In these trying economic times, everyone is trying to keep the point sharp and look at every penny spent. I am a consumer as well and I believe that is good business. When it comes to moving however, be careful of being swayed by the price that is too good to be true from an internet quote. The internet is full value, but caveat emptor! It is also full of predators.
In my first couple of entries, I will outline some of the most common scams coming from internet moving quotes. In following posts I will share with you how to avoid problems with moving companies.
•1. "The bait-and-switch." This is the most common complaint. If you think about it, their whole business model revolves around booking business in volume over the internet. What is the easiest/laziest way to do that? Just be cheaper than everyone else. What they will do is bait you with a low price and then after they have your furniture loaded on the truck, switch the price to something much higher and promise not to give your things back until you pay the much higher price. Frequently the second price they give you in much higher than prices you would've gotten from more reputable companies. Their premise for raising the price is usually: "This is more than what we had estimated." This under the letter of the law is perfectly valid. There will be much more on this later.
•2. Service failures. Another huge problem is more than likely, the company you hired doesn't even have a "brick and mortar" facility anywhere near your origin or destination. When issues arise like the men not having enough packing material or not having enough room on a truck, they have no one in the area to physically help.
There is more to follow. I will try to get it up by Monday.
CMARC (Charlotte Metro Area Relocation Council) is having their first quarterly meeting on March 12th and Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House.
We will be having a three-person panel discussion to talk about the state of the Mortgage industry as it stands today and how it is affecting the Relocation industry. Specifically, we'll talk about what some corporations are doing to help themselves and their transferees through this troublesome time.
The panel will include people from the relocation department in Wachovia (Wells Fargo), the policy department from AIReS relocation and someone from Countrywide Mortgage.
If you are in the relocation industry and are going to be in or near the Charlotte, NC area on March 12th, I would highly recommend this event. This CMARC event is open to all CMARC members but we would love to have you as a guest. Please contact me if you would like and I will register you to attend. There is a $35 fee to cover lunch for visitors.
I provide complete relocation solutions on behalf of All American Relocation. As a Broker here in North Carolina, I provide specialized services above what anyone expects from a moving company.
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