There are plenty of scammers in the moving industry but unfortunately, people don’t look out for the warning signs of crooked movers. Many so-called “discounted movers” are unethical, shady and disreputable moving outfits who are more interested in liberating you from your cash than delivering your possessions safe and sound.

Disreputable movers
Some of the signs are obvious. Poor phone manners should be a big red flag. A website that looks woefully out of date is another. Likewise, a general feeling that the movers are disorganized or lack experience shouldn’t be ignored. None is proof that a company is dishonest, but if your instincts say there’s something fishy, go with your gut and move away from them as soon as possible.

Tips to avoid scammers
• Company’s reputation, business licenses – Contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB.org) and do your research to insure the moving company you may be hiring is legit and reputable in the industry. Don’t call the company of interest but talk to other people and organizations to check if they are in good standing or not.
• Visual inspections – Ensure the company is willing to come to your home to do visual inspections of the items you wish to move. They will send out a surveyor or assessor with an electronic handheld machine to enter information about your belongings, an estimate of how much possessions you have and the weight of it etc. If someone provides you a quote over the phone without coming to see your stuff, that’s a bad sign.
• Payment in advance – If a moving company requests, demands that you pay in advance or provide an abnormally large portion of the payment before the organization does the move – that should set off alarm bells.
• Insurance policy – Ask if the moving company has an insurance policy for at least $1 million. Most businesses or buildings etc. will require movers to have their own insurance policy before they can enter any building or area. If the movers accidentally ruin the property, the building owners know their property will be covered by the mover’s insurance policy. Request their policy number and ask the name of their insurance company, make a call to insure the mover is insured.

It ultimately comes down to common sense and doing a little homework on your part. Before you commit to a mover, ask around. Check out websites and references. If a company has a bad reputation, somebody will have written about it online. You don’t want to take a chance when it comes to your belongings. Do your research, and you’ll be far less likely to get burned by disreputable and crooked movers.
Safe moving!

In our previous blog, I provided you tips about when you should utilize custom crating services. This week, I’m going to let you know how custom crating services work and what steps you are expected to take in order to take full advantage of custom crating packaging.

First – Your mover such as myself can get you in touch with a reputable and solid custom crating service for you. This is after you have had an in-home assessment of all of your household goods. Once you know the number of valuable items you need to be shipped in crates, an assessor will come to your home.

Second – A great moving company will always send an assessor to your home. Avoid moving companies that claim they can do this through email or by phone, watch out, they are probably scammers. The assessor will properly evaluate your valuable items and will provide the proper packing options that will keep your goods safe.

Third – Once the assessor completes the evaluation, a price will be generated through our moving electronic system and will be included in the overall moving price quote. Make sure your mover highlights the custom crate services in your moving invoice.

Fourth – Once the price quote is generated and upon your approval, skilled custom crate experts will then come to your home and will build the crate to perfectly fit all of your valuable items and goods to be shipped.

Fifth – Custom crates will have two layers of protection, soft shell that goes around the valuable items itself, and the hard-protective shell that is the hardwood walls of the crate. High-value items will be packed tightly so the items won’t move during shipping. The experts will do specialized blocking with bracing elements so your valuables will be completely immobilized.

Custom crating is the way to go to insure your expensive and valuable items are safely moved during transit. As I say frequently, always purchase moving insurance just in case.

Safe moving!