A Few Moving Facts

In 2006 the Better Business Bureau logged over 9,000 complaints against movers.^[1] An article in the August 5, 2009 Calgary Herald quotes Ellen Wright (president of the Calgary Better Business Bureau) as saying “In southern Alberta, movers racked up the third-highest number of complaints and the most inquiries from April 2008 to March 2009”.^[2]

In a recent report 2008 BC BBB Report on Complaints by Industry the BC BBB shows Movers second only to Roofing Contractors in inquiries with 111,105 Inquiries and 659 Complaints of which 387 were settled, 260 not settled, and 12 that could not even be pursued.

The complaints range from no-shows, damaged or missing property, goods held for ransom, outrageous price escalations, poor performance, and verbal abuse.

The industry is unregulated. Rogue movers are everywhere. And a quick search for movers reveals the severity of the problem. People claiming to be professional movers offering unbelievably low rates while providing no company name, no address, and no contact information other than a cell phone number, are offering moving services.

It's at the point where professional moving companies are being buried in amongst the rogues. Unsuspecting movers are being duped into believing the (too good to be true) claims, willing to take the risk in order to save a few bucks, only to find out later (when it's too late) that they have fallen victim to a rogue mover.

So how do you distinguish an honest, reliable mover from a rogue mover? Hopefully this article will help you weed out the rogues, and make an informed decision on selecting the right mover.

Don't Hire a Moving Broker

Avoid any sites on the internet claiming to “Submit Requests for Quotes to Many Movers… get the best deal”. Most reputable movers won't even deal with these companies and if they would allow you to see who they are submitting quotes to you would see only a few movers, many of whom you have never heard.

If something does go wrong with the move, you will have two companies to deal with who may just blame each other.

Don't be baited – Never Select a Mover on “Lowest Price”

This can't be emphasized enough. Selecting the lowest price will greatly increase the likelihood that you and your belongings are in for a bad ride. Do a little research on the movers. A little homework can save you a lot of time, money, stress, and may even save your belongings. Put price out of your mind for the time being. You should concern yourself with price only after creating a list of likely candidates. You can then decide on a price point you are comfortable with (or even negotiate prices between them).

Channel 3 News – Alan Bligh (BBB) discusses 3 Moving Scams

Step #1 – Finding Candidate Movers

The internet makes it easier than ever to find potential candidates. It even provides you the resources you need to weed out the bad apples. Thanks to CraigsList , Google , and the Better Business Bureau you can quite easily build-up a list of qualified prospects while weeding out the rogue movers and avoiding moving scams.

Let's visit CraigsList → CraigsList

In any one day there can be anywhere from 5 to 500 listings under Moving Services. Ignoring any listings for ‘Garbage/Trash/Junk Removal’ or other unrelated services, go down the list for the past few days to determine who is offering what.

If they are offering to haul junk/garbage as well as moving keep going, they are probably using the same truck and you don't want your clothes to be smelling like yesterday's garbage.

If a company name is given, a quick Google search on the name will show you if they are known and may reveal complaints against them.

If no company name is indicated, that's a good indication it's not a moving company but instead… guys with trucks. If you are moving your junk out of the garage and putting it in storage, these may the guys to call. If you are moving your expensive furniture and life's belongings, you may want to keep looking. They probably aren't using moving trucks and as such, your belongings many not be properly fastened down, blanketed, and secure having a much greater chance of being damaged. Since they are not moving companies, they are not likely insured so if your belongings do get lost or damaged, you have little chance of recovery. Neither are they likely to be covered by WorkSafe BC (Workman's Compensation) so if they themselves get injured while on your property, you may be held responsible. If they should steal your belongings, you may not be able to track them down later. Who knows what name they will be using next week, or even if they'll be using the same cell phone.

No address is another indicator of a possible rogue mover. A reputable mover will post not only a business name, but an address, phone number, and the fact that they are licensed, insured, WorkSafe BC covered, and BBB Accredited. These are for your benefit, if they have them they will be posted. They should also have a web site where you can get more details on their moving services and their policies.

Note: Searching Google for the phone number can sometimes turn up some very interesting information. You may find the same number advertised elsewhere for garbage services or previously or currently operating under another name. Or even complaints against them. A Reverse Phone Lookup should indicate if the number is to a moving company or an unknown cell phone.

