Protect your move, and protect yourself from removal company scams!
The majority of people are law-abiding, but that does not stop you from locking your doors at night or ensuring that your wallet is safely tucked away when out shopping, does it?
And there is virtually no business in the world where illegal activities do not take place or where they are attempted.
The removal industry is no different, although, without a doubt, the vast majority of removal companies are trustworthy and employ professional and honest staff who will ensure that your home move goes as smoothly and as stress-free as possible.
The best removal companies will even carry out criminal record checks on their staff before employing them, and the removal company may belong to professional trade associations for the consumers’ peace of mind.
But it is better to be safe than sorry, and here we will look at removal company scams and how to avoid them, give you tips on how to spot a dishonest removal company, how to recognize and avoid fake removal companies, and show you how to tell if a removal company review is fake.
In short, we will guide you on how to safely hire a removal company.
You may also like to read: Moving Brokers – What You Need to Know and Why. Moving Brokers are basically a booking agency. Sometimes they will have their own network of removal firms but sometimes they will sell your details to the highest bidder. Find out all you need to know about moving brokers in this essential guide.
Save time and money on your move
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Here is a useful checklist of things to check when hiring a removal company.
Later in the article, we will go through each stage of the checklist in more detail explaining exactly why each point is so important and with links to all the important places to check out a removal firm.
Get home moving estimates from a reputable online estimation service.
Were the emailed quotes you received professional in appearance, such as with a company logo, company address, and business registration number?
Did they contain contact telephone numbers for the removal company? Try them and see how quickly they respond
Was a particular quote very cheap? This would suggest that come moving day there will be numerous add-on costs
Were there quotes with exactly the same estimate? This may suggest the same company operating under different names
Read removal company reviews relevant to your move
Ideally, you need to read reviews that are recent and relevant to your home move.
So, if you are moving long-distance check reviews for long-distance moves, if you are moving a piano then seek out reviews that state how well the company handled such an awkward item.
You may also like to read: How to Make Removal Company Reviews Work for You in which we offer some tips on how to find the most useful reviews and how to interpret them so they are relevant to your particular home move.
Scrutinize the removal company website
How long has the Removal company been in business?
Is the removal company a member of a removal industry professional body, BAR or NGRS?
Visit the BAR or NGRS website to check membership is still valid.
Are they members of Which? Trusted Trader Scheme?
Are they registered on the Trading Standards Buy with Confidence Scheme?
Does the Removal Company use subcontractors?
Does the company use agency or temporary staff?
Is the removal team CRB vetted?
Is there a landline number for the removal company?
Can you visit the company address?
Check company information via the .gov website
You can visit the Companies House website which allows you to check that the removal company is a legally registered business.
This will allow you to see how long the company has been established and also who the owners are.
This is vitally important as it will show you how many companies they have previously owned and how long they were in business.
It is not unusual for a company to get a bad reputation, close down, then reopen under a new name.
Get an in-home removal company survey
Did the surveyor leave a business card with full contact details?
What insurance cover does the removal company offer?
What is the removal company’s policy for dispute resolution?
You may also like to read: Questions to Ask Your Removal Company. When the removal firm is carrying out the survey of the things you are planning on moving, it is an ideal opportunity to find out all you can about their services and business. Here is a list of questions that you may want the answers to.
Ask for removal company costs in writing
Is all paperwork on company-headed paper?
Are there any additional costs that you may incur on moving day?
Is the company registered for VAT?
Is the company VAT number on all paperwork?
Are you talking to Moving Brokers?
Earlier in this article we gave you a link to read all about moving brokers and why that could be a huge red flag. Be sure to read that essential guide.
Never sign blank sheets on a contract
Always sign any paperwork immediately after the last line so that nothing can be inserted at a later date.
Home Removal Company Rip off – True Story
Posing as a removal company and removing the entire belongings of a home mover has to be the easiest way to burgle a home ever.
Even the owners of the belongings will probably assist the criminals in putting the items in boxes and loading their booty in the getaway vehicle!
Without wanting to scare you witless, this actually happened to this couple. Read their story here.
Get Familiar with the Most Common Moving Company Frauds and Scams
Don’t fall victim to removal company scams. Check out the company thoroughly.
So what are the main scams by removal companies that could happen to you?
The removal company is a front for theft
How this moving house scam works is that the removal company will turn up on moving day, load your belongings onto their van, and drive off, never to be seen again.
They may load your furniture onto the removal van, then suddenly run out of space and say they will send another van later to collect the rest of your items.
