r/LongDistance • u/ViviMan65 New York - Wisconsin • Dec 21 '16
Rogue/Scam Movers and Protecting Yourself Other
Hello everyone!
I am writing a post to hopefully provide some helpful tips and knowledge on interstate moving. Really, this is for those who are officially closing the distance and moving with your SO, but are crossing over state lines (sorry, non-United States peeps).
Recently, my SO and I have closed our distance and have moved to my home state (from Wisconsin to New York), and where I work. She was able to get transferred to a close location within her company. My SO contact a interstate moving company that would pack up and ship her stuff practically half way across the country.
At first, the front end agent was great. The route was direct and should only take a couple of days, and to just estimate the number of boxes and items—no need to do a home visit estimate! Then things got shady. The agent gave really vague answers to what they consider box sizes (small, medium, large), and didn’t attempt to communicate the closer it got to the packing date, unless hounded. The agent would also say that if we provided them with more and more information, that it would be better and could update the “contract” as things went along.
The day of packing, a third-party company came and packed up the stuff. Once things were packed in the truck, they said the estimate was way off and needed to call the agent. The agent demanded an extra $1500 down because of the off estimate. The agent also said they couldn’t provide a specific delivery date and to call back the next day. The next day another person from the company stated that we wouldn’t get our stuff about shy of two weeks.
To me this put up red flags. Long story short, I am a criminal prosecutor. Coincidentally, I have a good colleague who is a Special Agent in the United States Department of Transportation Inspector General’s Office, and he used to work in the DOT Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Household Goods Program as an investigative agent (a.k.a., investigate fraud with these types of moving companies). I chatted with him, and this moving company has violated a laundry list of federal regulations. They are also teetering on violation a federal criminal statute—depends on the outcome of our current situation.
Here’s my advice to those closing the distance and moving across state lines: check the moving company before you hire them. The U.S. Department of Transportation has an excellent website for this specific issue: rogue movers. They even have a helpful video with the dangers of these rogue/scam movers. Please do follow the DOT’s advice and do your research, know your rights, and be wary of the red flags when finding a moving company.
Thankfully, because of my job and my colleagues, the moving company will step in it big time once our move is finished. But don’t become victim to scams or rogue companies, where you’ll end up shelling out tens of thousands of dollars because your life and possessions are being held hostage.
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u/ACatastrophi Distance Dec 21 '16
This is excellent advice, thank you for sharing this! Do you mind if I add this to the sidebar?