BBB Alert: How To Protect Yourself From Moving Scams

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When Jennifer Evans hired Discount Van Lines for her move to Florida she thought the deal was too good to be true – turns out it was. 

“We didn’t see our stuff until August 28 and they picked it up June 11.” 

Evans said the company promised to move her family’s stuff to Florida,  but after she paid them thousands of dollars the nightmare began.

“Every time they called they would scream at us and demand more money. They would say that they needed storage fees,” Evans said. 

The company withheld the delivery of Evans items for nearly 3 months. 

“I didn’t know if we were going to get our stuff. All my childhood stuff was in there. All my children’s stuff. Our pictures. Every single thing you owned and including both of our businesses, computers, everything was on that truck,” Evans said. 

Julianna O’Rourke from the Better Business Bureau said scams like these are all too common. 

In 2023, nearly 6,000 complaints were filed with the BBB against moving companies. 

 People  who fell victim to moving scams and reported them to the BBB scam tracker in 2023 lost a median of $350.

O’Rourke said  when hiring a moving company, get everything in writing and also if the business is legitimate it should be easy to find plenty of information on them.

“Anybody that is looking to hire a moving company should  get everything in writing. Make sure you have everything documented. Make sure if there’s something in there you don’t understand, make sure you’re asking questions of the business,” O’Rourke said. 

 Its a lesson Evans said she learned the hard way, but it’s one she doesn’t want anyone else to have to go through. 

“You really have to do your due diligence and search the web and look and look for reviews,” Evans said. 

To report a scam you can file a complaint through the Better Business Bureau website.