They will never return.
How do I prevent the home removal company from stealing my things?
Ensure you follow our guide to be sure that the removal company is legitimate, contactable, and a bonafide business.
Be sure to physically check the contact details for the removal company that you are given.
Ring the telephone numbers, send an email, and visit the address given.
You may also like to read: How to Complain About Your Removal Company. This guide offers some top tips that take before moving day so that any claim you subsequently have to make has rock-solid evidence of how it was packed and the condition the items were in.
Individual item theft by the removal men
Individual items or whole boxes can go missing.
This could be at the packing stage or whilst your goods are in transit.
It may be a while before you unpack all the moving boxes, so it could be weeks or months before you notice anything is missing, long after the insurance claim period has expired.
How do I prevent the home removal team from stealing things from me?
If you are using a removal company to pack your things, keep an eye on them during the packing process.
You are unlikely to be with them the entire time, but if they know you may randomly walk into the packing room at any time, it will deter them.
You could enlist the help of a friend just to be around during the packing process as another pair of eyes to keep a close watch on things.
If you are packing the items yourself do not write on the outside of the carton exactly what is inside.
Use codes or descriptions of inexpensive items. Bury expensive items amongst kitchen utensils for example.
Alternatively, pack any valuable items into one box and ensure that the box travels with you to your new home.
Number the moving boxes rather than use descriptions.
For each room, for example, number the boxes 1 to 10 for the bathroom and number 1 to 5 for the bedroom. Mark the boxes as 1 of 5, 2 of 5, etc.
It will then be easier to identify if a box is missing.
Use coloured packing tape on your boxes, perhaps one colour for each room.
A thief is unlikely to carry a number of coloured rolls of packing tape.
Remember to put a length of the corresponding coloured tape on the doorframe of each room so that the removal team knows which coloured boxes go into which room.
Randomly check the boxes as they are unloaded to ensure they are still sealed.
A clever thief will even try to reseal a box using clear tape which is difficult to identify during the melee of moving day, so check carefully the top and bottom box seals.
You may also like to read: How to Label Moving Boxes – An Easy and Foolproof Way. Labeling your moving boxes is essential for a simple and organised home move. Here we offer a suggestion for making packing, moving, and unpacking so much easier.
Pricing fraud
This is a common removal company scam.
You will be quoted a nice low price to win your business. Then come moving day, the removal company will find reasons to hike the price.
For example, they will say you have more items to move than originally quoted for and there was a miscalculation in their original quote, or they did not account for a particular delay such as having to go up six flights of stairs.
To prevent any pricing fraud, get your home removal cost in writing.
Also, ensure that an in-home moving survey is carried out to eliminate the potential of the removal company being able to charge for unexpected events or items.
Never pay for your full removal costs upfront or in cash.
If the removal company insists on either of these payments, walk away.
Using a credit card to pay your removal costs may offer you additional safeguards and insurances which you should find out from your credit card provider about.
Never sign blank sheets of paper in the removal company contract.
It is good practice to sign directly after the last entry of each sheet to ensure that nothing can be added.
You may also like to read: What is the Average Cost of Moving? In this series of guides, we look at the average costs of moving home not only with a removal firm but with a man and van or even by moving everything yourself.
How to Spot a Cowboy Removal Company
If only it was this easy to spot a removal company scam.
Starting at the beginning of the home moving process, let’s look at each step in turn so that you can avoid hiring a dishonest removal company and becoming a victim of removal company fraud.
#1. The first thing when moving home that you should do is get an estimate of the removal costs for your home move from a number of removal companies so that you can compare them.
To make this step easy, most people will visit a moving estimation service online.
This will usually return up to four quotes from removal companies that the better estimation providers would have ensured are reputable moving companies.
To get your free cost estimation from a reputable removal company just click here.
Removal Company Fraud prevention tip #1: If there is a particularly low quote, ask yourself why. This could be a removal company looking to win your business and then hike the price on moving day.
Home Moving Fraud prevention tip #2: Should you receive quotes that are identical to the last penny, be suspicious. This could be a fraudster using multiple company names. Check out the companies thoroughly to satisfy your suspicions.
#2. One of the best tools for finding a trustworthy removal company is personal recommendations or the Internet.
Online reviews are great for any business and for the customer, in fact, 80% of consumers now rely upon online reviews as much as a referral from a friend or family.
But can you trust online reviews?
Every service or product sector has fake reviews, and of course, there are removal company fake reviews out there.