Jot down the names and numbers for the movers that qualify so far, along with anything else that you find particularly interesting about them (ie. hourly rate, free boxes, etc.) Be aware that just because they give themselves a name and claim to be licensed, insured, WorkPlace BC Covered, and BBB accredited does not mean they are. We'll weed out the liars once we complete the list of possible movers.

Next Stop → Google

When searching Google, enter the area you are moving from or moving to, followed by ‘moving’ or ‘movers’. (ie ‘North Vancouver moving’) You can also try a broader scope (ie ‘Vancouver moving’) if not enough movers are listed in your local area.

CraigsList will likely be among the first few. We've already covered CraigsList so continue down using the same qualifications as you did for CraigsList covering the first 5 pages of listings or whatever you feel comfortable with. Start with a good long list, it may surprise you just how many turn out to be rogue movers and just how short your short list becomes.

Other Sources

You might also want to check your Local Community Papers or the major papers in your city (ie Vancouver Province , Vancouver Sun ). Use the same judgment and perform the same checks when selecting movers from the newspapers, rogue movers are everywhere, avoid moving scams.

Trimming The List

If you haven't been making the calls while building your list, now is time do do it. The trimming starts with a call to each potential mover asking them the following questions:

• if they are available for the move on the day(s) required
• if they are Licensed, Insured, covered by WorkSafe BC, and are BBB Accredited
• the name of their insurance carrier and policy number

That's all we need now. It's amazing how many will blatantly lie about their credentials. If they begin lying at this point, don't expect an honest estimate. We tried with several movers we found on CraigsList and although they insisted they were covered and could prove it, it wasn't till we checked WorkSafe BC and discovered they weren't listed that they admitted it. Don't take their word for it, insist on proof.

Verifying BBB Accreditation → Accredited Vancouver Movers

The BBB is a good place to start your research. The link above takes you to the BBB's web site where you can get a list of BBB Accredited Movers.

Note: not appearing in this list does not imply a bad BBB rating. It means only that the company has not become accredited and so the BBB can not confirm their operational status. The BBB site also provides ratings for many non-accredited movers. You can search by company name for the mover of interest. If the company is not listed at all it is either not a company, has not been in business long enough to get a rating, or has had no complaints against them and are unknown to the BBB.

Click here to see Urban Rush Movers BBB Rating

Worksafe BC – Getting a Clearance Letter

A clearance letter is a WorkSafe BC document indicating that a business is covered. If you get a clearance letter you will know that it is a company and they are covered greatly decreasing the chance of becoming the victim of a rogue mover. A clearance letter can be obtained free online from WorkSafe BC by following these steps:

• navigate to the ‘Getting a Clearance Letter’ section of the WorkSafe BC web site.
• scroll down the page, and click on the [“Getting a Clearance Letter”] bar.
• click the “Legal name or Trade name” radio button, and enter the business name of the mover.
• The top line of the next page ‘Step 2’ should let you know that at least one record was found. If not, you can call them back, ask for their registration number, and try that but more likely they are not registered.
• If at least one appears, you will see the company name along with the registration number.
• click the box next to their account number and the [Next] button above the list.
• enter your information (who is asking) on the next page, no eMail or other confirmation is required but this information is printed at the top of the clearance letter.
• on the next step, click the ‘Create Clearance Letter’ and a new window will open up with a PDF clearance letter that can be viewed and printed.

Click here to see Urban Rush Movers WorkSafe BC Certificate
Click here to get a clearance letter for other movers.

If your potential mover has made it this far, it's probably a safe bet that they are not a rogue mover and you are not about to fall victim to another moving scam. If you started with a list of 300 possibilities, you are also probably down to under 20 by now.

Checking Insurance

If you are speaking to them in person, you can ask to see a copy of their insurance certificate. If not, you can call the insurance company with the policy number asking them to verify. they may even be able to eMail you a copy for verification.

Click here to see Urban Rush Movers Certificate of Insurance

Proceed to Request Quotes

It can be time consuming but from the number of qualified movers left in your list of willing movers it's easy to see how easy it is for ‘unsuspecting people moving’ to become victims of rogue movers.

References

• [1] BBB 5/2/2007 – “Spotting Rogue Movers Before They Have Your Goods”
• [2] Calgary Herald 8/5/2009 – “Alberta studies rules for movers as complaints increase”