Early Signs of a Brooklyn Moving Scam

There are not so many certain migrations as migrations to NYC. Rarely can any city in the world compare to the Big Apple when it comes to newcomers. Millions of people come to NYC every year. Sure, there are those who leave the City of Gotham, too, but much less than those who come. Talking about the boroughs of New York, most of the people who migrate to NY are coming to Brooklyn. Having this in mind, we decided to help the newcomers with a few useful tips. What’s the most important tip when moving to such an expensive city as NYC? Well, don’t get scammed! Here are some suggestions on how to notify early signs of a Brooklyn moving scam. And you should start by hiring professional movers in Brooklyn.

Reasons Why Brooklyn Is So Popular

As one of the most popular neighborhoods in NYC, Brooklyn has a lot to offer, from great job opportunities to some of the best education systems in NYC. That is why people of all ages are looking forward to moving here. When it comes to jobs and expanding your business, moving to Brooklyn does not have to mean that you need to work here. You can live in this peaceful place that will give you a chance to be closer to the center of NYC and the Financial District. And thanks to the great public transport, you will easily commute from work to your home and reverse.

Speaking of raising kids here, as we have mentioned, moving here with your family will be a blast. You can participate in all kinds of activities that Brooklyn is offering. If you think that your kids will be safe here more than in NYC, you are right. The level of violent crime has drastically fallen. The reason for this is that more and more young people with families choose Brooklyn as their final destination. So, if you are looking for a place that can give you everything listed above, hire some reliable local movers in NYC has and get ready for the relocation.

How to Safely Move to New York?

Being such a big city, New York is home to some of the most decent people in the world but also a lot of scammers. Therefore, keep your eyes wide open when searching for moving professionals in Brooklyn. Sure, it might be difficult for someone moving for the first time to note a moving fraud. However, you must be very careful and learn a thing or two before running into a Brooklyn moving adventure.

This is where U. Santini steps in! We care about our customers, so we want to help you avoid all the troubles with your move to Brooklyn. As a company with lots of experience, we shall give you a hand with catching early signs of moving scams. Here are some of the early signs of moving fraud in Brooklyn:

• Hiding some important information (not disclosing it to you upon request) – Do you hide some information if you want to be honest?
• Not offering a moving estimate—It’s normal to want to know your moving cost. A moving company must provide you with a moving quote.
• Asking for a significant amount of up-front payment – One of the most obvious signs of a Brooklyn moving scam
• Low-ball estimates – When you get an estimate, compare it to the other companies. If it’s significantly lower, ask for an explanation of how and why.
• No contract provided – Never agree to relocation without a signed contract!
• Unmarked vehicles – Even though there are reasons why movers might come in an unmarked truck it is still a red flag to pay attention to
• Bad reviews – Especially if there are lots of them, and with some major issues.
• No website – All moving companies, at least non-scammy ones, have a website.
• Not registered – Every legit business has to be registered

The Company Not Providing You With All the Required Pieces of Information You Ask for Is One of the Early Signs of a Brooklyn Moving Scam

Why would someone who is honest hide something? No reason, right? So, if a moving company won’t answer some questions about its history, equipment, personnel, etc., should it be considered reliable? No sir! Therefore, we suggest you give up on such a company at the very beginning. There are so many reliable and honest movers you can find in long distance movers New York has to deal with someone you can’t trust!

You Need to Get a Moving Estimate!

Whenever hiring furniture movers in Brooklyn, ask for an estimate. The moving company must provide you with one. Otherwise, it’s not reliable enough. You need to know how much your Brooklyn move will cost eventually. NYC is an expensive city, and you must save all the money you can. The first step where you should start saving is your relocation. And it can vary from cheap to over-affordable to quite expensive. It only depends on you which one of those you choose. A moving estimate is what helps you compare the companies!

A Large Up-Front Payment Might Mean You’re Dealing with a Brooklyn Moving Scam

Hence, whenever such a requirement appears, don’t start cooperation. Yes, up-front payment is something many moving companies require. Especially when hiring them a long time in advance. That’s something that guarantees that you’re gonna use their moving services once your moving date comes. However, if that’s a large percentage of the overall cost, it could be a red flag for a fraudulent Brooklyn mover.

Low-Ball Estimates – The Easiest Way to Attract First-Timers to Jump Into a Moving Trap

If you’re moving for the first time, you probably have no idea how much the expected price is for your move. So when you start searching for movers, you will probably search for the cheapest one. That’s normal because you want to save money. However, one of the most important Brooklyn moving tips is to always be suspicious of a moving company offering a significantly lower price than the next cheapest one. Why? Well, just think. How could someone offer to do a quality, safe, and efficient relocation at a price so much lower than the next cheapest one?

The answer is – they probably can’t. Yes, they will promise that they will do everything you ask for, but you could end up dealing with a moving fraud, getting robbed, or being charged a lot more money than you agreed to. Your items might get damaged, or be kept hostage, etc. The fraudulent movers know that people are searching for the cheapest moving company in the market, and they are ‘fishing’ for inexperienced people moving for the first time. Be smart and recognize the scammers! This is also a deal when you are renting storage. Make sure that you have chosen the right ones, such as the storage companies NYC has. You will be provided with the exact location, and the price will suit the services and the safety of the storage the company is offering you.

