Bekins Van Lines: Bekins Moving Company Review
February 21, 2010 by admin
Filed under Moving Company Reviews
Company: Bekins Van Lines
Grade: F
City: Nationwide
More often than not the perpetrators of moving scams are licensed and insured moving companies, and the majority of those come from the national vanliners. It is unfortunate but true.
I did an informal study a while back where I investigated the complaints of moving scams that were on the internet. I took these reports and looked into the moving companies that were said to have committed these scams, what I found shocked me! I found that almost 80% of the moving scam complaints were not committed by unlicensed and uninsured moving companies but licensed and insured ones…scary huh? Of those, I found that 75% were committed by nationwide vanliners…And Bekins Van Lines was at the top of the list.
Bekins Van Lines or Bekins Moving Company is a national van liners with offices (or hubs) in every state. What these specialize in is moving people across the country. They have set up their operations similar to a franchise. A local moving company becomes and authorized agent for Bekins and they sell Bekins moving services in their state and/or region. Bekins can factually go all over the world to move you. This not a bad business model.
However, Bekins is the worst company out there and should be avoided.
IN going online and googling Bekins I found that not one of the consumer rating websites rate Bekins very high. While Bekins do have their fans and fair share of positive ratings they have far more negative ratings.
J.D. Powers and Associates, a leading consumer rating agency, rated Bekins as one of the worst companies several years in a row.
Many of Bekin’s authorized moving company agents have horrible ratings themselves, including bad BBB reports. The authorized agent for my state of Michigan that operates out of Fraser is a prime example. I personally know that they are being sued by one company for name infringement and yet sued another company for the very same thing. Talk about “talking out of both sides of your mouth.” And I personally know that they spend THOUSANDS to make sure that they have a good BBB report. Yet the BBB freely admits that they have the highest amount of complaints of any moving company in Michigan and far above the normal for a company of their volume…so what does that say?
So in my opinion I would never use Bekins Moving Company…instead I would maybe Mayflower or Movex.
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Reviewing Your Moving Company
February 20, 2010 by admin
Filed under Moving Company Reviews, Moving Tips and Advice
How to review your moving company
Have you ever wanted to comment on the service you had with your movers, good or bad?
Unfortunately most moving companies do not have a website where you can leave comments about your service. And in fact I advise you not to use any mover that doesn’t have a website. (websites can be made for free these days so there is no excuse not to have one.) But even the moving companies that do have a website, most often than not, there is no place to leave comments about your service. And this is unfortunate.
Testimonials are powerful. Many of you will decide to use a moving company just because of the good reviews that you find of them online. Testimonials and reviews help build trust for moving companies; and any moving company not actively campaigning to get as many as they can and publish them far and wide are shooting themselves in the foot.
After every move that I do I ask if the customer was happy, and if they were (which is usually the case 98% of the time) I have them write a few words about there experience. Lately I have been getting videos of them saying on camera what they experienced. You can see all my testimonials on this website. Just go to the “testimonials” category and you can see hundreds of them. Or just click the videos off to the right and see and hear what a few of my recent customers have to say.
But in lieu of mover not asking for the testimonial or review where can you go to leave a review? Where will it make the most impact? This is the question.
Yelp
Yelp is a website designed just to leave reviews of businesses. All you have to is sign up and start reviewing.
There are people on Yelp that have made careers going into businesses and using their services just so they can review the business. It sounds like a horrible career choice but it does happen. Thing about Yelp is that it ranks very high on the search engines. So if you write a review of XYZ MOVERS that review will show up very early in the search engines for others to see.
Yellowpages
The Yellowpages as we know it: the big, bulky book is outmoded and going the way of the Dodo bird. Everyone is using the search engines to find businesses. Yahoo is partnered with Yellowpages so you can find those companies with internet listings ranking quite high with Yahoo. The thing about the internet listing for Yellowpages (and Yellowbook, Superpages, etc.) is that they have a place where you can leave reviews the moving company that you used. You can leave up to 5 stars for the movers that you chose.
I love Google. As a business person Google makes it so easy for me to have everything I need to create, run and manage a business. They provide all the tools I will ever need. One feature which I am sure that you are familiar with is Google Maps.
Type in the keyword you are looking for like: “professional movers” or “reliable moving” or “movers in (your city)” and a bunch of listing s come up right next to a map. By clicking on those listings you will find a profile page provided by that business of choice. What you may have not known is that that listing page gives you the option to not only read reviews but to leave them as well.
In my opinion, this is one of the best places to leave a review of the moving company that you used.
Yahoo and Bing
Yahoo and Bing also have map listings of businesses. However it is not as easy for business to get a listing on these sites as it is for Google. But like Google; Yahoo and Bing offer a place where you can leave reviews of your chosen moving company.
