It’s easy to avoid moving scams, and we’ll show you how to do it in just 3 steps that will take less than 5 minutes to do. The key is knowing that the internet is both your worst enemy and your best friend. Many moving scams rely on the internet to contact their victims. In today’s world, anyone can set up a cheap website and have it look good, and then with a couple well-placed search engine ads, customers come to them – the internet here is your worst enemy.
But it’s also your best friend. You can find reputable moving companies by searching Google just like you can find disreputable moving companies. There are also loads of websites that share customer experiences and even list moving companies to avoid. We wanted to share 3 websites that we admire and that you can check in under 5 minutes to find out if your moving company is legit and to make sure you avoid moving scams. Just 5 minutes to be sure you have the best moving company for your needs and price range.
1. Moving Scams.com Blacklist – If you have the name of a company that interests you, take a minute to run it by the list on this site. Moving Scams was started by Tim Walker when he got scammed by a company known as “America’s Best Movers.” He tells the full story here. He turned that awful experience into a positive one for the rest of us, compiling a blacklist of disreputable moving companies based on his readers’ reviews so that others can avoid moving scams too. It takes a minute to make sure your moving company isn’t on that list – why not do it?
2. Department of Transportation – Walker’s site can’t include everything, so the next step should be to confirm that your company is licensed. Any reputable moving company is licensed by the US Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Many states have additional certification requirements as well. Ask the company what their license number is, and then you can use the USDoT website search to easily verify their license number and record – again, it just takes a minute, why not do it? (If you’re curious, our license numbers are: DOT# 2005212 and MC# 707471). If they’re not licensed, BEWARE, of moving scams.
3. Yelp – If they’re not on the blacklist and they have a valid license, then it’s time to check out Yelp. We mention Yelp a lot because we think it’s great. Many moving companies are on there and people don’t pull any punches in the reviews. A company can easily be licensed and reputable and still not be very good at what they do, so read the reviews carefully – and before contacting a company, at least check if it’s listed – if it’s not on there, think twice!
Our hearts go out to victims of moving scams. Worse than realizing that you have lost your belongings or your hard earned cash though would be realizing that it’s easy to avoid moving scams. Just remember those sites above, and take 5 minutes to make sure that your move is in good hands.