Why Bad Reviews Can Be Good For Your Home Move

There is no doubt that reviews can help you make a more informed decision about anything that you are thinking of buying.

However, there is always the possibility that those reviews are posted by marketing companies or even by the company themselves, it happens all the time on some websites.

Removal Company reviews are an essential home moving tool, they are often one of the deciding factors when choosing which removal company will help you move home.

Choosing a highly-rated removal company will help put your mind at ease that your possessions will be handled carefully and that you will have a stress-free moving day.

But what about those odd bad reviews that made you dismiss hiring another removal firm?

It could be a mistake to discount certain movers for the sake of one or two bad reviews, and here we find out why, and how bad reviews could help you choose the better removal company.

Which Bad Reviews are Useful for You?

A company that has some bad reviews can be really useful in determining the best removal company to move you.

It is more likely that the reviews are genuine and not paid-for marketing if there are a few bad or less than 5-star reviews on a company profile.

The real test of any company’s commitment to outstanding customer service is how they deal with things when they go wrong.

So the first thing to see is whether the company responds to both good and bad reviews.

If they ignore the bad reviews or respond in a less-than-professional manner, then that should tell you all you need to know and it is time to look for another company.

The bad reviews may apply to certain items being moved, so if the complaints centre on a piano being moved and you are not moving a piano, then those complaints are of little relevance to your own particular home move.

Pay attention to the date of the reviews. It may be that they are old, from when the company first started, or when they went through a season with some staffing issues.

Read the company’s responses to bad reviews. How professional the response is and how they intend to resolve the situation are useful indicators of a good removal company.

So the useful bad reviews are the ones that are recent reviews that are relevant to your home move and have a proactive response from the removal firm. It is even more useful if the review poster has then come back with an update telling us how the problem was resolved to their satisfaction.

Must read: A Guide to Making Home Moving Reviews Work for you. Here we show you how to filter out reviews that are relevant to your home move so that you can find the best removal company for your particular home move.

Putting Bad Reviews in Context

A well-established removal company will have moved many hundreds of people to a new home and it is inevitable, no matter how good they are, that they will have customers who leave a bad review for them.

Often things happen that are outside of anybody’s control, no matter how good their moving day plan was.

Equally, many people fail to read the contract or terms and conditions that they are provided with by the removal firm. They will not realise or understand that they have certain obligations, or that certain penalties apply in some circumstances, then write scathing reviews due to negligence or misunderstanding on their own part.

And whilst we are on the subject of contracts, read any paperwork you are given very carefully. We have heard of companies that include a clause that you cannot leave a bad review on any platform if there is a problem with the services the company provided. Unbelievable but true.

Moving home is extremely stressful and often reviews are left in the heat of the moment when emotions are running high.

So if the review is an incoherent rant rather than a calm statement of what actually happened then the reviewer may well feel differently in hindsight.

It is also not unusual for competitors or a disgruntled employee to leave bad reviews. These are usually fairly easy to spot as they will mention the company name numerous times, may include the name of a competitor that they then hired, or will launch personal attacks on the owner of the business.

Usually, the majority of reviews left will be bad ones unless the service received was outstandingly good ……… or the removal company offered an incentive to leave a good review.

Good reviews are essential to removal companies and some will offer a discount if you leave a good review no matter whether you received a good service or not. Ask yourself if you really want to trust such a company with all your worldly possessions.

Must read: Why Social Proof Matters When Hiring a Removal Company. There are many ways in which you can research any removal firm you are thinking of hiring. In this guide, we look at why and how to use online tools to determine the best removal company for your home move.

9 Red Flags When Reading Reviews

There are a number of red flags that you should look out for when reading removal company reviews. Whether a good or bad review, there are signs to look for that will help you determine if the review is genuine or if the review has little relevance to your home move.

#1 Multiple bad reviews over a long space of time

Numerous bad reviews over a long period of time usually mean there is a consistent problem with their services and it would be best to look elsewhere for your moving company.

#2 Look for a pattern to the complaints

For example, they all report that the price was inflated on moving day, then there is either a problem with the company’s inventory taking during the initial survey, that they do not do a survey to determine exactly what is being moved, or they give low quotes to get the business knowing that on moving day they will hike the price up.

The removal company could have a problem with a certain removal team, they may be short-staffed, or they may be taking on too much work. See whether there is a pattern to the bad reviews to determine what the problem is.

