Relocating in America is quite a common phenomenon. According to the Forbes 2024 report the recent moving rate for Americans is 12.6%. People relocate to a new place for a number of reasons such as for a new job, to cut cost of living or just for standard of living to a higher income county. However, relocating entails a lot of risk factors since you need to depend on a moving company to help you move your belongings to your new place.
Hiring a reliable moving company is crucial and challenging at the same time. There is a good chance of falling prey to fraudulent agencies without proper license and documentation. Report shows that moving scams are also a common trend in the USA. As per Forbes 2024, report Better Business Bureau receives around 13,000 complaints on moving companies each year.
Thus, it is important to be aware of all the safety measures while hiring a moving company. The following section of the article would provide some essential tips on safety measures that you should follow while selecting a moving company.
Crucial Safety Measures While Hiring a Moving Company
Given the current rate of moving of Americans, it is apparent that there are thousands of moving companies in the country. To choose an authentic and reliable moving company from this large mover’s population is extremely difficult. However, there are certain strategies that you can follow to hire a certified moving agency.
Through Research on Moving Companies
Nowadays most moving companies have online websites with convincing claims regarding their services. As a result, it becomes difficult for clients to choose the authentic service. To avoid moving scam you must check licensed moving companies near you with authentic documentation. Every authentic moving company has a license number issued by the United States Department of Transportation. You can easily check the license number of the company and complaint history online.
Check Customer’s Reviews on Trusted Online Platform
Every moving company has online pages on various social media and other authentic platforms which contain customers’ reviews. Thorough review of the customer reviews can assure you the authenticity and service quality of different moving companies.
Additionally, reviewing customers’ feedback would also make you aware of the kinds of scam that is committed by different companies. Some of the common scam of moving companies includes, surprise fees, auction threats, damaged item scams, unprofessional handling and so on. Thus, you need to be alert at every step of your moving journey to secure your valuables and avoid unjust payments of hidden fees.
Obtain a Standard Documentation
Having all the details including quote, estimate, an inventory list and a custom move plan is mandatory before hiring a moving company within your country. Alternatively, for a cross-country move important documents are customs and foreign regulations along with other required documents. Not only do these documents provide authenticity of the moving company, it would become difficult for you to dispute any service issues without these documents.
Aware of Companies with Multiple Names
You should be aware of companies that use multiple names. There is a high chance of those companies to be unauthentic. Moreover, such fraudulent companies might not show up at the last moment. As a result, you might miss a fight or your journey might get delayed dangerously. For instance, if you need to move immediately to join a job then your hiring might get delayed due to a moving scam at the last moment. Thus, make sure that the moving company you are hiring maintains a single name across all online platforms.
Endnote
Many moving companies appear legit online, but they turn out to be scammers when you hire them. It is crucial to be cautious about certain tendencies while hiring a moving company. Incomplete moves, hidden charges, valuable theft are some of the common traits of moving scams. Apart from the above safety measures you must also look for some typical indicators that inform you of a moving scam.
These include, refusing credit card payments, pre-payments before the move, not registering with the FMCSA, offering instant quotes without inspection and so on. Thus, it is recommended that you start your moving process a bit earlier so that you have time to take action against the scam and hire an authentic moving company to finish your move smoothly.
