A noted rise in the amount of moving scams targeting those looking to move East, with the Better Business Bureau confirming some scammers have loaded people’s belongings on trucks, only to hold it all for a hefty ransom.
The scam singles out victims who can’t allow movers into their home to verify shipment sizes, a common problem during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Better Business Bureau, (BBB) and the Canadian Association of Movers, (CAM) released a joint update concerning what both groups call “fraudulent moving companies having been identified and purposely underestimating moving quotes for consumers” adding the scams are particularly prevalent in cross-provincial moves from Ontario to the Atlantic Provinces.
Kristin Matthews, Marketing & Communications Specialist with The Better Business Bureau says victims have been feeding the scam by latching on to those unusually low estimates in attempt to save money.
The scam starts when a consumer contacts the fraudulent company online. They often receive multiple quotes from various companies (all shell companies of the one parent company) all around the same amount of money but still lower than regular moving/shipping costs.
On moving day, the fraudulent company shows up arriving with a moving truck or crew from the moving company that the customer booked with. The crew then rapidly starts loading items onto the truck, even showing great customer service until shortly before everything is loaded.
“All of a sudden the driver becomes in a hurry to leave and get the consumer time to quickly sign the paper work without any time to read it or without leaving them a copy behind,” added Matthews.
The driver and crew then try to quickly get away from the property, truck fully loaded and with all the paperwork, before the customer realizes what’s going on. Mathews says days or even weeks later, the customer is contacted by the company and asked to pay up, but not for the amount quoted.
“Once the items are actually in the movers hands, that’s when they actually request up to thousands or sometimes tens-of-thousands of dollars more to actually give the people back their items,” says Matthews.
The reason for the sudden price change Matthews explains is a claim “that the shipment weighed a much higher amount and filled the whole truck.” Every day the customer does not pay, the scammer adds storage fees and will continue to do so until the “ransom” is paid she said.
Some have been able to get their items back, according to Nancy Irvine, President & CEO of the Canadian Association of Movers.
“Due to the efforts of local community groups working together with CAM and BBB, there has been some success at returning the goods to the consumers with no major additional expense for them,” stated Irvine.
Matthews says the first thing people should do to protect themselves is to get everything in writing. “If you are looking to get estimates, get at least three written estimates with from different movers.”
Know Your Mover
Mathews encourages people who are moving to:
-Check out the moving company’s rating with Better Business Bureau and standing with the Canadian Association of Movers including complaint history and verified customer reviews.
-Ask the mover about replacement valuation protection
-Get all quotes in writing
-Talk about the money
-Watch for red flags. If a mover doesn’t provide replacement valuation protection details, a company street address, proof of worker’s compensation or a GST/HST number, find another mover, says Matthews.
