Moving to a new Olmsted County home is a busy time, and it can also be quite stressful. On moving day, the most important thing that homeowners need is a moving company to take their things from the old home to the new home, but not all moving companies are the same. There are many moving companies that exist solely to scam homeowners by taking their money and running or holding all of their possessions hostage. Home buyers need to know what to look for so they don’t accidentally book a scam moving company when it’s time to hire a company. Here are some common red flags everyone needs to be on the lookout for when choosing a moving company.

The Company Makes First Contact

Buyers will quickly learn that when they go online and start requesting quotes from different moving companies, they’re going to get calls from more than just the companies they initially contacted. Buyers need to be wary when a moving company contacts them out of the blue—especially if it’s one that they’ve never heard of before. These unknown companies have a much higher chance of being a scam because they sound like legitimate companies but have no reputation to back them up. When one of these companies comes calling, do research and look at client reviews to find out if they’re reputable or not, and a good place to start is the Better Business Bureau.

The Company Offers an Extremely Low Price

Everyone loves saving money, and no one knows this better than scammers. Moving can be expensive, especially if the move is cross-country. Scam moving companies take advantage of home buyers by offering them quotes that are much lower than any of the competitors that many buyers already have quotes from. If a buyer goes with a scam company thinking they’ll save money, here are two common things that often happen instead:

• The scam company will demand more money on the day of the move, knowing the buyer won’t be able to find another moving company on such short notice
• The scam company will load everything onto the moving truck and hold it hostage, citing that the buyer owes them money because there was more furniture than originally thought or another similar excuse.

Scam movers intentionally lure people in with low prices, so home buyers need to be wary when they see a deal that’s too good to be true.

The Company Claims They Don’t Need to See What’s Being Moved

Many moving companies will schedule an appointment to come to the home and see everything that needs to be moved in order to get an accurate price quote for the home buyer. This is because the price is often calculated by the weight of everything. Scam moving companies will call home buyers on the phone, ask them to describe everything they have, and say that they don’t need to see anything. They will sometimes cite that they have special software that lists the weights of all sorts of common furniture items, but there is no possible way to get an accurate estimate without seeing what needs to be moved.

Home buyers need to be aware of all the scams out there regarding movers. No one wants to have their things held hostage or be overcharged for services after contracts have already been signed. Being able to spot these red flags and warning signs ahead of time can be a good way to avoid scam movers.