How to Avoid Moving Scams

Moving to a new home can be a stressful experience, especially when it comes to finding a reliable moving company and requesting a direct moving quote from the carrier. Unfortunately, some moving brokers, most often those based in Flordia, take advantage of this stress and use it to scam unsuspecting customers, or even customers that are simply looking for low priced movers. Below, we’ll discuss what you need to know about moving scams or unscrupulous moving brokers.

First, it’s important to understand what a moving broker is. Moving brokers are companies that act as intermediaries between customers and moving companies. They typically advertise themselves as a platform that allows customers to find the best moving companies at the cheapest prices. Some sites that offer this service are not brokers though–some are moving lead generators. But others are brokers that try to sell you moving services at a low price and then sell the job to a mover that will perform the move, which is why it’s safer to request a free long-distance moving quote from the company actually handling the shipment.

The reality is that moving brokers engage in a practice known as “low-balling.” And here’s why. Once they book your move and take your deposit, they then sell the job to a mover or moving company. Because they have promised to do the move at such a low price, there is no profit in the job for the moving company. So, this encourages and creates an incentive for moving companies to find extra things to charge you for on the day of the move.

In the internet era, it is not easy to vet moving companies, and one method we recommend is to go with a company that has trucks on the road, ideally that you have seen. If you’re relocating in Southern California, working with experienced Anaheim movers can help you avoid unreliable brokers and last-minute pricing surprises. We have pictures from our jobs posted online so you can see our trucks and crews on the road through Los Angeles and California in general.

Our customers are looking for movers they can trust. They have seen our trucks on the road for decades and know that we could not be in business if we were not serious about running an ethical, customer-service oriented operation. Our reputation for integretiy has been built over decaes, and cannot be compromised. Take a look at our credentials on Google, Moving.com,  or the BBB (we have an A Rating with less than one complaint per year out of THOUSANDS of moves per year!), and it’s clear; we are in this business for the long run, and we believe that the only way to succeed is to treat our customers fairly and with respect.

So, without writing an honors thesis–the short answer is, to avoid moving scams, avoid moving brokers and go with Neatly!

Let’s GET STARTED!