The best removal company review websites will regularly use sophisticated software to check that the reviews online are not placed by the removal company themselves, or placed maliciously by fake customers.
If there is nothing but 5-star reviews be suspicious. nobody is infallible and any moving day can throw up issues that the removal company, try as they might, are unable to resolve to every customer’s entire satisfaction.
Check the way the reviews are termed, if they are written by the same person, the wording or tone of the reviews may be similar.
Fraudulent removal companies will often try to post glowing reviews online to entice customers.
# 3. Having received your home removal estimates, you will have narrowed your ideal removal company search down to just a handful of companies that have the available resources and can move you on your preferred date.
Most reputable removal companies will have a website that you should visit and get as much information as you can about the company from it.
If you select a moving company that is a member of the British Association of Removers (BAR) or National Guild of Removers and Storers (NGRS), the removal industry trade associations, or is part of the Which? Trust a Trader Scheme or the Trading Standards Buy with Confidence Scheme, then this is an indication that they are a legitimate business.
They will have signed up to a code of ethics and have set procedures that they must adhere to if there is a dispute between you and the removal company.
You can visit the websites below to check that the removal company still has a valid membership.
You can visit the Which? Trusted Trader Scheme here.
You can visit the Trading Standards Buy with Confidence Scheme here.
Use the fraud prevention check sheet above to make a note of all the relevant information you find out about your prospective removal company.
#4. You can visit this link here to research whether the removal company is a legally registered business, this is a free service.
#5. A reputable removal company will provide an in-home survey for your home move, which should be a free service.
This may be carried out by a surveyor from the removal firm or is increasingly being done via an app or video link. If the removal company does not offer an in-home survey be very wary.
The whole point of the in-home survey is that the removal company can evaluate any problems they may encounter on moving day such as access issues. They will be able to get an accurate inventory of your items to be moved and can offer you advice or any additional services that you may require.
It is equally important that you use this opportunity to ask any questions you may have about the removal company or your home move.
#6. If your removal company is VAT registered you should be able to verify it via this link.
#7. It is important that you never sign a blank sheet of paper on any contract to prevent information from being entered after you have signed it.
You can even score through the blank space on a page at the end of the official writing.
Sign each page directly at the end of the text so that nothing can be added.
If you follow the tips above you will have done all you can to safeguard your property and yourself.
But the other line of defence that we have not mentioned as yet is your gut feeling.
If you have any alarm bells ringing in your mind at any time, walk away.
You are under no obligation to select a particular removal company, even after the in-home survey has been completed.
The final piece of advice: Check thoroughly the terms of the removal company insurance and supplement that with your own insurance if you need to. With the best will in the world, accidents happen, so make sure you are fully covered.
You may also like to read: Home Moving Insurance – Do I Need It? Insuring your home move is yet another expense, so is it worth the cost? Here we look at the different policies you can take out and whether it makes sense to do so.
As previously stated, the majority of removal companies are trustworthy and there will be nothing but praise from you about them at the end of moving day.
So why not leave a review for your removal company showing your appreciation and also guiding other home movers to use the excellent removal company you found?
Equally, if you discover anything alarming, or clearly fraudulent, during your removal company research, why not leave a review about that too, it is only fair to warn others about any rip-off removal companies.
You can leave a review for your removal company here.
