Services

There is a lot of hassle that comes with moving from one house to another. This starts with the daunting packing process, which might prove to be quite a challenge if you have been living at your current home for many years. Sifting through your stuff to decide what goes and what stays takes a whole lot of time and effort.

However, it is far easier to handle than trying to find a good moving service provider that you can rely on to transport your belongings to your new place. The number of reported scams related to moving services is astounding; you need to make sure that you find a good reliable company that you can entrust with this mission. 

In order to know what to look out for when looking for the right movers, continue reading below to learn the common scams that sketchy moving services pull.

Shady contracts

Perhaps one of the most popular moving services scams is when movers serve you an unexpected hefty invoice at the end of their service. The price you initially thought you were paying somehow tripled in amount without informing you beforehand.

These scammers will usually make you sign a shady contract that contains fine-line text or ambiguous terms that they can use to con you into paying more than the agreed-upon price. That is why you need to be extra careful and read the contract thoroughly before signing. 

Hidden costs

Some moving companies provide services like pre-packaging for your belongings before the move, along with providing you with all the essential boxes and packages. In order to make their prices relatively low and trick you into signing with them, they will omit to mention that these items come at an extra cost.

When you are presented with the final bill, they will include such hidden costs among others; scamming you into paying much more than you thought you would. Renowned movers at https://www.theremovalsgroup.com.au/ explain that such scams happen because some people, unfortunately, overlook the importance of being provided with a quote that fully itemizes everything with no extra costs or hidden charges.

So, you should not hire a moving service unless you receive a detailed quote for your peace of mind.

Large deposits

It is not uncommon for businesses that provide services to ask for an upfront deposit before agreeing to finalize the contract. Once they lock down the customer, they provide a cheap subpar service different from what was initially agreed upon.

Even if you are short on time and think that it is ok to pay the deposit, you will be alarmed to find that the amount might be inexplicably huge. Unless you have an adequate guarantee in place, you should not proceed with such moving companies.

Moving brokers

You might think that you are signing a contract with a certain moving company, but then be surprised that they turn out to be operating as moving brokers. These brokers will sell your contract to another random company that you know nothing about.

Unfortunately, you will have been scammed twice; once when they went behind your back and sold your contract to another party; the second time will be if this other party turns out to be an illegitimate company. This is another common scam that many unsuspecting clients fall victim to. 

Stealing your belongings

The time the movers have between moving your belongings from the old place to the new can be enough for them to steal everything you own and make a run for it. Even if you have a valid contract, they might simply turn out to be thieves. Given how common this scam is, more people are adamant about including a detailed insurance clause in the contract to protect themselves against theft and loss of their belongings.

Another more dangerous scam that is difficult to detect is that some sketchy moving services will replace electrical appliances with other similar but faulty ones. This more elaborate scam, when it works, can be hard to uncover and can even go unnoticed by the owners themselves. 

Cybercrime

Like many people, you might prefer the ease and speed of booking moving services online. Sketchy moving services can exploit your personal information and credit card details for their benefits. Cybercrime, unfortunately, can be hard to foresee; however, you should only deal with trusted moving companies with legitimate online reviews in order to avoid being a victim. 

Falling victim to sketchy scams can be avoided when dealing with moving companies. You need to make sure you have a proper time frame to search for the right ones. Do not leave it until the last minute until you are forced to go with whichever one that is available. And of course, whenever possible, you should ask for references and go through online reviews from satisfied clients as this can be extremely helpful.