{"id":801,"date":"2015-11-01T21:40:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-01T21:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fraud.flywheelsites.com\/shady_movers_alert\/"},"modified":"2020-11-09T07:31:50","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T07:31:50","slug":"shady_movers_alert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/shady_movers_alert\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t let a shady moving company put the moves on you – Fraud.org"},"content":{"rendered":"

Millions of Americans change residences each year–a new job, getting married, a growing family, or a desire for a better commute are all reasons that people decide to move. The moving industry is big business! Unfortunately, the industry has been dogged by consumer complaints of moving\u00a0fraud<\/span>, particularly when the moves are done over long distances. Moving\u00a0fraud<\/span>\u00a0occurs when a moving company quotes one price for a move, loads the goods, and then holds the goods hostage to get more money.<\/p>\n

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Just this month, the U.S. Department of Transportation, which regulates interstate moving companies,\u00a0shut down a moving company in Florida<\/a>\u00a0due to a number of safety violations, including failing to implement required drug and alcohol tests of drivers and allowing drivers to exceed work hour limits. The company — Full Service Van Lines — has also received a significant number of consumer complaints alleging that the company would provide \u201cbinding estimates,\u201d over the phone prior to a move but then ask for more money if the drivers found that they were moving more items than had been listed in the estimate. Other complaints alleged that items arrived at their destination weeks of months late, with some items arriving damaged or not showing up at all.<\/p>\n

In other cases, consumers looking for estimates from moving companies online have found that while they thought they were dealing with an actual moving company, they were in fact dealing with a lead-generation company. These \u201clead-gen\u201d companies then sell consumers\u2019 information to actual moving companies who contact the prospective customer to set up the move. The consumer can be left unsure of who they\u2019re actually dealing with if things go wrong. In addition, such \u201clead-generation\u201d companies may not check whether the companies they\u2019re selling leads to are legitimate moving companies with good track records, or just crooks looking for a quick buck.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, consumers do have some protections under the law when it comes time to choose a mover, but it pays to get educated ahead of time. The regulatory agency covering in-state moves varies from state to state. For a list of state agencies with jurisdiction,\u00a0click here<\/a>. For interstate moves, the Department of Transportation\u2019s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is in charge. The FMCSA has a great website to help consumers move safely at\u00a0ProtectYourMove.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Regardless of whether you\u2019re moving in-state or between states (or across the globe, for that matter), you should learn to spot the following red flags of potential moving scams:<\/p>\n