While you may feel yourself slowing down as the days grow longer and the temperatures go up, summer is the busiest time of the year for movers. Millions of us are likely to pack up and move house between June and September. But moving is a fraught proposition; it can be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate outfit that will properly bring you your stuff, and one that will steal from you or extort you for cash. [More]
movers
Movers Charge $450 To Transfer Stuff To Van, Drive A Few Hundred Feet
By 2.24.15
When you hire movers, you sort of assume that you’re hiring them to handle the logistics of moving, since that’s their job. For example, if their truck won’t fit in an apartment complex, it’s their job to know that. That’s probably one woman thought when she moved from Michigan to California, and was charged $450 for a second van that National Van Lines needed to drive her stuff from a public street into her apartment complex. [More]
Cat Makes Everyone Happy By Surviving 30 Days In Moving Box On A Cross-Country Trip
By 12.4.14
There are many bad things in the world, things that make you sad and upset and tempt you to throw large, breakable things against the wall and rail against whatever it is that’s bringing you down. In those moments, grab hold of the fact that a cat’s owners say she survived 30 days trapped in a box that traveled cross-country, without food or water to sustain her. [More]
Movers Accused Of Holding Items Hostage In Exchange For Sex, Cash
By 5.11.12
The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has filed a lawsuit against a moving company, claiming dozens of cases in which movers allegedly held customers’ items hostage until they paid charges that were several times the quoted cost. One woman claims she was told she could get could get her items off the truck — if she had sex with them. [More]
Movers Break IKEA Bookshelf, Shrug
By 2.2.12
For their recent move, Derek and his wife selected a local operator of North American Van Lines. Things went pretty smoothly, except for one IKEA Expedit bookcase that was somehow cracked while leaving the couple’s previous home, and subsequently fell apart when it was brought into the new house. Someone gave Mrs. Derek what she assumed was a claim form to sign, but ended up being a “Particle Board Furniture form” absolving the movers of any responsibility for cheap furnishings. [More]
Hidden Camera Catches Rogue Movers Holding Goods Hostage
By 10.29.10
Rogue movers. They quote you a great price for moving your stuff but once they show up to the destination, all of a sudden the price more than doubles. If you don’t pay up, they won’t let you have your stuff. CBS13 kept getting complaints about one company doing just that, so they set up a juicy hidden camera investigation to catch them in the act, and catch them they did… driving away with all their stuff! [More]
Invasion Of The Pod Movers Has Disastrous Consequences
By 8.6.09
Matt and his family used the portable storage company PODS for their recent move. The company rents you a storage container, then stores it or moves it around on a truck for you. Their system sounded pretty great, but then things started to go wrong. Very, very wrong. What followed was a tale of broken promises, underestimations, and their belongings being held by the police (!) that would put fear into the heart of any person planning a move.
Awful Movers Move Woman To Tears
By 7.17.09
Moving is never easy, but San Francisco resident Carleigh thought her transplant from a one-bedroom apartment to a one-bedroom condo wouldn’t be so tough. Ron, a customer service rep from Starving Students movers, talked a good game, convincing Carleigh the company could pull off the move in the three-hour time window the HOA demanded.
By 2.4.09
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Find or give away free moving boxes at freecardboardboxes.com.
By 11.18.08
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ASAP Van Lines, a moving company we’ve covered in the past for alleged abuses against customers, has changed its name to Chicago Moving Systems. You have been warned. [MovingScam.com] (Thanks to Christopher!)
Quality Van Lines Responds To Complaint
By 9.24.08
Earlier this week we posted about Cory, a man who had a bad experience with the moving company he hired to schlep his belongings from New York to North Carolina. Now Quality Van Lines has responded with their side of the story.
"The Moving Company I Hired Was Incompetent—What Do I Do Now?"
By 9.22.08
Cory and his girlfriend moved from New York to North Carolina this summer. They hired Quality Van Lines out of Clifton, NJ to handle the move, but soon regretted the choice: they overcharged him, failed to deliver on promises, and damaged not only his belongings but his car. Cory wants to know what his options are now—and we want readers to know how to avoid hiring companies like Quality Van Lines in the future.
14 Moving Company Crooks Indicted
By 1.28.08
A federal court handed down indictments against 14 moving company employees for extorting money from customers. Allegedly, they would sucker people in with low estimates, then ask for much more money on delivery, and not release the goods until the price was paid. Of all the moving company complaints we receive at The Consumerist, this one is the most common. It’s always important to check out a moving company’s rep beforehand; ask friends for recommendations, look up their BBB report, and see if they’re talked about on sites like MovingScam.com and MovingSham.com. Don’t just go for whoever is cheapest, a low-price could end up costing you a lot.
U-Haul To Pay California Customers $50 For Failing To Honor A Guaranteed Reservation
By 1.20.08
U-Haul has settled a class-action suit by agreeing to pay customers $50 each time they fail to honor a confirmed reservation. The settlement comes after an appeals court agreed that the rental giant had “engaged in fraudulent practices.”
Crazy Moving Scam In San Jose Area
By 11.3.07
RipOffReports has two claims—one of which was also sent to us by a reader—about Champions Movers and/or A.S.A.P. Relocations of San Jose, California. Or Fremont, California. That’s part of the problem—they seem to be intentionally using a mixture of names and addresses to help hide from what’s shaping up to be a terrible reputation.
One complaint claims that in June they bumped their quote from $1,070 to $2,460 after they’d loaded up her furniture and boxes, and threatened damage to her belongings if she didn’t pay up and sign a new contract on the spot. She paid and signed, but immediately put a stop payment on the check, and she hasn’t seen her furniture since.
Find Your State Public Utilities Comission
By 10.1.07
If you have a complaint with a company in any of the following industries
Howto: Find a Reputable Mover
By 3.21.07
Moving sucks, even if you’re trading up. The un/packing, the organization of all your crap, the sound of packing tape being unrolled… I hate it all. I dread it like I dread root canal. At least the dentist gives you Novocaine.