Ripoff Report
If you go to ripoffreport.com you will find hundreds of reviews left by people like yourself that have used various businesses. However, unlike all of the places mentioned above, you will only find bad reports here. So if you have had a bad review then this may be the place to leave your review; and trust me you will get action if you leave a review here. These show up very high on the search engines and make quite an impact.
But be warned, these reports NEVER disappear. They will always be available to everyone later on down the road.
Of course there are dozens of other consumer review sites out there but none as accessible as ripoffreport.com.
BBB
The Better Business Bureau or more commonly known as the BBB is also another place where you can leave a review. However more often than not and reviews of businesses that are left are usually negative. But you can leave positive reviews for business there as well.
I personally don’t like the BBB because they can be so easily bribed and manipulated by businesses. I know because I have done it.
Despite popular belief the BBB is NOT government operated. Its a ruse. It is a franchise like McDonald’s or Burger King. It is owned by someone to make money, and they make their money by charging businesses that are signed up with them fees for their “services”. If you have a bad BBB report all you have to do to fix it is pay out money to have it fixed. Its really that simple. So I can’t trust the BBB reports at all.
Does your mover have a FaceBook page? It does!? Cool. Do they have a tab where you can leave reviews? If so then leave a review.
You can leave a review of up to 5 stars. What I love and hate about this is: as a consumer I can leave a review knowing that it can never be deleted. So if I leave a bad review then it will be seen forever. As a business person, I hate this. I like to control what is being said about me. Personally I am not afraid of bad reviews and I welcome them as it helps me improve for the next time, but I also know my competitors can leave fake reviews for which I cannot delete. So it is a double edge sword for the business person.
Your moving company doesn’t have a FaceBook page? Doesn’t matter because you can still leave a review on your own Facebook page.
Angie’s List
Many people use Angie’s List to review moving companies and other businesses. The problem with Angie’s List as compared to Yelp is that you have to pay a monthly membership fee for it.
I know that I am not going to dole out hundreds of dollars a year just so I can read a review of a company or two, especially when I can do that for free with Yelp, Google or the other places mentioned here.
The plus point however, is that it is far more reliable than the free places. So if you find a good review of your chosen moving company then it is probably a good chance that it is a good company.
So there you go. Several places that you can go to leave comments and reviews of your experience with your moving company. So whether you are leaving a good comment or a bad one you have choices to be heard and have your count (unlike the presidential elections.)
But I caution you: If you leave a bad comment for any moving business make sure you do it when you have cooled down, and only report the facts. If you leave and angered filled terse review it will be looked upon as if you are the crazy person. Angry people never tell the truth.
Reviewing your moving company and the experience is easy. It only takes a little of your effort and time to do it. If you have something nice to say then please say it. It means so much to the people that work so hard. Of course if you have had a bad experience then you also are obligated to make sure that is know as well.
So no matter what your experience is or was it is always best to leave a few words for the next down the pike to hear what you have to say.
Lastly, you are always free to leave any reviews of your experiences with your moving company with me on this website. I welcome them all. the bad, the ugly and the Great. I will published them unedited for the world to see if that is what you want. Of course you can tell that you don’t want it published and I will honor that as well.
Thank you and good luck with your move.
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Most Moves Are Without Incident
August 18, 2009 by admin
Filed under Moving Tips and Advice
Most moves that happen are actually incident free and the customers are very happy to say the least.
It is quite easy to rumor monger and spread horrible news about the moving industry. I too am guilty of this to a degree. The moving industry has provided me a very comfortable living and I love to move people and interact with them. It is one of the greatest joys of my life. So bashing movers and the moving industry pains every time I see it done or that I do it myself.
Although it is usually a painless process, moving companies, for the most part, are very professional and courteous. They do strive to give the best service they can. Sure there are bad apples, and I will continue to find these guys out and expose them. But there is wide chasm between bad movers and a bad move.
Check out this article and understand what I mean:
Most who hire movers have no major incidents; taking some precautions will help avoid a ‘gotcha’
By JOHN EWOLDT
McClatchy-TribuneMINNEAPOLIS — “What an idiot I was,” said Kim Schmid. Even 22 years of experience as a litigator didn’t prevent her from making several costly mistakes during a move from south Minneapolis to Edina, Minn., this year. In the flurry of activity when three trucks and five movers arrived, she signed papers saying that she did not want supplemental coverage for damage to her possessions. “I assumed negligence was covered,” she said.
It’s a mistake that many consumers make, hoping that everything will arrive in one piece. Unfortunately, Schmid watched as her dining room table crashed from the edge of the moving truck to the asphalt. Later that day, Schmid asked her mover, Local Motion of Eden Prairie, Minn., to deliver the damaged table to nearby EuroNest in St. Louis Park, Minn., to be repaired.