#3 Multiple good reviews posted on the same day

Very few removal firms have a huge fleet of removal vans. The majority will have one or two vans. So if there are multiple good reviews posted almost daily that may suggest a marketing campaign.

#4 Only 5-star reviews

Whilst there are some excellent removal firms who will earn 5-star reviews for every single move, they are the exception rather than the norm. The chances of every customer being delighted are low especially if they have dozens of reviews.

#5 Identical or similar wording

Read each review and look for patterns in the wording. Often a marketing company is based overseas and the wording they use is not exactly native English. They are easy to spot. They will use words that are slightly out of context and you may see an inappropriate word or phrase used in multiple reviews.

For example, a set of reviews were left for an American mover and the wording ‘it was a succinct move’ was used in multiple reviews. It is highly unlikely that numerous people would use this phrase so it is a definite red flag.

#6 Multiple uses of the companies name within the review

If the review mentions the company name numerous times this would suggest a marketing company as those reviews are easier to find during a Google search.

#7 The removal company only responds to good reviews

It is in a removal firm’s own interest to respond to reviews, good or bad. If they ignore the bad reviews or give a generic response, that should be a red flag to you.

#8 The Review website has a membership programme

Many review websites require the listed firms to pay a fee to be listed. Could you really trust such a site to publish unbiased reviews?

#9 Reviews only on their own website

When researching any removal firm, if you can only find reviews for them on a Facebook page or on their own website, this should ring alarm bells. Whilst not always the case, it is likely that the company may have created those reviews themselves. It is far better to get reviews from an independent source.

Must read: How to Pick a Good Removal Company: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide. In this post, we take you through each step of the process when choosing a good removal company. It is essential reading for anybody who is thinking of moving home.

International Removal Company Reviews

Here we will single out reviews for international removal companies because moving overseas is a very complicated process that many people do not fully understand.

We see many bad reviews left regarding delays in getting things through customs or goods left for weeks at the container port.

Often this is out of the control of the removal company, they are bound by the frequently changing timetable of the shipping companies or the border controls.

That said, it is the responsibility of the removal company to explain these things to you so that you are fully aware of the potential problems.

Then they should keep you fully appraised of what is happening with the shipment so that your expectations are managed properly.

Over the last few years, there has been a shortage of shipping containers which has led to a huge backlog of shipments. There is little or nothing that a removal company can do about that.

Equally, container and shipping costs go up almost daily, and whilst the removal company might be able to absorb some of those costs, they will be unlikely to cover them all.

As always, read the contract carefully so that you fully understand whether the removal company uses an overseas contractor to deliver your goods to their final destination and if you are likely to incur additional customs charges or fuel surcharges.

Fully understand whether the international removal firm uses their own trucks to deliver your things or they use a third party. The more times your goods are loaded and unloaded the more likely they are to get damaged.

Ideally look for a door-to-door, continual service by the removal company you contract. You will likely incur far less stress, will be kept better informed of expected delivery times, etc. and the removal company is fully responsible for any problems.

Many bad reviews left are because people do not understand the moving process or because the removal firm has failed to explain things properly. Be sure that the removal company explains anything to you that you do not understand, and that you read the terms and conditions thoroughly.

International home moves are complicated but many bad reviews would not have been left if people moving home had done thorough research and asked the right questions.

Must read: International Home Moves – The Ultimate Home Moving Challenge? This is essential reading for anybody that is thinking of moving overseas. Full of practical tips and advice, including all the right questions to ask your international moving partner.

What are Filtered Reviews?

At the bottom of the profile for removal companies on Removal Reviews, you will see a note that states how many reviews have been filtered.

Removal Reviews has numerous algorithms to help prevent fake reviews from being left.

The number of filtered reviews is the number of reviews that the system believes to be fraudulent or that reviewers have not clicked on the activation link they are sent.

It is just another useful tool for you to determine if, when added to any other red flags you notice with the profile, this is really the removal company you want to hire.

You may like to read: How to Compare Removal Company Review Websites. In this guide, we show you why all review platforms are not equal and the things to look for which indicate a trustworthy review platform.

The systems in place at Removal Reviews are industry-leading and are designed to stop as many fake reviews from being posted as possible, but inevitably some fake ones will slip through the net.

Reviews are incredibly useful if you can sort the wheat from the chaff. But as with anything on the internet, you need to use your own judgment in determining whether the information you are presented with is genuine and can be trusted.

You can read verified reviews for removal companies all over the UK and worldwide here.