8:30AM-8PM EST Daily (Via Phone)
How would you feel if were going on vacation and you found this great place online, the pictures were beautiful, the food and activities looked amazing.? You would probably be excited! You arrive for vacation and the room looks nothing like the room in the pictures, the food and activities are significantly sub-par to what you thought you were getting. Then afterwards you get your bill and it’s significantly higher than you agreed.
How would you feel if you called to complain with the company you purchased the vacation package from and they told you that they subcontracted your business to another company? Additionally, they don’t have any control over the quality of services or prices they charge.
I’m pretty sure the answer is that you’d be very angry and feel completely deceived.
Moving Brokers
Moving brokers are a major concern in the moving industry and take advantage of consumers who are moving locally, long distance or across country.
They are able to do it much like the vacation scenario above. They have great looking websites that portray themselves as world class moving companies, offering great services and often have amazing reviews.
They have people manning their phones who are fantastic at making customers feel like they are being moved by a their favorite uncle. They promise great moving services, and prices significantly below everyone else. They talk about how great their service is, how quickly they are filling up and if you want to use their service they need a deposit today to secure your spot on the schedule. You can’t give them your money fast enough, because you don't want to miss out on having the best moving company move you and your family.
Behind the scenes you are actually talking to a call center, who employees no movers, owns no trucks, and doesn’t know anything about the moving industry except how to market to potential moving customers.
As soon as you pay them their deposit, they sell your move to an actual moving company, whom you know nothing about. They don’t tell you that they sold your move to someone else, nor do they have any kind of accountability in place to ensure the companies they sold your move to are good, safe, quality moving companies.
Moving day arrives and a moving company pulls up to your home and the people who hop out look less than desirable and the moving company name on the truck isn't one you’ve ever heard of. Their equipment looks old and unsafe, and then the Fear starts to creep in and you realize something isn’t right. This isn’t who I booked my move with, yet they their paperwork all seems to say it is.
It’s to late to cancel, plus you gave them a huge deposit and you’ve got to be out of your house today. What can you do? You let them load your items on the truck and move you out.
About a week later, you are expecting delivery of your furniture and they call you to say they are going to deliver your things the next day. Your balance due is $13000.00. You say to them, that can’t be, our quote was for $6000.00. They say yes, we know, but your shipment was a lot heavier or took a lot more room than was expected and your new charges are $13000.00. Now you’re angry. You aren’t paying an additional $7000.00 and that they must honor your quote. They say if you don’t pay the balance of $13000.00 before they unload tomorrow they won’t deliver your items. You refuse, and they hang up. You call the moving company you booked with and they say, we’re sorry, but we sold your move to that company and your weight went significantly over what we thought. You will need to pay the $13000.00 in order to get your furniture delivered. You threaten to get an attorney and police involved and the line goes dead. Now what? You try to call the driver back and now he won’t answer, and the moving company won’t take calls either.
The next day noone comes to deliver your furniture. You call the moving company that you booked with and they give you the runaround and say they don’t know where your furniture is. This goes on for several days or weeks until you agree to pay the additional money and miraculously your furniture shows up.
You feel violated and hate moving companies. This is a common moving experience with people who choose moving companies based on the website alone. The easiest way to avoid this is to get an in home moving estimate from an actual moving company. Visit their location if you need to make sure they actually own moving trucks, and employee local and long distance movers.
Check back for Part Two - Moving Contractors and Road Labor. The Team at Dearman Moving and Storage want everyone to have a great moving experience.
