Earlier This Year Barbara Corcoran Warned That Moving Scams Are On The Rise

Underscoring the fact that moving scams are as strong as ever, real estate expert and TV journalist Barbara Corchran talked on NBC about the various types of moving scams that are prevalent today, in the United States.

In her interview, Barbara cataloged the various types of moving scams. The first, she called “the hostage.” The main feature of the hostage, is that the moving company will give a low moving cost estimate and then after the customer’s goods are loaded on the truck, they will find pretenses to raise the move cost, and the customer has to agree to pay the increased fee or they won’t release his goods.

A second type of scam Barbara called “the bait and switch.” In this scam, the movers will hook the customer with a sweet low cost deal, and then once the goods are loaded, they will change the deal entirely. For example, they offer to make the move estimate in pounds, and then , on moving day switch to cubic feet.

Barbara explained how companies can raise the price, even after they have given a guaranteed estimate in weight. On moving day, she said, they will claim that the cubic feet of the load exceeded the expected amount based on the weight estimate. The language sounds so official that customers go along with it.

The third type of scam is the late delivery. Barbara explained that this might be caused by a company that bunches the customer’s goods in a truck with other family’s items. First they take the other guy’s stuff to the destination and the customer is left waiting for his delivery. Or, the truck may be impounded for violations, and the poor homeowner is left waiting for his goods until the truck will get back on the road.

Barbara had some valuable suggestions for how consumers can avoid falling into a scam. She noted that people should not give a deposit to moving companies. The furniture is the deposit,she said, and reputable companies do not ask for a deposit ahead of time. She also cautioned against signing any paper with blanks in it. Disreputable moving scam companies will readily fill in the blanks with additional stipulations or charges that will dramatically up the move cost.

Next, Barbara cautioned people to look at the moving truck carefully, on moving day. IF the truck is old and dirty, and does not have the company label on the side, chances are that company will treat your beloingings the way they treat their truck.

Barbara cautioned people who go on line to hunt for a moving company, to make sure the company is real They can do this by Goggling the address and determining if it is real.

Barbara closed with two more suggestions. Do not sign a contract that is one page or less, that is too small to contain all the pertinent details. And if you must make a deposit, do not pay in cash. With a cash payment, there is no proof that a payment was made, So if the company disappears, or fails to come through on their promises, you will have no recourse, in a court of law.

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