Red Flags of Moving Fraud

Your best defense is to recognize a rogue mover before they have your goods. Here are the “red flags” to look out for:

No inspection

• The mover doesn’t offer or agree to an on-site inspection of your household goods and gives an estimate over the phone or Internet—sight-unseen. These estimates often sound too good-to-be-true. They usually are.

Payment first

• The moving company demands cash or a large deposit before the move.

Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move

• The mover doesn’t provide you with a copy of “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move,” a booklet movers are required by Federal regulations to supply to their customers in the planning stages of interstate moves.

No local address, license or insurance

• The company’s Web site has no local address and no information about licensing or insurance.

Mover claims

• The mover claims all goods are covered by their insurance.

No company name

• When you call the mover, the telephone is answered with a generic “Movers” or “Moving company,” rather than the company’s name.

Office conditions

• Offices and warehouse are in poor condition or nonexistent.

Generic Rental truck

• On moving day, a rental truck arrives rather than a company-owned and marked fleet truck.

If you know someone in the business that you have used, and trust, that is someone worth passing along. I know personally Bob Landsinger, of Vector Atlas Moving, In San Francisco, and can only say good things about him! if you live in the bay area give him a call, 415-822-2377.

This info (except for that last part about Bob) was copied from a USA.gov posting on 5/16/13