complaints department sign

Rise in Complaints in the Moving Industry

Recent investigations have shown that moving industry complaints are on the rise. Particularly by customers who are seeking the lowest possible deals to achieve their move, and do not realize that the company they may have chosen is a shady, rogue moving company… who more often than not is not even properly licensed or certified.

A company (Marketplace) in Toronto recently issued a sort of sting-operation where hidden cameras were set into motion, and a potential moving company was caught in the act. The company, which advertised, “no hidden charges” and “reliable, trustworthy and dependable service”, was everything but what they claimed. Several clients who had used this company told Marketplace, that there were hidden fees that had not been discussed, as well as their final bills being hundreds of dollars more than the original price-quote. Some of these additional charges included, heavy items, stairs, and “long walks”. And the extra charges were only brought to the attention of the customer upon completion of the move itself. Additionally, the same company demanded a hefty deposit before they began the moving process, damaged (sometimes severely) their personal items, and even threatened to dump customers items outside if no one was present at time of delivery.

While complaints have long-often been associated in the moving industry, even by some of the best moving companies in the country, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) has recently seen a tremendous rise over the past few years. In fact in 2012, the BBB noted more than 750 complaints, which is a 13% rise since 2011. This year, the BBB had 550 complaints which is a rise of 36% from 2010. The BBB states that the moving industry is the 5th most complained about industry.

While the vast majority of states in America must follow certain rules and regulations, there are still those rogue movers who continue to take advantage of the industry, as well as their trusting clients. These regulations are put in place that require licensing, provisions, and specific rules including the requirement of moving companies to disclose their company name, address, and state license number in all advertising, letterheads, and their fleet vehicles. While many rogue movers take these strict regulations as a joke, and they simply receive nothing more than a slap on the wrist if their actions are caught, while in turn, changing their name and number and moving on to the next unsuspecting client. It is of great hope that this may all change in the future, perhaps something more can be done to in way of preventing these rogue moving companies to leave legitimate moving companies to pick up the pieces. Until then, honesty is still the best policy for both customers as well as the moving industry.