How to Determine Legitimacy and Professionalism of Moving Company

Every business out there has lots of competing operators, from retail, virtual services, to moving companies. As such, making your pick from the bunch can be pretty tricky if you don’t know exactly what to look for. What makes it an even trickier choice is the existence of bogus operators, seeking to rip off unsuspecting families of their household goods under the guise of moving companies. So when you choose a mover, you immediately think: Is this company legit? In this article, we are going to explore the various ways in which you can determine whether a particular moving company is legitimate and suitably professional.

How to Know if a Company is Legit

Let’s start with the 3 critical legitimacy indicators that can help you to determine the mover’s authenticity:

Proper Licensing

Is the company legit? Check the license! Every business operator is required by law to acquire an operating license for its business category. If you’re crossing state lines, the mover’s license can be verified by the US DOT System, which has details on every licensed operator. Local ones, however, register with the state, and each one often has different requirements, so verify with your local government office physically or online on how to check the license’s legitimacy.

The Engagement Process

Moving companies often have a diligent engagement process that often involves proper phone consultations, physical evaluations of the goods to be moved, and a standard physical quote that shows the specific charge for specific items evaluated. If your selected mover seems eager to engage fast and quote without even seeing the property physically or at least establishing finer details of the property, then there are high chances that they’re bogus movers waiting to swoop in and haul all your stuff away to God knows where!

The Presence of Legit Customer Reviews

Ever come across an ad that claims stuff like ‘our customers love this’, but you can never seem to establish exactly who those customers are? That right there is a deceptive and fake reviews meant to deceive and mislead. Check whether your selected mover has actual customer reviews on reputable review sites such as Yelp or Google My Business. It will not be superfluous to look at moving blogs and read the reviews of professionals moving specialists.

Safe and Responsible Movers: Professionalism Indicators

So you’ve determined that your selected mover is indeed legit. However, not all movers do a great job. Many clients often complain that their movers were rough-handling the goods, being rude, and a lot of other unprofessional conduct. Here are a few ways to determine the mover’s professionalism on the job:

Moving Insurance

A lot can happen in transit, which can cause serious damage to your goods. While such incidences are sometimes unavoidable, there should be a provision to offer recovery and compensation for any such damages. That provision is insurance, and it’s one of the greatest indicators that your selected mover operates professionally. The insurance comes in two categories.

The first one is ‘Full Value Protection’. The mover takes responsibility to replace any lost or damaged goods during the moving process. The second one is the ‘Released Value Protection’ whereby the mover is responsible for about 60% of losses or damages experienced during the move.

Having valid insurance is often a mandate for licensed movers, but some states are less rigorous in their enforcement of that mandate. As such, some licensed movers end up operating with lapsed or expired insurance. Be sure to check the validity of the insurance before engaging. A legit operator will have no worry showing you the document. Any hesitations or refusal to do so is a red flag!

Customer Feedback

It’s pretty easy to judge any service provider’s performance by simply getting feedback from other clients who have used the service. Simply read the legitimate reviews to determine whether their performance and conduct show professionalism or not. Don’t forget to leave your own honest and fair reviews, sharing your experiences afterward.

Mannerisms & Conduct

Have you ever dealt with a disagreeable employee when trying to access a service? Professionalism has a lot to do with how employees of any company interact with the clients. If you notice any rudeness or aggression when communicating, booking, or inquiring about any service, then that mover is definitely unprofessional, and you should quickly cut ties.

Red Flags to Watch Out For!

The criminal elements in our society are becoming more and more complex as they adapt to the modern era and find ingenious ways to evade detection. Many of them have spent long hours learning how to dupe citizens by showing potential clients exactly what they want to see and behaving in the manner expected from legitimate movers. For instance, some fraudulent operators can even set up temporary offices and put up attractive brandings on their vehicles to perfect the legit look.

These robbers-in-suits are the worst kind, since they often provide a reassuring look to victims. Luckily, there are several red flags that you can watch out for when selecting a mover. Let’s take a quick look at the two most critical of those:

Ridiculously Low Moving Costs

People naturally get fussy and inquisitive when making expensive purchases, right? It’s a rare case to spend a fortune without first scrutinizing the product. In contrast, we generally don’t poke and prod around when making smaller and cheaper purchases. This simple and ingrown habit often applies to hire services as well. Due to the love of a good bargain, people rarely stop to scrutinize the cheap product or service, and the bogus movers know this!

For any service in any place, certain price ranges cannot possibly be exceeded, and bogus operators often offer lower prices than average ones on the market. Then, clients are quick to jump at the opportunity without giving it much thought. As such, if you come across this red flag, be sure to be double careful when evaluating the legitimacy and professionalism indicators.

Absence of Branding

Deceptive movers will often make an effort to look branded without necessarily showing off any service brand. This includes company logos, names, car signage, vehicle number plates, and personalized work suits for employees. Instead, they often feature regular uniforms or work suits for their employees, which look official, but don’t have anything specific to their company.

If you notice this, then you should red flag the mover and tread carefully. An easy way to further check after noticing inconspicuously missing branding is to simply ask for the official details and documentation that can be verified at local authorities, such as registration numbers and tax clearances.

As we wind up, the responsibility to secure your household goods lies with you, so you should never slack when it comes to verifying and ensuring that your selected mover is legit. Learn to look past the official mumbo-jumbo and, instead, dig deep into your verification analysis. If in doubt, don’t hesitate to contact the local authorities for verification. Lastly, never confront fraudulent movers if you happen to figure it out, these guys can easily turn nasty and violent. Instead, find a polite reason to excuse yourself briefly and privately contact the authorities, and then try to delay their departure until the men in blue show up to deal with the situation!