Schmid didn’t realize that without the supplemental coverage she was covered for only 60 cents per pound per item. Since the table weighs about 100 pounds, she can collect no more than $60, even though the repair bill was $400.
Damaged furniture is one of the common complaints about movers at the Better Business Bureau. Nationwide, the number of complaints to Better Business Bureaus jumped from 3,800 in 1997 to 9,200 in 2007.
Besides furniture damage, other common complaints include movers arriving late and charging higher than anticipated fees, said Barb Grieman, vice president of the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota.
Schmid got four bids to pack up all her household items, store them for two months, then move them after her remodeling was completed. Allied’s bid was about $8,000. Local Motion provided a phone bid after asking questions about each room. She chose that bid because it was not the least or most expensive.
Schmid regrets that her mover did not inspect her house before providing a bid. Local Motion’s bid range was $4,000 to $4,800, but after packing, storing and moving were completed, the price rose to nearly $6,000, said Schmid. Local Motion will do in-home bids at a customer’s insistence but rarely finds it necessary, based on historical accuracy, said Matt Meyer, the mover’s regional vice president.
Meyer said Schmid’s final cost reflected changes she made, not an inaccurate bid. Schmid added two weeks of storage, and she also asked Local Motion to pick up and deliver furniture from Durr Ltd. in addition to delivering her stored items to her new place in Edina, Meyer said.
“We accommodated her request for the new items, but we had to go back to the warehouse to get more pads,” which added time and expense, he said. Local Motion also took the damaged table to EuroNest for repair at Schmid’s request.
Schmid confirmed the add-ons she requested (two extra weeks of storage and pickup and delivery of additional furniture), but she doesn’t believe that the extra labor and storage should be nearly $1,500. As for the 100-pound dining room table that the movers dropped, Schmid paid for the repairs. Because she refused additional coverage, she’ll get about $60 from Local Motion.
Local Motion, incidentally, gets an “A” rating from Angie’s List. Twin Cities Consumers’ Checkbook gave the company an average rating. Sixty-eight percent of customers surveyed (97 subscribers) rated Local Motion “superior” for “overall performance.” The company has an “A-” rating from the Better Business Bureau.
When choosing a mover, consumers can take steps to ensure quality and eliminate miscommunication. Check with your local Better Business Bureau for complaints. To find out if a mover is licensed, call your state department of transportation or consumer affairs.
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How to Read a BBB Report
Knowing and understanding the importance of correctly reading a BBB report
The Better Business Bureau, or better known as the BBB, is a non-profit organization that operates as third party overseer of businesses. Many of you reading this have a high regard for the BBB and this is warranted. The BBB has done quite a lot to protect you, the consumer, from frauds and scams.
However, the BBB is far from perfect. There are flaws in the system; and if you know about these flaws you can better arm yourself against the fraudulent companies out there. And knowing how to read a BBB report is your first tool.
While you should definitely look at the BBB as a source of great information about a company it should not be regarded as the be-all end-all of any decision.
One of the best tools that the BBB gives us, is the BBB report. It is full of a lot of useful information and if one really utilized this report to its maximum there would be a greater chance of success with the company.
So lets take at look at the BBB report.
What report grade really means:
This the first thing that you see when you look at the BBB report, and like I said this is where many of you end.
Normally, you just take a look at the rating and call it good, only to find out that the company was not good at all, and this is why you need to know how to read the report.
What the rating means is that the company has fulfilled its obligations to the BBBs specifications. As you will see later on, that does not mean that the company is a good one.
What is the difference between accredited and non-accredited businesses:
One of qualifications is whether a company is accredited or non-accredited. An accredited company means that the company has a paid membership with the BBB. A non-accredited company means that it does not have a paid membership with the BBB.
The BBB is completely voluntary. One can elect to be a member or not. No company can be forced by the BBB to follow its standards or guidelines. So a non-accredited company chooses not to be a member, but it still may follow its standards and guidelines if it so chooses.
But, to get the better grade with the BBB you must be a member.
Different types of complaints and which ones you should be concerned with:
There are many kinds of complaints that one can file with the BBB about a company. They can range from a company not fulfilling is warranties to being rude; from breaking things to out-theft and fraud.
Here are a few complaints that one moving company has gotten with in the last 12 months (an yes they have an “A-” rating…you be the judge.)
- Billing and Collection Issues
- Customer Service Issues
- Delivery Issues
- Guarantee and Warranty Issues
- Selling Practices
- Service Issues
Between the “Customer Service” and “Service Issues” this particular moving company has had 6 complaints filed against them in the last 12 months.
What this means is that 6 people have objected to the way they had been treated by this company to the point where they felt it was necessary to complain to the BBB.
That is significant. You should be aware of this. It does not look like this company treats its customers very well.
