When using professional moving services, you allow strangers into your home and entrust them with your cherished belongings – and you have every right to be nervous about it. You don’t know who these people are, if they’re properly qualified, if they have enough knowledge, skill, and experience to do a good job, and if they even care to do a good job. Most importantly, you don’t know if they are reliable professionals who follow ethical business practices or scam artists who seek to rip off unwary customers.
To ensure your peace of mind, you need to make sure that you’re working with trustworthy moving specialists – and one of the best ways to do so is to do a background check for moving companies. It will help you identify rogue movers and avoid moving scams and will point you toward the best professionals in the industry, so you can find a qualified, experienced, and reliable moving partner.
But how to do a background check on a moving company? You need to verify the company’s licensing and insurance information, check its track record, research its complaint history, look at its ratings, go through its online reviews, and find proof of reliability and quality service. Here is how to do that:
Verify the company’s licensing credentials
Professional movers need to be registered and licensed in order to operate legally. Requirements vary by state but all properly certified moving companies have a MC number (interstate movers have a USDOT number, too).
These numbers can help you get a lot of information about the company, so your first step when doing a background check for movers is to go to the official FMCSA’s website, enter the company’s number in the required field, and click the report button. You will see the mover’s profile on the MCMIS and will immediately know if the company has a valid license and if it is authorized to transport household goods and perform moving services.
Just make sure the company’s name and contact information match those listed on the mover’s paperwork as rogue movers may use another company’s DOT number to mislead potential customers.
See also: How to check a DOT number
Make sure the company isn’t blacklisted
Blacklists identify untrustworthy individuals and companies. Since you certainly don’t want to hire untrustworthy movers, you should avoid blacklisted companies, no matter what discounts or extra services they offer.
You can check if a moving company has been blacklisted by searching on specialized websites, such as Rip Off – just browse through the list of blacklisted movers or type the name of the specific company you’re interested in on the search tab.
Research the company’s complaint history
Once you know that a moving company is properly licensed and not blacklisted, it’s time to check out its complaint record.
Go to the FMCSA’s complaint database and input the company’s MC number (or DOT number) – a detailed breakdown of complaints that have been reported against the mover for the past 3 years will come up. The fewer complaints, the better, of course, but you need to also look at the type of complaints – there is a huge difference between delivery delays and holding shipments hostage.
It is a good idea to research your potential mover on other reputable consumer protection sites (such as ProtectYourMove.gov, MovingScam.com, etc.) as well.
Check the company’s accreditations, memberships in professional organizations, and business ratings
Your next step when doing a background check for movers is to check the companies’ accreditations and ratings:
- Research the movers through the BBB – The Better Business Bureau has 8 criteria for integrity and professional ethics a moving company must meet in order to be accepted, so a BBB accredited mover is likely to be an honest and reliable professional. The company’s profile on the BBB website will display a rating (the bureau assigns ratings from A+ (highest) to F (lowest) based on the mover’s performance) and a few notable complaints and customer reviews, so you will get a lot of crucial information on the movers you intend to hire;
- Find out if the company belongs to a renowned moving organization – To become a member of an esteemed moving organization, a moving company has to abide by the state and federal laws, meet the association’s standards for safety, efficiency, and professionalism, and follow the organization’s Code of Ethics.
Related useful information: BBB accredited movers
Read moving company reviews
Browsing online moving reviews is an essential part of any background check for moving companies.
Reviews left by previous customers can tell you a lot about a mover – you will find out what you can expect from them, if they tend to overpromise or overcharge, whether they can be trusted or should be avoided, etc. A complaint or issue may never make it to the FMCSA but will almost certainly appear on sites like Yelp and MyMovingReviews – and happy customers have no other way to voice their satisfaction than to leave a positive testimonial – so moving reviews are excellent sources of first-hand information about moving companies.
Keep in mind though that scam companies often use fake reviews to boost their reputation and drown out complaints – be sure to visit only trusted customer review platforms and look for moving reviews of the same company on several different websites.
See also: How to spot fake moving reviews
Research the company’s online profile
While looking for online customer reviews, you’re advised to do a quick review of the company’s overall web presence as well:
- Visit the company’s webpage and look for evidence of trustworthiness and competence – or warning signs of fraud;
- Check the company’s social media pages;
- Browse reliable, up-to-date lists of top-rated movers to find out if the company ranks among the best in the industry.
Related: How to use the Internet to plan your move
Bonus tip: Do not limit your background check to online resources only
Use every possible way to obtain extensive information about the movers you consider hiring for your relocation:
- Ask for references – call those people and try to learn as much about their moving experience as possible. Even a small detail can give you a useful insight into the moving company they’ve worked with;
- Check the company’s statistics – their years in business, the number of moves they have performed, the number of trucks they have, the training and insurance they provide to their employees, the awards they have received (if any), etc.;
- Interview the movers – ask as many questions as necessary to find out if that company is right for you.
Knowing how to do a background check on a moving company will help you find a reliable moving partner so you’re confident that your items are in good hands.
So, when hunting for movers, be sure to fill out a moving quote form to get in touch with several reputable professionals, do a background check on three or four companies that seem to suit your needs and requirements, ask them for on-site estimates of your moving costs, interview the representatives who come to your home, discuss the details of your move, compare the offers, and choose the best mover for you. Your relocation will be smoother, safer, and easier than you believe possible.
