1. If A Moving Company Only Accepts Cash:
I’m sure there are perfectly respectable movers out there that have chosen to bypass the expense of credit card fees, but typically this is a sign of a business that is either just starting out (e.g. inexperienced) or has one foot out of the door (e.g. would prefer that the FBI can’t freeze their accounts).
2. You’ve Never Seen Their Trucks:
It is common that once you start shopping for a specific car you suddenly start seeing them everywhere. They were always there, but now they’re on your radar. Moving trucks are the same way. Have you seen their trucks on the road? Do they look like the type of vehicle you would want your furniture to be associated with? Did someone write “Wash Me” in the caked on dirt? Was the back of the truck open with someone lounging in an armchair with his feet up on the dining room table as they headed down I-95 from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami?
3. They Claim to Have Been in Business for 20 Years but Have Only Been Incorporated for Six Months.
This involves some minor homework. The Better Business Bureau is a great resource but you need to look beyond the A-rating. At www.bbb.org look up the business and then scroll down the page. Underneath “Additional Information” (near the bottom of the page next to the map) you will find “Alternate Business Names”. From here you want to check out www.sunbiz.org to find out when the business was incorporated and how many times. A common practice is to reincorporate when shady business tactics have damaged their reputation beyond redemption.
4. Their Better Business Bureau Link Takes you to the BBB Homepage:
If a moving company (or any company for that matter) has a BBB link on their page it should take you directly to their BBB profile. If it takes you to the main BBB page then they probably never had the BBB’s approval. Click here and guess where it takes you www.bbb.org, I bet it’s an A-rated Moving Company in sunny Ft. Lauderdale.
5. They Can’t/Won’t Provide You With a Written Estimate:
Simply put, they don’t want to provide you with anything that might commit them to a number. To be fair this is really not that common anymore. If they tell you that they don’t really need to know that much about what you are moving and “don’t worry about it”; it is time to break out the stress ball.
If you are looking to move in or out of Greater Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, or Boca Raton the only movers to call are TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®