The moving industry is ever-growing and that means that there are countless moving companies out there. The bad news is – not all of these companies are here to help you. Some movers are only out to scam their customers and get as much money as possible. Well, we want to prevent that. When you hire an LA moving company, you want to be sure you’re in good hands and that you’re safe. After all, you’re hiring movers so that your relocation goes smoother. But people make mistakes, so sometimes they end up hiring a fraudulent company. Don’t worry, we’ll tell you all about dealing with fraudulent moving companies, just keep reading.
How to avoid fraudulent moving companies
First of all, we’ll give you some tips on how to avoid hiring fraudulent movers in the first place. After all, prevention is better than cure, so try to avoid this problem altogether. So, here’s what to do to make sure you hire legitimate movers.
Make sure the movers have licenses
Hiring a moving company is the natural choice when you’re moving, especially when it comes to long-distance relocation. But if you decide to hire professional movers when you’re moving from California to Florida, you need to be careful. Don’t go for the first company you come across without doing some research.
One of the biggest indicators that a company is legit is that it has the necessary licenses. Don’t get into business with movers who don’t have the needed papers, you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble. So, make sure to check this before hiring movers to avoid dealing with fraudulent moving companies.
Visit the company
In order to get a good glimpse of the movers and the company, you should pay a little visit to the business premises. By doing this, you’ll get an idea of whether the company is legit or not. If you notice that there are no branded vehicles or branding in general, it’s time to move on to a different company. Dealing with fraudulent moving companies isn’t an easy job, so it’s best to look out for these major red flags and be careful.
Read the reviews to avoid dealing with fraudulent moving companies
Another important step before hiring a moving company is reading its reviews. The best way to see how a company operates is by hearing people’s experiences with it. So, use the Internet to see what the customers have to say about the services. This is especially important if the company seems a little suspicious.
For example, if you’re looking for affordable moving companies Los Angeles, make sure it’s not affordable because it wants to scam you or because the service is bad. If a company’s prices are drastically lower than all the other companies, that could be a red flag. Luckily, you can find everything out by hearing what the clients’ have to say. If a company’s reviews are bad, move on to the next one if you don’t want to deal with a fraudulent moving company. You can even ask the company to give you a few references who can vouch for their professionalism.
How to deal with fraudulent movers
If you do make the mistake of hiring a fraudulent moving company, it’s all about finding the right way of dealing with this issue. It’s no use crying over spilled milk, so you should focus on making the best out of a bad situation.
Contact your lawyer when dealing with fraudulent moving companies
If you’ve already hired a fraudulent moving company and you see that there’s no going back, it’s time to contact your lawyer. Get them to go through your contract with the movers and see if there are any issues with it. Your lawyer might have a way of dealing with fraudulent moving companies and getting you out of the contract. So, asking for professional help might be the best thing to do in this situation.
Only accept written, binding moving estimates
When you’re hiring professional movers, you should definitely ask them for moving estimates. This is a great way to calculate your moving costs and decide which company suits you best. Basically, the movers should estimate the price of your move based on the weight of your belongings. Well, even when you’re getting moving quotes, you should be careful.
What you should do to make sure you don’t get scammed is ask for written binding moving estimates. This means that the movers won’t be able to add any unexpected costs after the move. On the other hand, if you get non-binding estimates, you’re a good target for being scammed. So, if a company refuses to provide you with binding written estimates, you’ll know that you’re dealing with fraudulent movers. In that case, you shouldn’t get into business with the company.
Pay with your credit card
There might still be time to run and avoid dealing with fraudulent movers. A way to avoid any moving scams is to only pay with your credit card. They will probably ask you to pay a deposit upfront. The trick is, if you pay with your credit card, you can cancel the transaction once you realize that things are going south. Other than that, you’ll also have the transaction on paper if you need evidence of their scam.
Do your best to avoid hiring fraudulent movers
We’ve given you some ways of dealing with fraudulent moving companies, but the best thing to do is try and avoid this issue. That’s why you should be very careful before signing a contract. Do your thorough research and learn everything you can about the company. Only hire movers once you’re 100% sure they’re legitimate. Good luck!