Moving Scams part 1

Last modified on 2008-12-02 17:50:29 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

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Feeling like you got scammed by your mover who turned into a Pit Bull from the Poodle you hired come payment time? Your mover got lost and now expects you to foot the bill for their sightseeing adventures? Or suddenly your’re faced with bulky fees, mileage charges, extra inventory, hazardous charges, padding charges* long walks, extra flights, elevator, broken elevator, disassembly, assembly, and hell, now a fragile fee and now you’re thinking “I gotta pay you to eat too? Jeez, did I hire the wrong mover or what”?

They know you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, the movers want twice the estimate and they know you have to get out today! Or even worse, they didn’t even tell you about extras beforehand and are now refusing to unload until you cough up the extra cash! And they don’t take checks either? Then the frustration boils; “I shoulda rented a U Haul…..on second thought, maybe just a better mover”. Or maybe it’s not always all the movers fault.

Moving is a very stressful and time consuming chore that can stretch you to your limits financially and emotionally. What better time for an opportunist to take advantage when your shorts are down. Fortunately this isn’t quite as prevalent as many would have you believe. By taking the time and effort to research for a good mover with competitive rates, you can save yourself a lot of grief in the long run. A little knowledge never hurts either. I hope some of this will help you in not only choosing a quality mover but also receiving an accurate quote.

On to the moving scams, real and alleged.

Are you sure you represented the move they’re about to do, or is it the move you’d rather pay for? Lets look at some of these charges closer. Granted, many of them are seemingly frivolous, and some of them are outright deceitful. Lets make sure the mover is pulling a scam though before anyone flies off the handle. Some of this might seem unsavory or even criminal….until you look a little closer, but some of it is a scam regardless.

OK. Lets take the most obvious scam charges out of the equation. Its easy for some movers to get caught up in the extra earnings from some of the easier profits of scamming, easier than doing the hard work that is. This is especially prevalent in a company that fraternizes the competition on raising move prices. Any mover who is gonna charge you extra for padding while packing it in the truck needs a hefty fine levied on him to begin with. Nobody would hire a mover knowing they intended on moving precious cargo (if you’re paying to move it, it must be worth something to you) without padding? This only the more obvious scammers pull. This is a type of extortion* in my opinion as the mover is “happy to do the job” without adequate protection that is, for “the agreed upon” price. I can’t stand this one myself and would never work a crew that tried this twice.

Stepping on the scales?

While this one isn’t really very obvious, it’s always a scam when it occurs. An empty truck arrives for the load, with an empty weight ticket. The crew does the appropriate paperwork, loads your belongings, you sign the empty weight slip and continue on your way to finishing up your ends. The crew then heads to the weigh station to get the full weight…..after getting diesel. Trucks can carry quite a bit of fuel and diesel weighs around 7.3 lbs per gallon. Just hope the helpers were either weighed or not weighed each time, and not both. Now this is just lowdown! Unfortunately it’s almost impossible to prove too.

While additional insurance is available through some companies, it might not always be worth paying extra for. If you’re receiving 60 cents per lb per article with a maximum declared value not to exceed a certain amount, paying extra for more insurance still pro-rated at 60 cents per lb………what are you actually paying extra for? While increasing the maximum amount the companies liable for might help in the event of catastrophic loss, it still won’t amount to much at all! This one makes my head spin, I can only assume that it must instill some warm fuzzies. I’m not implying that all the extra insurance add-ons aren’t worth it, but some of them certainly aren’t. Read the contract, do the math. If any gaps exist, get a rider on your homeowners/apartment renters policy in addition to the companies liability.

In Moving Scams part 2, I’ll illustrate some more common scams and charges that are legitimate for the most part but sometimes overused and exaggerated. Consumers who get their estimates in writing and have these issues in writing have far fewer problems. Here again, simply taking a little time to verify that you and the estimator are on the same page can spare you some stressful and oftentimes expensive predicaments. Honest movers realize the difficulties consumers face when trying to accurately convey the details of the job. When the estimator asks a lot of questions, be patient, as he or she is just trying to avoid hassles come move day. The estimator that comes in with a low estimate and does not ask about these specifics nor document the mutual agreement might not have taken every scenario into account. Written estimates are a necessity to assure an accurate price.

*note; special packaging charges are not to be confused with this type of scam, items requiring special packaging are oftentimes not included in an estimate. Movers will sometimes encounter an item that may not ship safely without custom packaging, unknown to the customer. Check your written estimate to make certain if this is spelled out, if it’s not, make sure it is before move day for the best price.

Moving Scams part 2

Last modified on 2009-03-01 20:54:07 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

A further look into some of the more common scams some disreputable movers practice, and some practices that are misunderstood as scams.

Movers got lost? What…..they never heard of cell phones, Google maps, map maps, how many 7-11s did they pass on their way? Give us all a break with this one, ill intentioned or not, unless the customer gave the wrong address, there’s no way the time lost should appear on the bill. This is akin to the easier scam of working reeeal sloooow. I never could stand this one either, not only for it’s dishonesty, but just personally couldn’t stand working that slow. This one has so many tricks built in, with the trucks loading process, packing and assemblies sometimes even unknown to some of the crew. Lastly for the easily obvious scam charges for additional mileage fees. This one, unless the customer truly misrepresents themselves, is simply ridiculous. If the estimator doesn’t add KNOWN mileage charges into an estimate, well he might as well leave out padding charges as well! Gimme a break with this one too. Of course theres no question surprise extra stops will be charged accordingly.

