Moving is not like other jobs. It brings so much stress and so many potential troubles. Therefore, preparing for it properly is essential. At least if you want to avoid problems while moving home. The best way to prevent moving problems is hiring moving professionals. With their know-how and experience, it will be much easier to conduct a safe move. However, not every moving company is good enough to be hired. Some of moving companies are actually the ones that would get you into even bigger troubles than if you decided to move home by yourself. NJ moving scams are quite a common thing nowadays, and this is why we want to help you avoid getting into such troubles as hiring unreliable moving companies. Read on and learn how to avoid fraudulent movers in New Jersey.
What kinds of moving scams are there in New Jersey?
There are different kinds of moving scams. The one thing they have in common is that they became sophisticated lately. It’s not that easy to spot a fraudulent mover before it’s too late. To point out the importance of paying attention to details when choosing a mover, here are just some things that might take place in case you dealt with a moving fraud:
- Having your items held ‘hostage’ – After the movers took physical possession of your items, they request you to pay a significantly larger amount than the one you agreed to, or they won’t deliver your belongings.
- Extra costs appearing everywhere – Fraudulent movers agree with you on some affordable price, but on a moving day, everything changes. They charge you for stairs, for heavy items etc.
- Late delivery – Unreliable movers might be late in delivery for weeks or even months.
- The movers don’t appear on a moving day – One of the most common NJ moving scams is requesting an up-front payment (commonly not so small amounts) and then not appearing on the date you set.
But, how to avoid those terrible scenarios?
Now that we pointed out the importance of being serious when choosing moving companies, let’s learn how to spot the red flags and avoid getting into a moving scam. Here is what you should be careful about:
- No company name when answering the phone or mail
- The movers use rental trucks
- Low-ball offers
- Large up-front payments
- Cash-only
- The company refuses to send representatives in an on-site home inspection
If any of these takes place, we suggest you avoid dealing with such an NJ moving company. Also, if you mention anything suspicious, ask for an explanation or rather look for another mover. Hire only New Jersey movers you can trust.
So, how to find reliable movers in New Jersey?
You got the picture of what might happen if you got into a trouble, and how to spot the red flags for moving scams – but how to make sure you hired the movers you can rely on? To make sure your belongings are in the safe hands of reliable movers, we suggest you take these three steps:
- Use trustful sources – Friends, family, acquaintances etc. could recommend the movers you should consider hiring.
- Do the background check – The best way to make sure you avoided NJ moving scams is to do a thorough background check of the company you are about to hire.
- Hire quality and affordable rather than just cheap movers – Saving a buck or two means nothing if you end up with damaged, broken or missing items. Make sure to hire only those moving companies from New Jersey you are absolutely sure are quality and reliable.
What sources may you use when searching for moving companies?
Sure, we did mention that you should use reliable resources. That’s the best thing to do given that you know your friends would recommend only the best moving companies. However, there are other resources too. Here is what resources there are:
- The people you trust – as we said, your friends and family circle is the best resource you could use. Acquaintances might also be a good source of information.
- Ads – Not as reliable resource as your family&friends, but still a good resource when searching for New Jersey moving services. At least, this will help you make a list of moving companies to choose among.
- The Internet – The least reliable resource. Practically, everyone can use it, given it’s free to use. Therefore, the most moving scams appear when hiring movers online. This is why we suggest you be the most careful if searching for movers on the web.
Background check protects you from NJ moving scams
And be very detailed with a background check. This is where you will spot red flags if you do that right. Here are some things we recommend you do:
- Check if the movers own the appropriate licenses to do the job. Especially if moving long distance, or cross-country. Long distance moves are way more difficult than the local. So make absolutely sure you pay enough attention to the details.
- Do they have a website? If yes, can you find all important pieces of information there?
- Can you get the answers to your questions? Or do they refuse to provide you with something you want to know?
- An estimate in writing is essential. If the movers refuse to provide you with one, don’t start a cooperation with them.
- See the reviews. How were the previous customers satisfied?
- Were there any accusations of a moving fraud? If yes, we suggest you don’t take that kind of a risk.
The last step – pick the best moving company fitting your needs
The best moving company is the one fitting all your needs and fitting your moving budget at the same time. For example, in case you don’t need some additional services, we suggest you hire the moving company that satisfies your needs. No matter if some other company offers many other services at a similar price. It means that you should hire a company offering top-quality moving services, no matter whether or not it offers additional services that you don’t need. On the other hand, you should hire a moving company offering additional services and storage solutions in case you need them. Hiring cheaper movers and then looking for storage solutions takes time and it might be more expensive than hiring moving and storage company.
Care about the price, but first, make sure to avoid NJ moving scams
Yes, the most of us first pay attention to the price. It is perfectly normal. However, would it be satisfactory to hire a cheap moving company and then realize you’re a victim of one of NJ moving scams? Surely not. This is why we strongly recommend you first do your best to make sure only reliable movers are left on your list of potential movers. After that, feel free to compare the quality and the prices.