If you want to move to a new home, what do you do first? That's right-begin to think about hiring a moving company. And it is undoubtedly the right thing to do. Moving can get pretty complicated and stressful, so having the professionals at your side helps. If people who know what they are doing handle the relocation, it certainly decreases tension during the move. On the other hand, though, you need to know how to avoid bad and fraudulent moving companies. That's why we wanted to give you a couple of tips on identifying the signs that you are dealing with bad movers!

Negative online reviews

Okay, so you plan to hire a moving company to help you move. How are you going to do that and find the right company? Obviously, in this day and age, you are using the power of the Internet! You can use websites such as Yelp these days to find feedback on any service provider you can think of, so why not moving companies? So clearly what you are looking for here is good reviews from customers. Certainly, some people leave bad online reviews for no cause, even for minor things, but if a company has consistently bad reviews across the board, that's one of the indicators that you're dealing with bad movers.

Make sure that your potential movers are registered

You need to be really cautious with movers who aren't registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admission, or if they don't have a USDOT number. Although these movers might seem inexpensive, if anything happens to your things, there's nothing the FMCSA can do. 

High Down payments

If you agree to work with a mover, you will need to deposit a down payment to secure the date of your move. That is natural, and the overall cost of moving rarely reaches 20 percent. In general, the down payment will be in the hundreds of dollars and will be used in the course of your move from state to state. A sign that you might have a scam on your hands is if your potential mover asks for cash, a large down payment, or full prepayment.

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Suspicious details

Although there are several signs that we've mentioned above that you're dealing with bad movers, there are much bigger, major things you should be wary of in general. Often people can run into a fake moving company which is less evident in their appearance. In this case, the devil literally is in the details. So, be wary of little things like:

Lack of a logo

In most cases, reliable movers like to advertise their company with every opportunity, which is only natural because they have nothing to hide. So if you see that a company has unmarked vans and trucks with no obvious insignia, you should be careful of that.

Bad estimate

The cost of the move will in most cases depend on the weight of the shipment. So, before the estimate is given, trustworthy movers come to your home and make a visual estimate. When they don't, nor do they make you fill out some sort of online form with all your furniture details, you're likely dealing with a fake company. 

Planning for relocation? Then contact Reliable and Trustworthy Movers in CT