They only had 1 incident with “Selling Practices”. That could mean that this company sold this particular customer a little too hard, or it could mean that they fraudulently misrepresented themselves. The BBB does not tell us this, but based on the above complaints it would not be hard to deduce the latter.
You have to look at all the complaints together and then make a decision on whether this company is a good company or not.
What a complaint resolution really means:
Resolution of a complaint does not mean that the complaint was resolved at all. It only means that the company that received the complaint made an effort, no matter how slight, to resolve the complaint.
Let me explain. Lets use the example from above. The company received several service issues complaints. So a customer said that they were rude. For this to be resolved with the BBB, the company only has to acknowledge the complaint with the BBB and agree to work something out.
Now, if this customer does not respond back after a certain amount of time the BBB automatically “resolves” this complaint. The customer may not even be happy…doesn’t matter. In the eyes of the BBB the complaint is resolved.
Or the customer doesn’t agree with the resolution the company proposed, then after a certain amount of time, it too, is resolved in the eyes of the BBB.
In both cases the customer may not feel that the case was resolved in any manner or form and still be ticked off. Doesn’t matter with the BBB; it is resolved.
Here is the actual definitions that one BBB uses:
COMPLAINT CLOSURE TYPE DEFINITIONS
RESOLVED
Response from company addresses disputed issues. Consumer has verified (either orally or in writing) that the complaint has been settled to his/her satisfaction or consumer has not verified that the complaint has been settled, but has not contacted BBB again to indicate dissatisfaction or to request further assistance.
UNRESOLVED
Consumer indicates (either verbally or in writing) that the company’s response to the complaint does not settle the matter and the BBB believes that the company’s response does not adequately address all the issues or make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute.
ADMINISTRATIVELY CLOSED
The BBB determined the company made a good faith and reasonable effort to resolve the issues, although the complainant was not always satisfied with the outcome.
NO RESPONSE
Company failed to respond to BBB after receiving the complaint.”
Look at the second half on the “resolved” definition and the definition of “administratively closed” to see further clarification on what I had said above.
So just because the company has “resolved” all of its complaints does not necessarily mean that it made the customer happy.
Averaging out the complaints with the size of the company:
In my example above of a real and factual moving company I pointed out that this company had 11 complaints filed against them within the last 12 months. That is a lot complaints.
But this company is a large company that has a large volume of business. So you have to look at the number of complaints that a company gets against the size of the company.
For example, a used car dealership that sells 5 cars a month and gets 10 complaints a year versus a used car dealership that sells a 100 cars a month and gets 10 complaints a year. Which would you rather use. Me, personally, I would take the large used car dealership.
Every company is going to get a complaint at one time or another. It is inevitable. So look at the size of the business versus the amount of complaints and that will give you a better determination of the company that you are dealing with.
In the case of the moving company above; yes they are a larger moving business but the number of complaints against them is still above industry norms. Something else to consider.
Using the BBB to validate the companies address:
To be an accredited company with the BBB you must provide your company’s information like the owner, its address, phone numbers, and the time that you have been in business. This is all very important stuff when looking at the company you may use. Of course a non-accredited business still may give this information to the BBB as well.
The info that is given to the BBB is usually verified by the BBB as to be accurate.
So in the case of a moving business for example; if you find a company on the internet, and they give a different one than what is listed with the BBB you may be dealing with a scam.
This is also useful information to have as then you can drive by the company you may wish to use and see how their premises look and the neighborhood that they are in.
You may find that the company is in a bad part of town and you would not feel safe going there. Or you drive by and see that the building is in disrepair. Having that address prior to using the company is very useful.
Most BBBs also have the address linked to both Google and Yahoo maps.
I believe in the BBB in general. I think it is a great organization. But I don’t believe everything they have to say. There are flaws with their system, and it is open to corruption and manipulation. However, with that being said, it has a lot of useful information like the BBB report, which by having the information I have given you here, you are now able to read between the lines and to get the full grasp of a company. Of course you can always call the BBB to get more information, and I have found them to he very helpful.
Use the BBB and its reports, but avoid making any decision about any company without thoroughly reading their BBB report and consulting others information sources.
Like G.I. Joe would say, “Know before you go. Because knowing is half the battle.”
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Don't Believe Everything The BBB Has To Say
April 12, 2009 by jburnham
Filed under Moving Tips and Advice
I get a lot of emails asking about this or that and recently I have gotten a few emails that run along these lines: “I found a good moving company but they have a bad BBB report; what should I do?”
So I thought that I would address the truth of the BBB for a moment. But first lets disspell some of the myths about the BBB shall we:
MYTH 1:
The BBB is not a government organization: Many people are under the delusion that the BBB is a government organization. It is not. It is a privately run company owned and operated by private individuals.
