Avoid Moving Scams in New Jersey
There’s been a story in the news recently: It tells of a company, called Fastway Moving, that shut down suddenly last year and left its customers (who purchased both moving and storage services through Fastway) high and dry. Customers lost their belongings and their money. After bringing their story to the attention of the local media, New Jersey station ABC7 confirmed that the company lost its moving license in the state late last year.
Unfortunately, it’s a story that’s all-to-common in the moving industry, and one that taints the many reputable moving services in New Jersey and elsewhere. So how do you avoid moving scams personally and ensure your belongings get safely from your old home to your new one? Here are a few tips.
If a moving quote sounds too goo to be true, it probably is.
A big red flag for a “fake” moving service? Crazy-low prices. If you get prices from a handful of moving companies in your area, they should all probably give you quotes within a few hundred dollars of one another. That’s because it takes a certain amount of effort and resources to move a houseful of stuff, and experienced moving companies know what to charge for it. Beware of companies that come in much lower than the rest. It could be a scam.
Read reviews (and get recommendations).
When it comes to a move, trust your peers. Read reviews of a company on Yelp, Google and Facebook, or ask friends and family to recommend companies they’ve used in the past. Take your research on step further by asking potential moving companies to provide the names and contact info for past customers so you can do a reference check.
Check licenses and insurance.
Finally, be sure to not only ask your moving company for their U.S. DOT license number, but check the online database (you can do that here), to make sure the company’s license is current and active. No moving company should be operating without a current US DOT license, and you should not hire one that is.
For more information on avoiding moving scams and hiring a reputable moving company in New Jersey, check out:
Long-Distance Moving Companies: How to Find a Good One
