Scam # 1-The Loose Packing Trick

If you’re planning a long distance move out of NY, beware! There is a popular scam being perpetrated by unethical NY moving companies on interstate moves that we like to term “the loose packing trick”. It typically plays out like this:

You call an estimator in to give a quote on your move from NY to Florida. The estimator gives you a so-called “binding estimate” (guaranteed price) for 400 cubic feet at $3.50 per cubic foot, or $1,400.00. The cubic footage represents the amount of truck space your goods will take up. The inside of the truck used for pickup is marked off at the ceiling for each 100 cu. ft. of space used. You have a guaranteed price so you feel safe.

On moving day, preoccupied with all of the chaos of the move, the moving crew packs your shipment loosely and inefficiently in the nose (front) of the truck, thereby wasting a lot of space. As they get to the last tier or two of your load, they pack your goods tightly and efficiently. At first glance by you, it looks like they have done a great job in packing your shipment into the truck because you can’t see through to the nose of the truck. The illusion has been set.

After the shipment is fully loaded, the foreman or driver calls you downstairs to show you that the load actually occupied 650 cubic feet; not at the 400 cubic feet quoted in the original "binding estimate". The driver/foreman then tells you that the additional 250 cubic feet will be charged at $6.00 per, for an additional $1,500.00 above the original "bound" price. Your new price is $2,900.00.

Naturally, you would get angry and want to know why the estimate was off by more than 50% in volume - and why the additional cubic footage is priced higher than what was agreed upon. The driver/foreman will then indicate, "you must not have shown everything to the salesperson" or "the salesperson made a mistake" or some other bogus line. They will justify the higher cubic footage rate of $6.00 by telling you that the additional space your shipment took up will affect another shipment that was supposed to go on the truck with your shipment. Therefore, you have to pay extra for that.

It gets worse. If you get upset and instruct them to take your goods off of the truck and bring it back into the house, they will refuse. They will either demand that:

a) you pay a 4 hour minimum at whatever their hourly rate for the number of guys there and then bring it back in (not so likely) or
b) they will lock up the truck with your belongings in it and tell you it's going into storage until you pay up, then drive off (more likely)

All of what is going on in this possible scenario is highly illegal, but it happens every day in the NY moving landscape. If unethical movers were worried about breaking the laws, they wouldn't be scammers in the first place. Unfortunately, these types of NY movers are not worried about damaging their name and the long term reputation of their brand. Once the heat catches up to them they will simply declare bankruptcy, open up shop under a new name and start the cycle all over again.

The way to protect yourself against this scam is to insist that long distance moving estimates be done on a weight basis. Reputable NY moving companies affiliated with large van line operators (ie- United Van Lines) in the U.S. quote long distance moving on a weight basis. They do this because the shipment weight can’t be manipulated. It can easily be verified by weighing the shipment and re-weighing a
2nd time if necessary. This takes the loose packing trick out of the equation since your actual weight determines price, not space on the truck (which can be manipulated). It’s the only fair way to charge customers.

Committed to Improving Your NY Moving Smarts!