MYTH 2:
Just because they are a non-profit company, does not mean they don’t make money: This is huge myth about any non-profit company. I use the word company because that is what they are. The do run their company to make money. The only difference between a for profit and a non-profit company is that a non-profit files a different tax forms and is allowed to ask for donations from the public, whereas a for profit company cannot.
MYTH 3:
The BBB has no legal authority over any company: It is surprising to hear from people that think that the BBB is this all powerful company that can exert influence over other companies. Legally they can’t. A company can choose to participate with the BBB if it wants, it does not have to if it elects not do so. The BBB can’t do anything about it if that is the case.
The BBB is company not unlike any other company. And each BBB chapter that there is is actually a franchise of sorts, and each of these franchises are autonomous from each other. Additionally there is no headquarters that enforce any kind of rules of conduct. Therefore each franchise of the BBB enforces its own rules and stipulations for their area.
As such the BBB is open to abuse.
In theory I love the BBB. I think that the BBB is a great organization as a whole, but I know that there are limitations to the BBB which most people are not aware of.
For instance, if a company (for sake of argument the company is a moving company) does not wish to participate with the BBB it is given a bad BBB report, yet a company that does participate with the BBB is given a good BBB report. How is this fair? It is not. Factually it is extortion.
Let give you actual examples of this in real life. Here is a company that has a good BBB report. They have 4 complaints on with the BBB, and all were resolved:Palmer Moving and Storage. Now here is a company that has a bad BBB report. This company only has 2 complaint on them with the BBB: Accurate Moving and Delivery. So what’s the difference between the two?
One difference is that Palmer is a member of the BBB while Accurate is not. Palmer gets a “A” rating while Accurate gets a “D” rating. Why is this…well it all comes down to money.
See Palmer is willing to shell out $500 or more to the BBB while Accurate is not. So Palmer gets the “A” and Accurate gets the “D” rating despite the fact that Palmer has more complaints on them with the BBB.
Now I don’t really know anything about either of the two companies, I am just using them as examples in this case. Maybe Accurate is really a bad mover and Palmer a good mover…I don’t know.
In my research for this article I found that the BBB does not really have that sterling of a reputation. There are many incidents of them giving a company a high rating with the BBB yet later the Federal Government coming in and closing down the company for fraud or some other such illegal activity. There is one incident in southern California where a company had a tremendous amounts of complaints on them with the BBB, but they had a good rating with the BBB. Later the owner of that bad company went to jail for fraud.
There is another incident where the Executive Director of a BBB crucified an entire industry of business and would never give them a good rating in his BBB. Later it is found out that he owns a company that is in direct competition with this industry.
It is also on record that some of the executive directors get paid upwards of half a million dollars a year. This is more than the annual salary of the President of the United States.
I could go on about the abuses and borderline criminal acts perpetrated by members of the BBB. But you can not judge an entire organization by the actions of a few. And like I said earlier, as a whole, I believe in the BBB and applaud their organization.
But based on what you have read here today, it is why I don’t solely base any opinion of any moving company (or any company for that matter) on what the BBB has to say, and neither should you. When I review a moving company I look at various sources to form my opinions. The BBB just happens to be on of those sources.
So have I answered the question: “I like a mover but they have a bad BBB report, what should I do?”
Did you like this article? Was it useful? If you did like this article please share it with your friends. And if you would like to receive more articles like this one then subscribe to my free RSS feed.
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The Frightening Truth About Moving Scams
April 11, 2009 by jburnham
Filed under Moving Tips and Advice, Moving scams
Okay…I got some very bad news.
What we have all thought about moving scams and those that commit them have been wrong, and I am afraid that the licensed and insured moving companies will not want this information to come to light…But it has to be told.
I written so much about moving company scams and how to spot them and to avoid them. Many of you have written into me asking me to research this company or that one. And in my research I have found a frightening truth about moving scammers.
First let me tell you about the sources that I use when looking at a moving company to see they are good, bad or scammers:
Those four sources are my primary sources I use when I do research about moving companies. Of course I use other sources, but those four will make or break it for me when I recommend a moving company or not.
It is from these sources that I was able to piece together my informal findings about moving scams.
Over the last month I have looked at 127 different moving companies. They range from the small companies to the large long distance moving companies, it also includes moving laborers. And I discovered this startling truth: 82% of all the moving scams committed; they were done by licensed and insured moving companies.
Hard, bitter fact.
I hear all the time how the licensed and insured companies want to destroy the unlicensed and uninsured moving companies because are responsible for all the moving scams, when in fact it is the licensed and insured companies that committing the moving scams.
Sure, the unlicensed moving companies do commit moving scams and are seemingly more likely to, but statistics show that they account for the minority of the moving company scammers.
So remember that when you are looking at this large moving company that claims to licensed and insured, don’t just hire them because they are legitimate; make sure you research them just as hard as you would an unlicensed mover.
