When Jennifer Johnson hired movers to transport her possessions from her downtown Toronto apartment to her new pad in the west end of the city last September, she didn’t expect she’d end up doing all the heavy lifting.
The movers were three-and-a half-hours late for the job and, knowing she’d miss the window she’d booked with the building supervisor to use the service elevator, Ms. Johnson, 34, lugged her stuff at her old apartment to the loading dock herself.
“I’m a single girl, I don’t have anybody helping me. That’s the whole point of getting movers,” Ms. Johnson says. “In hindsight I would’ve done more research.”
June to September is peak moving season in Canada and, with such high demand, it’s also the time of year when those who are relocating are most vulnerable. For instance, a year ago, police arrested the operators of a Toronto moving company who faced a laundry list of charges – including fraud and extortion. Complaints finally led to the Toronto arrests, but consumers must be wary of similar practices in a business where anyone with a van can put up a “movers” shingle or an ad on Craigslist.
Dodgy moving tactics can include holding furniture hostage in the moving van to charging extra fees for moving heavier pieces or moving them to a third floor.
Less trustworthy companies may also overbook, arriving several hours late, or sometimes not show at all. This can cost you money if you miss the booked service elevator time at a new condo or apartment building, or have to hire someone more exorbitant at the last minute.
With proper research and knowledge of their consumer rights, those who are relocating can better avoid being ripped off, moving experts say.
Shop around for a quote
Ms. Johnson wasn’t moving many belongings to her new home so she didn’t think it was necessary to have a mover come in person to evaluate the volume of the move. The first company she called on the phone – she’d seen their ad in a free weekly paper – told her they’d charge her $40 an hour, with a four-hour minimum. She didn’t think anyone could give her a better deal so she agreed.
John Levi, president of the Canadian Association of Movers
When you do get a quote, make sure it’s an estimate, not a price, Mr. Levi says. You don’t want to hear, “It will be $100 an hour,” but rather that the move will take eight hours at the rate of $100 an hour, plus tax. A mover should be able to present you with the total cost of the move. Most important of all, he says, is to get it in writing.
While it’s tempting to go with the cheapest quote, be wary of the low-ballers.
“If you have a couple of movers in to give you an estimate and one price is significantly different from the others, you should find out why,” Mr. Levi says. “If it doesn’t make sense, don’t move with them.”
Read customer reviews
“The traditional process [when looking for a mover] often was the Yellow Pages or ask a friend,” says Brian Sharwood, president of HomeStars.com
His website lists user-written reviews of contractors in a range of categories, from architects to upholsterers. If a moving company has offered you a seemingly too-good-to-be-true quote, you can check the site to see if they have negative customer reviews.
