Avoiding Moving Scams

How To Avoid Moving Scams – The process of preparing, planning and packing to move is often quite cumbersome, especially when it entails long distance moving. As such, most people tend to look for moving companies to help make the whole process a lot manageable. There are however, some companies that may end up scamming you in the process of so doing. For this reason, you need to understand and get tips on how you can avoid moving scams. However, avoiding moving scams is not very easy. But we will give you reliable tips below that will help you out with this.

What to look out for while ensuring that you avoid getting scammed

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is an agency that helps to protect customers that are moving from one state to another. The company keeps tabs on any rogue movers who are out to take advantage of customers who may be vulnerable. The scammers use tactics that end up scamming movers of thousands of dollars every so often. The agency therefore advises that you look out for the following in a bid to avoid being scammed.

Being Set Up

There are several moving agents that are notorious for scamming people who are moving. You have to be on the absolute look out for such companies. They often avoid conversations pertaining the terms of service while ensuring that they hurry and get your items packed onto their trucks. Once this is done, they will hike the price to exorbitant amounts. It is thus very advisable that you carry out due diligence in a bid to avoid moving scams.

Suspicious Bids

The estimated amounts for moving is a sure way to help you decipher between legitimate movers who offer long distance services, and the ones who are downright criminals. Avoiding moving scams by ensuring you deal with a legitimate mover will help save lots of money. A legitimate mover will be very concerned and interested in evaluating your belongings and asking some critical questions about what you want with the packing, planning and actual delivery. Below are some of the bids that you need to be very suspicious in order to avoid moving scams.

i) Volume-Based Bid

• You need to look out for movers who give calculations of your belongings by cubic footage of space being occupied in the truck.
• The long-distance movers should calculate the quote by the average estimated weight of your goods.
• The cubic footage calculations and quotations is rather more suitable for movers that are smaller.
• The long-distance interstate moves should be calculated based on weight, using a factor used for weight conversions. Anything other than this should actually be reported to the FMCSA.

iI) The Bid for Low-Ball

• You should be very suspicious of movers who offer low-ball bids, especially for long distance moves.
• If what they are offering seems to be too good to be true, then there is a very high possibility that there is something that is amiss, and that is being hidden.
• It is therefore important that you get to understand the scope of the final costs fully, before you agree to sign the agreement.

III) Handshake Bid

• Before you allow any movers to have possessions of belongings that you are intending to move, it is very important that you insist on signing a contract that is complete.
• This is because most of the most notorious moving scammers often tend to add more fees and charges for things such as moving heavy stairs, stairs climbing, packing or any weights that may be added.
• They do this at the very last minute, thus flaring up the charges.

iV) The Phone-Based Bid

• Some movers claim that they can simply evaluate what is in your house over the phone by asking you questions.
• It is very difficult to give actual quotations without being physically present to inspect the house and ask some questions pertaining what you really want and the amount of stuff you are moving with.

v) In and Out Bid

• In as much as the movers may come physically to do an evaluation of the belongings you want to move; it is very important that they don’t just do it in a very rushed in and out manner.
• They need to take their time to get sufficient information, especially if it is a move entailing long distances.
• The thoroughness of the estimation will ensure that they look at the small details and ask you important questions, and at the end of the day, they will come up with an efficient and accurate quotation.

Measures to Take to Avoid Being Scammed

You need to do some bit of due diligence, that will ensure that you are dealing with an esteemed company and not the rogue scamming companies for moving. Below are some measures you can take in a bid to ensure that you are not being scammed:

a) Check with the City, State and Federal Regulators

• It is very vital to confirm that you are dealing with a legit company by checking with the responsible city regulators.
• This is done in a bid to ensure that you get information about their address and license verified.

b) Check with AMSA

• You also need to check that the company you want to hire to do the moving is registered with the American Moving and Storage Association.
• This is quite crucial as they will give you a detailed list of all the certified movers.
• They will therefore help you screen the company you wish to use for moving.

c) Get Everything Documented

• You need to ensure that you document any in terms of accidents that might have occurred during the moving exercise.
• You need to have the inventory copy of the company that was helping you move, before they start the moving.
• This will help you make any claims in case of damages.

d) Get References

• You need to get reliable references from people who have dealt with credible moving companies before.
• This will help you know for sure whether a company is good or not, since there is someone who will have already used their services.
• Getting a reliable moving company will help you avoid these problems that come with getting scammed.

Know About Pack And Ship Movers

Pack And Ship Movers is a company that offers fast & convenient moving services for all sorts of moving to both corporations & individuals nation-wide. The company is one of the trusted mover in America.

Here, they work to ensure that you are safely relocated, whether you are moving across different states, or even just within your locality. They use cutting edge technology to ensure that they personalize your specific needs for the moving experience, since there is uniqueness in every move. By using Pack And Ship Movers, then you will surely be able to avoid moving scams of any sort, that are nowadays very commonplace.

Services Offered by the Pack And Ship Movers

Pack And Ship Movers has been credited to be one of the top moving companies that does not have any cases whatsoever of scams. It offers various moving services like:

• Long distance moving services
• Car Shipping
• Packing & Unpacking of goods
• Storage services for long distance moving.
• Cleaning & debris removal after or before relocations.

During the moving exercise, our movers will ensure you have different checklists to effectively pack & account for each individual item. It is because of such thoroughness that ensures that the company is highly ranked and valued by many customers.