This is the first of many posts into our newly revamped website (compliments of Morris Creative Group; they did an absolutely fantastic job on the revamp). For the inaugural post, I thought I would share something that has been running through my head for the past couple of weeks. It is regarding the criminals of the moving industry: the infamous ‘rogue movers.’

A few weeks ago, I took a drive out to Athens, TN to consult with a woman who was moving out of state. I knocked on the door, introduced myself, and we proceeded to talk about her situation and what she was needing us to do. She said that she needed to move fairly soon (within the next two weeks) because the mover that she thought she had booked plans with was nowhere to be found.  This is odd. “Nowhere to be found,” I said.  ”What do you mean?” She said that she had received an estimate over the phone that sounded good and she had booked dates with them, sight-unseen. “You didn’t give them any money, did you?,” I immediately asked. Unfortunately, she had.  In order to reserve the dates, she gave them a $500 deposit.  However, as the move date approached, she started calling to make sure everything was confirmed and set to go. She could not reach them and they never called her back. When she did finally get someone to pick up, they gave her the run-around stating that she did not call back in time to reserve the specific dates and that in doing so, she forfeited her deposit.  No deposit and no scheduled move. I wonder if this company even had any trucks or men at all. They could just be waiting for people to give them a deposit and then disappear.

Here are some lessons:

• Don’t give a mover any money up front!  There are instances where, if paying by credit card, the card must be authorized before the actual delivery.  But, if a mover demands cash or any deposit for the move, this a huge red flag.
• Get a visual survey performed! This is easy and all movers will perform this for free.  If they don’t, call the next mover. A visual survey is the only way that you will get an accurate estimate for everything you need done.
• Make sure you are actually dealing with a moving company! This sounds strange, but make sure the people you are talking to actually have truck and guys and the ability to move you. Make sure you are not talking to some random person in New Jersey or somewhere that is just going to farm your move out to the lowest bidder.

You can learn more about rogue movers on our website here, on the Federal Motor Carrier’s website here, or the MoveRescue site (endorsed by United Van Lines) here.

Questions?  Comments?  We’d love to hear them!