Sorry to have to spring this info on you, and I know that the moving companies that are reading this blog will quit, but it is only because they can’t stand the light of truth.
If you found this article to useful then subscribe to my RSS feed so that you can get up to date information on the moving business. And make sure you share this with others.
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Bad Movers
March 22, 2009 by jburnham
Filed under Moving Tips and Advice
This is the kind of mover you get when you hire bad movers
Bad movers seem to be everywhere these days. The news love to report about them and article writers love to write about them. But what is a Bad Mover?
Every movers is going to have their flops. There is always going to be a move that they do that something gets broke, or an employee breaks something, or worse…steals something. Does that make that company a bad mover?
If a moving company moves a hundred people and 97 of those moves the customer was happy, but the other three were not…Is that company a bad mover? I think most of us would agree that they were not.
So what is a bad mover?
Are bad movers all scams? No. But all scammers are bad movers! You need to read my website thoroughly to know how to spot and avoid the moving scammers.
So what is a bad mover?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HfA6ppnSjU]
Here is what I think a bad mover is:
1) They have a high incidence of complaints on them from the BBB and other such groups.
Just because a moving company has a good rating does not make them a good mover. Check out how many complaints they have gotten as compared to other movers. The BBB is easily manipulated and bribed (…ooops slip of the tongue there. I meant they are paid to report good ratings…) I know of one company that has more complaints on them than any other moving company in that BBB yet has an “A-” rating. This company has over 10 complaints in 12 months, yet another moving company only has one complaint and they have a “D-” rating. With the BBB as long as you have money you can have a good BBB report.
2) They will not honor legitimate claims levied against them for breakage, etc.
Bad movers will not honor any claims about breakage, theft or loss. Bad movers will also make it very difficult for you to even file a claim or follow up on it if a claim is filed.
3) Bad movers will often claim they are part of reputable groups like the BBB or a movers’ association when they are not.
I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a moving company claim they are members of one group or another that has a high perceived reputation. The company I mentioned earlier with a large amount of claims against it is guilty of this crime as well. They claim they are members of the BBB yet the BBB says they are not. Bad movers want you to believe that they are good movers even if they have to lie.
All moving company scammers are bad movers, but not all bad movers are moving scams. A bod mover is exactly what the title says they are…Bad Movers.
You see, many bad movers are legitimate moving companies. Some are even licensed and insured and bonded, etc. The company is just badly managed. They hire hooligans and slackers, thieves and welfare scammers, criminals and druggies. They don’t care how the move is carried out or whether you are happy or not. And their crew is an example of that attitude.
Beware of the scammers, but also beware of the bad movers. Bad movers are far more plentiful than the scammers.
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Moving Estimates: 20 Questions That Guarantee Moving Day Sucess
January 26, 2009 by jburnham
Filed under Moving Estimate Advice
The key to a great moving experience is the moving estimate. All in all, most reputable moving companies, in the end, provide the same service at about the same cost. Where they differ is in the quality of service. And how you can glean this information is through the moving estimate.
Scam movers are notorious for giving you what I term the “no estimate estimate.” Meaning that they will only estimate your move over the internet or over the phone, for an unusually low ball price. They will never come to your home. Reputable movers will come to your home to give you an estimate. Sure, on the smaller, more routine moves, they will bid the move over the phone, but NEVER the larger ones.
The moving estimate is where you can interview each potential mover. By asking the right questions and getting the answers from each mover will help you in determining the right mover for you and to help avoid the moving scams. The questions that you should minimally ask are:
- Is this the actual moving company or a brokerage?
- Who will be my contact in case of questions or concerns?
- How do you determine the cost of the move?
- How do price additional services?
- How do increased valuation affect the moving estimate?
- Is this estimate based on weight or volume?
- What is the exact full name of your business
- How long have you been in business?
- What is your company’s website and email address?
- Do you own or lease your own vehicles?
- What type of vehicles do you use? Box truck? Semi? Pick-up and trailer?
- Are you licensed and insured?
- What is the coverage of the insurance?
- What are your US DOT and MC numbers?
- Do you have references that I may see?
- Are you members of the BBB, Chamber of Commerce, or Other industry affiliations?
- Are your estimates binding or non-binding?
- Do you give flat rate estimates or by the hour?
- Do give discounts for seniors, military or students?
- Are there any other discounts?
Once you are given your estimate, take the time to look it over. Never sign anything until you have read and understood the agreement and all your questions have been answered. In my company I write up the estimate and then hand it over to you, I never ask for a signature locking you in.
Before you sign any agreement locking you in to any mover make sure that you have considered all your moving estimates, then sign the estimate/agreement for the moving company that you choose. Lastly, the moving company should be engaged in questions of their own during the moving estimate process. And be leery of moving company’s that only say “yes, we can do that.” No they can’t. Not all the time.
