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Moving Scam - Busted!

Kate McCafferyKate McCaffery RSS Feed

Filed under: Buyer Beware, Consumer Complaints, Fraud, House & Home

Toronto Police arrested seven people yesterday in a raid on ring of moving companies accused of defrauding home owners and businesses to the tune of $1-million a year.

The company had operated under more than a dozen different names, including Indo-Pak Movers, Desi Movers, Supreme Movers, Dynamite Movers and A1 Express Movers. Police confirmed that they seized the company's moving trucks, at least $11,000 in cash (later reports quoted a figure as high as $20,000) and luxury vehicles that included an Audi 8 and Mercedes S500.

The victims' stories are all very similar: customers were quoted a price over the phone, an amount that is demanded up front, usually in cash, when the truck and movers arrive on site. Once the truck is loaded, the movers or their "boss" on the other end of a proffered cell phone demands the customer pay additional fees – sometimes two or three times the original quoted price – before the movers will carry on and unload the homeowner or business owner's belongings.

Ransom is a word used often by people describing the experience.

People who've found themselves on the wrong end of these deals said that when they called police, the officers were unable to help because they'd signed a contract. At some point during the process, the victims say, the moving company asked them to sign the contract right away, because the paperwork was needed for insurance purposes. Customers were typically asked to sign when they were too distracted to read what they were signing.

WalletPop talked to one of the company's victims in the week leading up to the bust.

"They waited until the exact moment when I was on the phone with a client to say the truck is ready, you need to sign this contract," said Michael Kazdan, who had booked his company's move with Indo-Pak Movers. On the face of it, he said, the agreement looked legitimate and contained all of the information he'd discussed on the phone with the "Jonathan," the company's representative.

Once the paperwork was signed, the company came back to Kazdan saying they wouldn't move the business's property until he paid an additional $1,500. "I wasn't allowed to talk to Jonathan, the guy I made the deal with," Kazdan said. "Instead I need to talk to his wife. She says 'slow down Mr. Kazdan. Did you or did you not sign the contract?' (Yes.) 'Did you read it?' (Yes.) Did you read the other side of the paper?' "

What other side of the paper?

It turns out the company included a list of surcharges in the contract as well – including fees like $450 for heavy lifting.

Others describe the same scenario, where they're told they need to sign paperwork for legal or insurance purposes. Although some stories include movers unloading a person's property onto the street if they refuse to pay, in Kazdan's case the company refused to release the property at all when he told them to take their initial "deposit" and beat it.

"I was going to go get a truck and move it myself but now they're holding our stuff hostage," he said. Ultimately Kazdan's employer ended up cutting the cheque.

To add insult to injury, one of the drivers said he didn't agree with his employer's tactics but that he had his own truck and would return to help the business move the second load. He never returned.

Have you ever looked into hiring movers? Chances are the classified ads and the Internet were two of the first places you looked. But even some supposedly established companies listed in the Yellow Pages have generated their own fair share of complaints.

Coming tomorrow: Moving scams and how to choose a good moving company.

Kate McCaffery is a freelance writer in Toronto, Ontario. Visit mccaffery.ca/kate2.0/ for more information.

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iversonbetsey

I've had the exact same issues with BC-Alberta Movers. They have ignored phone calls, sent me a bill for more than double the original estimate, damaged the propert that the items were picked up at, showed up with no packing supplies, which I payed extra for, and also have yet to show up with our belongings, which was quoted to take 24 days, and it has been over 30 now. DO NOT USE BCALBERTA MOVERS!

August 09 2012 at 12:50 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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