A Rare Case

However, in very rare cases, what seems like a lowball estimate might be the genuine offer of a moving company that is trying to succeed in the industry by providing its services, initially at a much lower rate. Check for all other red flags while you’re at it. If there are no other red flags, then the chances are that you hit a bing and found cheap movers in Brooklyn that you can trust. It is still a risk, but a smaller one.

Unmarked Moving Trucks

Most good professional moving companies have their own marked trucks. That is a big red flag if your movers come in an unmarked Brooklyn moving truck. Think about it: Why exactly is there an unmarked truck? Most answers are bad.

Always Require a Contract Containing All the Terms You Agreed To

This is especially important when dealing with a company you might consider to have placed a low-ball offer. The contract makes you sure you’ll be able to protect yourself in case something goes wrong. Check their personal details, company details, and their signatures. These are simple yet so important things to do! You should also make sure that all of your details are correct. Most scammers will write the wrong name on purpose, and you will be trapped.

Unsatisfied Customers Are Also One of the Early Signs of a Brooklyn Moving Scam

Every moving company has unsatisfied customers. There might be someone with high expectations or complaining about some minor issue. So, a bad review doesn’t tell you that you’re dealing with a Brooklyn moving scam. On the other hand, if there are many bad reviews with some major troubles, you should inspect those reviews thoroughly. Or, simply walk away.

This Is a Modern Age – How Could a Reliable Moving Company Not Have a Website?

The Internet is nowadays one of the best resources to check someone’s background. Therefore, reputable and reliable movers have the basic info on their websites. Helping the customers find what they are looking for without any trouble. So if a moving company doesn’t have a website, would you be ready to start cooperation? It could be a new company in the market that hasn’t yet created a website. On the other hand, which is a more common situation, it could be early signs of a Brooklyn moving scam hiding their background!

Your Moving Company Has to Be Registered

So, among the last easy ways to recognize rogue moving companies is simply checking if they are registered. While this was a long and tedious process in the past, it’s not so today. The main reason for that lies in the power of the internet! You can simply go to the FMCSA website and find what you need. This is a quick and easy way to search for legitimate movers. It is also a very valuable asset. The reason for this lies in the fact that you can find, in this database, all of the complaints clients made during the company’s career. That is quite useful since we live in a time when reviews are even bought. Therefore, having an objective sense of how things stand is good.

Making a First-Round Scan and Selection of Brooklyn Professional Movers

Now that you know what to pay attention to, time to go out and find yourself a bunch of movers. When you gather a list of potential professional Brooklyn relocation companies, time to make some selections. Since we are talking about NYC, the list will be quite large. So, the first thing you should do is apply the previously mentioned red flags to your list of movers. Once you do, you should be left with significantly fewer companies to deal with. This, in turn, will increase your chances of avoiding fraudulent Brooklyn movers. Take your time with this process. Get as many moving estimates as you can first.

Reaching out to the Top Ten Brooklyn Relocation Companies on Your List

Choice narrowed, but you should still have several companies to choose from. No worries, now come the advanced filtering part. Now, this is one of the crucial steps, so your focus needs to be high. The manner in which the conversation with the rep goes can help you identify potential frauds. To start off, fraudulent moving companies won’t bother to optimize their website with additional tools such as a cost calculator. Next thing – even though Brooklyn residents are specific in their own way, professionalism and soft skills are important as they build customer confidence. So do not be afraid to ask as many questions as you have in regard to the services being offered. This is a sure way to avoid fraudulent Brooklyn movers, as not all of them will be willing or able to answer all the questions you might have.

Making a Face-To-Face Meeting with the Brooklyn Moving Company

Legitimate moving companies will always want to make a house call to get an estimate of the work and moving costs. So, have the top movers from your list stop by to look around and gather the total tally. This offers a chance for you to get a feel for who you’re dealing with, as well as go further into the moving details. Be sure to ask about any additional costs and terms and to verify once again the information gathered about the company.

Most scam companies will be looking to conduct their business over the phone and will look to avoid stopping by. Also, if their offer is flat out at one price without any negotiations or additional terms, be on the lookout. It is best to meet your movers face-to-face and see what kind of company you are dealing with exactly. Namely, moving companies that are scammers or fraudulent have various ways of making it seem like everything they do is perfect. All of their services are extremely reliable, but only over the phone. Once you sit down and talk to the representative of a moving company, you will be able to verify the previously gathered info.

Pay Attention to the Early Signs of Brooklyn Moving Scam and Ensure a Safe Move

To get to know these early signs of a Brooklyn moving scam, you need to be very careful. Talk to people who have some moving experience. See what hacks you need to pay attention to. If you are not sure after gathering outer people’s experiences, you should always be able to contact the moving company. A reliable and reputable moving company will give you precise and accurate information about the things that concern you. Choose your moving company wisely and get ready to gain some of the best moving experiences ever. Choose the company that you would be glad to offer to your friends and relatives.