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Moving Company Review: Peace Movers Inc.
December 28, 2008 by jburnham
Filed under Moving Company Reviews
Moving Company Review
Company: Peace Movers Inc.
Grade: B-
City: Advertising all over Michigan. Based in Jersey City, NJ
UPDATE 01/26/09: The BBB for New Jersey has recently updated how they rate companies. Because of this change Peace Movers Inc. now has a “B-” rating. An above average rating. The reason for the “B-” is for the inordinate amounts of complaints apparently. As a result, I too, am raising their grade.
Man ‘o man have I been seeing their advertising all over Craigslist. So much so you could consider it spam. Their adverts are everywhere on Craigslist for Michigan. I seen them advertise from Detroit to Traverse City. And it all seems to be coming from one location as the ads are all the same pretty much. Because I have been seeing them so much I thought that you, my readers, should know what this company is about. So lets review them and see what occurs.
The first thing I did was go to their website. Apparently they have one, but when I type it in all I get is a white screen. Could be my computer or it could be something wrong with their website or server. So I went searching Google and found a site which had a screenshot of their website. What I noticed was they only had one page for a website. Okay. The website was okay looking. It contained their DOT and MC #s. I wrote those down for later. It contained a symbol claiming they had a BBB On-line reliability report. Duely noted. It gave a toll free number to call: 1.866.668.3748. There was no address, but they had a picture of a couple of their trucks and it had their address on it. The address was for Jersey City, NJ. What is a moving company from New Jersey doing advertising in Michigan?
I could not find a record of them even being in Michigan. There is no registered address for them or a local Michigan phone number. Not a good sign. Earlier I mentioned that they had a link to the BBB. Well I checked out their BBB report. First off; they are NOT a BBB member, so having that link on their website is a lie and misleading. They have an “Unsatisfactory” rating with the BBB in New Jersey. They have no BBB report in Michigan. In the last few months they have had 8 reports filed against them. 7 of them were service related complaints. The compliants ranged from lateness to breakage of furniture, etc. All the complaints were resolved, yet they still have an “unstaisfactory” rating. This is because they have a history of misrepresenting themselves; sort of like saying they are part of the BBB when they are not. You can see their BBB info here.
I then called up their toll free number. I got some middle eastern sounding gentleman answering the phone as part of a voice mail message. The voice mail did not confirm that the phone was to a moving company. As matter of fact, if I did not know I was calling a moving company I would have not known that is was. That is dubious and a sign of a scam artist.
I am now checking to see if they have reports on ripoffreport.com and other consumer advocacy sites. I found nothing on them. That is a good sign, however, knowing that they have a bad BBB report, I thought for sure that there would other reports on them. Well I found only one on a blog. It did not go into details but only stated that they had a bad experience with Peace Movers Inc.
In Michigan, they only advertise on Craigslist and the internet. Again, this is a major sign that you may be dealing with a scam company. They do, however, have a yellowpages advert in Jersey City. So they are advertising in other reputable venues, but just not in Michigan. Remember, I said that I wrote down their DOT and MC #s. Well I checked that out as well. They are licensed and Insured. Their license is in New Jersey. However their license does allow them to go to other states. Back in 2004 they were licensed then 2 months later they had it involuntarily revoked then 2 months later got it back again. Why that is so, I don’t know. It could have been a paperwork error.
It appears to me that this company may be trying to branch out into other markets. I know that they are in San Francisco, CA. And are now trying to get into Michigan. This is a good sign. Of course this company may be going through growing pains and that is why there is a lot of outpoints with this company.
Based on my research and opinion I would not trust this company fully. They have a history of misrepresenting themselves by promising that they can doing something when in fact they can’t or won’t. Even the BBB recognizes this. They have no local phone or address and they are based in a state too far to travel to check them out. They answer the phone only with a “hello” instead of a professional “Hi, this is Peace Movers…” But on the other foot, they did resolve all their complaints they had with the BBB and they are licensed and insured.
I give this company a “D”. Just because they are licensed and insured means little if they will not fulfill their promises and lie about their credentials just to get business. Some legit moving companies are scams. If this were me I would shy away from this company until they could prove themselves better. Only time will tell.
If you use this company be very sure of everything and get it in writing. Have it checked out with an attorney if you need to. Don’t give them any down payment. Inspect your furniture when unloading and note any damage and make sure that it is noted on the bill immediately.
If you follow my advices here in this blog and you use this company you should be safe, but if it goes wrong then you were warned.
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Movers: Moving Company Scams Explained
December 27, 2008 by jburnham
Filed under Moving scams
Moving is tough; no doubt about it, but to be a victim of a moving company scam can make it almost unbearable. In all fairness to my trade as a professional mover only a very small percentage of moves are actually moving scams.
