ATLANTA — Federal authorities have a warning if you’re planning to move anytime soon-- They are seeing an increase in complaints about moving scams. Officials said schemers are preying on people during an already stressful time. Now, the federal government is cracking down.
“Scam! Beware!! Disgusting humans,” wrote one concerned customer on the Better Business Bureau complaint Scam Tracker. The write-up is about a moving scam.
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Another starts with “do not trust this company.” Several described paying for moving services and not getting them.
Across the country, the feds said they’ve heard allegations of movers holding people’s possessions hostage to get more money. They described schemes that force consumers to pay higher fees, experience delays or in some cases, not receive their belongings at all.
Last year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration received 7,500 complaints like this.
“Our mission is safety,” Administrator Robin Hutcheson said. “We also have a responsibility to protect consumers from this type of fraud.”
Hutcheson has also been a victim of moving scams. She has a personal motivation for what the agency is calling “Operation Protect Your Move.”
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“There are a few tools we have and the first is what we’re doing right now, which is putting fraudulent companies on notice that we are increasing our investigations and the staff devoted, and our enforcement efforts,” Hutcheson explained. “We’re also doubling the number of staff that we have in order to investigate possible fraudulent companies and also to address the complaints that come in.”
So, what can you do to protect yourself?
“It’s so important to get all the quotes, get everything in order, know what you need,” Better Business Bureau Spokesperson Melanie McGovern said. “If they’re pushing you really hard on the phone to make that commitment, they’re not coming out to see the house and the price is just a little too good to be true, those are the biggest red flags when it comes to moving.”
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You can also look up your mover’s or broker’s registration. Then, check for any complaints against them.
“When anybody’s moving, keep a really good inventory of everything you have,” McGovern advised. “Take photos. Take time-stamped photos to show, you know, things show up at your house broken, they weren’t broken when they were moved.”
You can find more resources here.
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