How to Identify Rogue Movers?

Before you embark on a rogue journey, make sure to check the credibility and reliability of the moving company you are eyeing to hire. Rogue movers became surprisingly common, so you want to be confident that you made the right choice. Don’t underestimate the power of recommendation. Ask around if your friends or colleagues have a word of praise for some NYC moving company they’ve dealt with in the past. Furthermore, get online and search for recommendations and positive reviews, as well as for movers’ FMCSA and a USDOT number. Unlicensed moving companies might be common, but our tips will help you recognize them on time and avoid getting scammed. Carry on reading to learn how to identify rogue movers and avoid being involved in a moving fraud.

Common Rogue Movers Tactics

Internet is generally their main tool for sourcing marks, as they use tactics to rank in Google when people search for moving companies online. Illegitimate moving companies usually have some patterns, and these are some of them:

Estimate over the phone

Rogue movers will give you an estimate without visual, usually via email or a phone call. The important thing to note is that every legitimate moving company needs a visual to provide a quote. This part is absolutely necessary because they base their moving quotes on the total weight or size of the load.

Unusually low price

While some moving companies are more affordable than others, be careful if you get moving quotes Brooklyn that’s extremely low compared to all others. Don’t be too quick to settle on the lowest price, as this can be a clear indicator of rogue movers.

Surprisingly high bill

Another common way of rogue movers’ operating is delivering a bill that’s higher than you expected. They will give you the price after the move is done, and should you not pay, they will hold your belongings hostage until you do. Unlike fraudulent ones, a reliable moving company will always provide a written estimate with the price remaining the same.

Rogue Movers Identifiers

You can easily recognize fraudulent movers if you pay attention to the red flags that we’ve listed in the following text. Although these are not all the tricks that rogue movers have up their sleeves, they are the most common ones to look for when shopping around for a local NYC moving company.

Not doing an onsite inspection

If movers give you an estimate over the phone, you should instantly carry on finding services elsewhere. An estimate over the phone is possible via video call, which became more common nowadays for moving during the COVID-19 pandemic. Movers can schedule a video chat and do a walkthrough of your home without visiting. An online estimate is pretty convenient, but don’t confuse this with simply getting a price over a phone call. The explanation for this is quite simple. Movers need to visually assess your household and all the belongings to give you an accurate price. Their cost is based on the number of items, the overall weight of the shipment, or the space it takes up in the moving truck. A reputable moving company will always insist on seeing your possessions before giving a price. If they don’t, keep on searching.

Demanding a large cash deposit ahead

There are a minimum number of payment methods that movers should have, and legitimate ones will never insist on cash. In case they do, that could imply that it’s for purposes of committing tax fraud, or being involved in another illegal activity. That makes them reluctant to leave a paper trail. Asking for a large cash deposit before the move is a huge red flag for you, and you should never agree to such a thing. Also, make sure to hire a moving company that has a transparent pricing system, such as Dorothy and Martha, to make sure you will not deal with hidden costs.

No paperwork

Registered movers will provide you with a booklet named Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move. You should read it thoroughly to get the basic knowledge about moving and have a successful collaboration. The essential part of making it successful is protecting both parties involved – yourself and the moving company, and the right paperwork serves that purpose. You should also get an estimate that’s in a written form, Order for Service that has all the agreed services listed, Bill of Landing that is actually a contract between your movers and you, and the receipt of your belongings.

There might be additional paperwork provided to you, but the ones listed above should always be included. Never hire a company if they don’t provide paperwork for their services.

Movers don’t have an address

A legitimate company from any business area will have an official website with all the information. It should include their local address and a contact number to be able to reach them. Rogue movers often don’t have a physical address where you could visit their office. That can be a good sign for you that something is off.

A rental truck instead of company’s truck

Credible Brooklyn movers have their office, their employees, and their professional equipment. That includes their own trucks used for transporting your things. If a moving truck has a different label than a company’s name, consider this a warning sign. Do extra research on movers you are about to hire.

How to avoid rogue movers? Hire legitimate NYC movers

You can easily avoid rogue movers by hiring a reputable moving company in the NYC area. You can have peace of mind knowing that you made the right choice. At Dorothy and Martha moving services in NYC, we assist with all types of moves, including short distance, long-distance move, commercial business moves, etc. We are available should you have any questions, and we are happy to answer all of them. Contact us anytime to get a quote.