If you have been a victim of horrible service you may feel as if you have been scammed when indeed you haven’t. To be actually scammed is something that I would not want to wish on anyone.
There are three basic moving scams out there, and knowing how to detect them can prevent a lot of heartache and save you a lot of money. Now, if you still have had bad experience then you either hired a really bad company or they had an off day which does occur every now and then.
So what are the three basic moving company scams and just how do you spot them? Well I am going to explain that to you just now. The three moving company scams are the “Hostage Scam”, the “Large Downpayment Scam” and the “Craigslist Mover Scam.” So let me explain the three of them to you so you know what I mean then I’ll show you how to spot them so you don’t get caught up in their schemes.
“Hostage Scam”
You either go online or you look in the phone book and you find a mover that seems to be good. You call them up (this is assuming that you have called other moving companies prior to this call) talk to them about the move. They seem eager and helpful and you buy into their charisma. They ask you a few questions about your move then, over the phone, give you a quote. The quote is way lower than the other companies quotes and you make up your mind…”This is the company for me.” They send you some paperwork to fill out over the internet or through the mail and you send it back to them.
The big day comes for the move; the company you hired arrives and loads up your belongings into their truck. Everything seems to be just fine. You head on off to your new home and you wait for the company to arrive. They arrive to your new home, walk up to your door and you open it eagerly anticipating the moment you can sit in your favorite chair and watch TV. They present you with the bill. That is when you turn into an ape standing hunched over scratching your head because the bill they just handed to you is twice, thrice or more over the estimate (sometimes as much 4X). You explain to them that you weren’t expecting the bill to be that much and can’t pay it. They walk off, get into their truck and don’t come back. You can’t get your stuff until you pay the bill.
That is the Hostage scam at its finest. I’ll get into spotting this fraud in a moment.
“The Large Down-payment Scam”
This one is pretty obvious. Similar to the above moving scam, they lure you in with a lowball estimate and you bite. The catch here is that you have to give them a large down payment to get the ball rolling. The down payment can be up to half of the estimate. This company is giving you a deal and you are betting your chest in triumph. You gladly give them the money then you never see them again. Bye-bye money.
“The Craigslist Mover Scam”
This has a lot of similarities to the two above but with one major difference. Most of the companies (I’d say around 40%) on Craigslist are not legitimate moving businesses. What they tend to be is “two potheads and rusted pick-up.” If the idea of seeing loser “ganstas” or redneck butt crack is appealing to you then this probably the route for you. However, if you are looking for a more professional company then you may have to look a little harder when on Craigslist.
(This is no way intended to imply that all the moving companies on Craigslist are scams. They are not. There are many reputable and honorable moving companies that list their services there. Just be careful when hiring companies off this list. Of course with the information below you should avoid the hassle.)
Here are 6 very important points to look for when considering hiring a moving company:
- They do not come out or will not come out to do an on-site inspection of your home or office. They just give you the moving estimate over the phone. If they can’t do an inspection then there is a very big reason why and it “ain’t” good.
- The movers will only accept cash or credit cards BEFORE they even move you. Forget about paying with checks, it is too easy for you to cancel those. They want the money NOW.
- They either don’t have a website (and there is no excuse for this as I explain in this article) or their website is lacking in information. If a moving scam company does have a website but you can’t find either their DOT/MC #s or an address is a big red flag.
- They give you a lowball estimate. In the moving business a deal is NOT a deal.
- They don’t put anything in writing. Their estimate is not in writing. Their fee structure is not in writing. None of the agreements are in writing. Nothing. Granted, on smaller moves of only a few hours or so it may not be worth a reputable companies time and money to go do an estimate in person, etc. I am talking about moves that 40 miles or more. The long distance moves.
- Usually the only place that you can find this moving scam companies is on Craigslist. Rarely will they advertise in the local paper or in the Yellowpages.
So now you are asking yourself how you can avoid this from happening to you. And that would be a very good question. There is only ONE real answer, but that answer has many various parts. The answer is simply: do your research. But where and how you do your research is where the complexity comes in to play. Below is some quick bullet points to follow when researching that will help you out:
- You need to read my two articles: 10 Very Impoartant Moving Company Questions and Craigslist Mover Scams. These articles are choc-a-bloc full of useful information that will guide you in your research and the questions to ask.
- Go to the BBB website and find your moving company(ies) of choice and see what they have to say about them. Other good sources to look at are ripoffreport.com and movingscam.com.
- If a moving company says they have a license and insurance then get both their DOT and MC #s. Once you have them go to FMCSA.dot.gov and look up the company. This should tell you most of what you need to know.
So there you go. You now have enough data to be able to spot and avoid moving company scams. Just follow the advice in this little article and you’ll be doing okay. Of course, if you run into trouble then you can always give me a jingle or email me and I’ll be happy to help you free of charge.
Thank you and good luck.