Questionable?

Some that can be a scam, but are oftentimes only perceived that way need to be looked at on a case by case basis. For instance, bulky fees. OK, probably a little overused, but oftentimes necessary even though distasteful…….to both parties. The movers don’t want to charge more for an extremely heavy or large piece because they would rather not have to. They know it causes tension with their customer, and causes extra exertion and difficulty, sometimes tremendous exertion and a higher chance of damage. The same goes for extra stairs, they would much rather not have to charge for this one but no one wants five unexpected flights. It seems that some people feel that the top floor is only three flights regardless. Now the amounts charged might be suspect and abused just like with the bulky fees. I know customers dont want to pay these extra charges but they wouldn’t be so excessive if conditions were outlined accurately prior to move day. This can cause all sorts of problems with the movers schedules and even compromise other jobs that day. These are ways less than honest movers can really make their dough. If during the quote, these conditions aren’t made clear in writing, that bargain can turn around and bite you.

One that’s often difficult for customers to understand is the elevator charge. I’ve sometimes had a hard time explaining to people that elevators are more expensive. They seemed to think I was kidding or worse yet; scamming. This is not the case at all. Unless there are more than 3 flights, elevators are more expensive than stairs, if it gets to 4 flights though the charges even out. The reason is simple, it takes less than half the time to run steps as to unload the apartment, pack the elevator, unload the elevator and finally pack the truck. Twice the work really, and a lot more bending and picking up over and over, but the kicker to elevators is theres almost always long carries involved. Now add loading and unloading the dollies to the equation as well as the actual walk itself……weighed down with furniture. Using the stairs in a highrise is usually not an option either with most layouts. Elevators and building with over 4 flights are best done by the hour. Now add a loft in your luxury highrise with a spiral staircase as a finisher making for quite an expensive move.

Another questionable practice is for an hourly company to either pad the items in the house or remove all the items from the house and place them outside for an elaborate and time consuming padding and taping session. I find this to be a scam personally, but some consumers seem to like it. I’ve always found it riskier in most cases to carry pre-wrapped items, especially if you weren’t the one who wrapped it. Trying to lift a glass sided cabinet thinking its a dresser is a good example. A mover needs to know where he’s placing pressure on fragile items for the safest transport. Again, some consumers like this, so I guess it might only be questionable depending on your skill level and quality of helpers. Better to be ultra careful when employing day labor and temps with no experience in moving.

Some of these charges are totally fair and leave the movers scratching their heads wondering why the need to explain them. Fragile fees. I’m pretty sure that a broken lamp is gonna require some compensation. The fact that its light isnt much comfort when picking up the pieces to sheepishly return to a disappointed customer. Not to mention the fact that lamps and other fragile items need extra care when packing. Extra inventory……… another head scratcher. A four piece wall unit might look like one piece, but try moving it that way. Marble and glass do not come with most pieces and take considerable time and extra packaging to transport safely. One that can go both ways is disassembly and assembly charges. I think the majority of this should be performed as part of the service. However, some things require much time and thought to disassemble and assemble. Platform beds, vintage water beds, elaborate German Shrunks and the like cannot be moved without considerable disassembly time. Some items that may not need disassembly to be moved safely when new and tight, may require it now for safe transport. If you’re being charged by the hour, you’re paying for it regardless.

Hazardous fees are very difficult to comment on accurately. Every once in a while movers will be asked to perform acts of peril against their better judgement. The mover might find the task presented to be either dangerous to the item in question or himself. Maybe he’s not the cowboy you had last time. This is also a case by case judgement call, and I would disagree strongly that this a form of extortion in many cases. Just making it look easy isn’t always a good indicator of the degree of danger and difficulty.

So much of this can be avoided totally in the first place by asking the proper questions. Using a reputable mover, maybe not the absolute cheapest but a reliable and competitive bidder. When the movers arrive, showing them courtesy can go a long way. Sounds obvious and silly to say but, although infrequently, movers are sometimes treated less than respectfully and even with a bit of contempt. Some might find their movers to be a bit course, but I’m sure they’re trying and maybe haven’t concentrated on fully developing their social skills just yet. Most I’ve worked with are sincere at heart at least. Simple things like access to water and restroom facilities can make for a much smoother day too. No one wants their movers to keep taking trips to the corner store and wasting time. Again, I’m a mover and some of my opinions are obviously skewed on their side. But I feel its good to gain insight into both directions of thinking to understand some of these issues fully. The truth is that moving is very hard work at times, but movers are usually paid well for it. The customer should always get their moneys worth but also give accurate representation, and not expect more than a fair shake. More often than not, by doing some of these things, you might find yourself surprised at just how good a service a properly motivated mover can deliver.

The majority of us movers are very interested in our customer’s satisfaction and very much appreciate you’re patronage.

The importance of verifying everything agreed upon orally is plainly stated in writing cannot be overemphasized. The oral contract you made with the estimator will be much stronger when it’s backed up on paper.  I bet the friendly and eager to please estimator won’t be so quick to agree with your assumptions as to any extra charges and damage claim refunds when he/she may lose money if trouble should arise.    Take the extra time to not only receive the written contract, but read it thoroughly to make sure nothing was left out, intentionally or not.

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