We were looking for a move and had not done so by ourselves for a long time (paid for company moves) and the last time we moved was nearly five years ago. Went to “AnyVan” website and placed a short description and a list of the major items to be moved. Got three interested parties and quotes based on our information. I made the fatal mistake of going for the cheapest because of our time constraint and tight budget. I accepted the quote (£1200) and sent the deposit to “AnyVan” (£250).Got a phone call from the person taking on the job – he seemed very keen to do it and in support of a local trader I felt assured by what he told me that all would be well. We discussed the load and I told him there would be a list of major items along with boxes to be packed, for a three bedroom flat and a long distance run (Aberdeen to Paisley)- one day to pack – one day to unload. He assured me this would be the case and was not concerned as an “experienced” mover that he had not surveyed the job. On the day they turned up six hours late in a 7.5ton van and I knew right then this would not be a one day job. He told me that it would take a second run. I queried the use of the size of the truck. He said his bigger one (18 ton) wouldn’t fit in my street! So we went ahead. In the end due to prevarication on his behalf and an apparent “break down” we lost a day and a half – I did most of the moving in a van I had to hire because of the time constraint. He had mentioned that there would be an “extra” charge. Turns out I appear to have been a victim of the “…the van wont take it all, guv!” scam so they can stretch it out over a longer period. A move that should have taken two days (three max) – ended up taking five days with me moving most of the boxes in a van I had to rent myself. He then says he cant leave till I pay the bill and can’t take electronic payment. He agreed to a payment of the original amount minus the deposit and left. I then get a call today threatening me with a collection agent if I don’t pay the rest of the bill. I am now in a position of going to CAB and having to enter into correspondence disputing the extra amount he wants to charge. The bill shot up from a quoted £950 (minus the deposit £250) to £1500 (with a £300 “deduction” for the truck breaking down). I did a third of the work, he claims my “list” was not concise enough even though he only had half of it in his hand, he refused to make an invoice and asked for cash or cheque. This could get messy and end up in the small claims court. I suspect his scam went south for him when the van broke down (if it did and he wasn’t off on another short run cash in hand job)and he stretched it a bit further than he intended which aroused my suspicion. Word to the wise – cheapest is not always best, go with a reputable firm even if you have a tight budget – or if its that bad and you can’t move yourself – get friends to pack at one end – and others to standby to unload at the other and hire yourself a van, doing the driving yourself. Other than that use a certified mover who actually surveys the job first and gives you a break down in their quote of what it is you are paying for. Beware of the “…the van is to small” scam….! Still to be resolved. 🙁
An online removal company took a £30 deposit from me. Needless to say, they never turned up. All tel.nos go straight to voicemail. Moral of the story is only pay when the job has been done. The company looked legit. They had ‘satisfied’ customers. I checked their company details and they have regularly submitted annual accounts. Basically it was all a cover for a scam.
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We were looking for a move and had not done so by ourselves for a long time (paid for company moves) and the last time we moved was nearly five years ago. Went to “AnyVan” website and placed a short description and a list of the major items to be moved. Got three interested parties and quotes based on our information. I made the fatal mistake of going for the cheapest because of our time constraint and tight budget. I accepted the quote (£1200) and sent the deposit to “AnyVan” (£250).Got a phone call from the person taking on the job – he seemed very keen to do it and in support of a local trader I felt assured by what he told me that all would be well. We discussed the load and I told him there would be a list of major items along with boxes to be packed, for a three bedroom flat and a long distance run (Aberdeen to Paisley)- one day to pack – one day to unload. He assured me this would be the case and was not concerned as an “experienced” mover that he had not surveyed the job. On the day they turned up six hours late in a 7.5ton van and I knew right then this would not be a one day job. He told me that it would take a second run. I queried the use of the size of the truck. He said his bigger one (18 ton) wouldn’t fit in my street! So we went ahead. In the end due to prevarication on his behalf and an apparent “break down” we lost a day and a half – I did most of the moving in a van I had to hire because of the time constraint. He had mentioned that there would be an “extra” charge. Turns out I appear to have been a victim of the “…the van wont take it all, guv!” scam so they can stretch it out over a longer period. A move that should have taken two days (three max) – ended up taking five days with me moving most of the boxes in a van I had to rent myself. He then says he cant leave till I pay the bill and can’t take electronic payment. He agreed to a payment of the original amount minus the deposit and left. I then get a call today threatening me with a collection agent if I don’t pay the rest of the bill. I am now in a position of going to CAB and having to enter into correspondence disputing the extra amount he wants to charge. The bill shot up from a quoted £950 (minus the deposit £250) to £1500 (with a £300 “deduction” for the truck breaking down). I did a third of the work, he claims my “list” was not concise enough even though he only had half of it in his hand, he refused to make an invoice and asked for cash or cheque. This could get messy and end up in the small claims court. I suspect his scam went south for him when the van broke down (if it did and he wasn’t off on another short run cash in hand job)and he stretched it a bit further than he intended which aroused my suspicion. Word to the wise – cheapest is not always best, go with a reputable firm even if you have a tight budget – or if its that bad and you can’t move yourself – get friends to pack at one end – and others to standby to unload at the other and hire yourself a van, doing the driving yourself. Other than that use a certified mover who actually surveys the job first and gives you a break down in their quote of what it is you are paying for. Beware of the “…the van is to small” scam….! Still to be resolved. 🙁
An online removal company took a £30 deposit from me. Needless to say, they never turned up. All tel.nos go straight to voicemail. Moral of the story is only pay when the job has been done. The company looked legit. They had ‘satisfied’ customers. I checked their company details and they have regularly submitted annual accounts. Basically it was all a cover for a scam.