How to Identify Fake Moving Reviews?

Everyone who has ever moved house knows how helpful reading moving reviews can be. Nowadays, most people search for reviews online. It is the fastest way to find info and it allows you to check out multiple companies in just a few clicks. Although online search is convenient, it’s no secret that personal recommendations from friends and relatives are the safest option. A trusted friend or a family member who moved house recently will be the person to tell you exactly where to look for a great service and you can rest assured they’ll share their honest opinion with you. But what if none of my friends have gone through a household move recently? Apparently, a confusing situation may get even worse if you are moving for the first time and don’t know where to start exactly.

When performing a self-move, aside from the strong helpers and volunteers, you won’t need many people involved. Of course, you’ll need to find a reliable rental service provider, but that’s about it when it comes to DIY relocations. As it turns out, a positive outcome of a DIY move depends on how good you are at multitasking and balancing your resources. However, large households and long-distance moves definitely require professional movers’ attention and your biggest concern is to ensure your treasured belongings end up in good hands.

Performing a detailed background check on your movers and reading online moving reviews can be a solid indicator of the quality of their services. By taking the time to take a look at other people’s moving experiences you may have a better understanding of what you can expect from certain moving companies.

However, as beneficial as moving reviews can be, you should learn how to differentiate between genuine and fake ones. What better way to check movers’ reputation, you may think. But, nowadays, a positive moving review doesn’t have to be a guarantee that you will end up getting an excellent service.

As it turns out, a lot of fraudulent activities and rogue movers are hiding behind those glowing reviews.  Here’s how you can decide which ones are worth your attention. Carry on reading to learn how to identify fake moving reviews.

Clear signs of false moving reviews

he purpose of posting fake moving reviews is to give misleading information and guidelines to potential customers. Their main goal is to cover their incompetent and unprofessional behavior. An, of course, to lure the inexperienced customer into using their services. The customer assumes they’re getting a good service only to find out after the move is done that they’ve been a victim of fraud. Some fraudulent companies will charge extra. Some will hold your goods until you pay an amount you haven’t agreed on. Others will give you a quote only to charge the final price much higher than quoted. There are many ways fraudulent movers trick inexperienced customers.

Unfortunately, some fraudulent companies seem to go too far when trying to boost their online reputation and attract prospective customers. Due to a highly competitive moving industry, some businesses choose to manipulate moving reviews in order to stand out. Whether you are facing a residential or an office move, finding a reliable moving company is the main prerequisite.

Here we are sharing some of the most important pointers that may help you recognize false moving reviews. Even if moving for the first time you can determine whether the reviews you are reading are legitimate or not.

Detecting fake moving testimonials

It’s all roses

There’s no such thing as a flawless moving experience. Even when dealing with the most reputable of movers, something can go wrong. Accidents do happen, but at the end of the day, all that matters is how your moving team will handle those unexpected situations without causing you too much trouble. Too many perfect moving testimonials where everything went smoothly from start to finish shouldn’t be taken lightly. Even with most reliable movers, you have to count on a human factor and expect a few errors here and there. So, expect to find a few negative reviews even with the top-rated moving companies.

Too-good-to-be-true offers

Unusually low moving estimates combined with outstanding services may mean that rogue movers are trying to attract their victims. Unfortunately, people who have no experience in moving may easily fall for their attractive offers. In order to cut moving costs, they may choose this apparently easier road. But soon they will realize that such a reckless decision might endanger the entire moving process and cause additional costs. Hopefully, you’ve asked for an estimate from a few different companies and you can compare approximate costs. Pay attention if you get one estimate that’s much lower compared to all the others. Especially if it’s combined with only amazing reviews. It should be a red flag and a possible sign of fake reviews. Don’t mistake affordable moving rates with too-good-to-be-true-offers. That’s why you should ask for quotes from various companies to get a general idea of moving rates in your area.

Overly negative experiences

In some cases, 1-star ratings are well deserved. It’s completely understandable that people who received terrible services or were affected by fraudulent moving activities want to share their stories to warn other people. However, extremely negative moving reviews are also used to contaminate the good reputation of reliable moving companies. If a negative review doesn’t reveal any specific or useful information, chances are its only purpose is to damage the company’s reputation. To understand better why a company has negative ratings, go ahead and read through the comments. Unsatisfied customers will usually add some details and describe their unpleasant experience, so if none of the reviews seem honest, you may want to do further research. If you want to go straight to reading reviews of the top-rated NYC movers, check out Dumbo Moving and Storage – great ratings and over 1,600 reviewers can’t be wrong.

Too many irrelevant details

When researching moving companies people are not fond of reading essays. Instead, a straightforward summary of all bad or good aspects may suffice. However, fake reviews also found ways to seem more legit so they can add details trying to make their stories more authentic and trustworthy. Also, mentioning movers’ names might be an indicator that something’s not quite right about the review.

Vague moving reviews

There are too many general statements about the quality of a certain company. But, you cannot determine if those characteristics are well deserved. As there are no specific details and situations proving those statements, it’s highly advisable to ignore such posts and keep looking. When you’re reading through reviews, especially if you’re checking movers with thousands of comments, always read relatable comments first. That means that if you’re moving to another country, read long-distance reviews. They’ll tell you what you need to know about a specific service.

Promotional purposes

At first, a review may seem like relevant content. But if you notice some unusual referrals to other businesses you should know that they are just using the opportunity to promote other companies. The strategy usually follows a simple pattern. A bad review about a company you’re checking, followed by a link to another “great service” moving company you should try instead. If you notice this pattern in the comments, chances are you’re dealing with a fake review.

Awkward and artificial language style

In order to sound more persuasive, fake reviewers tend to use uncommon language or weird punctuation. An angry customer who was scammed by a moving company may use all caps to get his message across and describe his rage and frustration. But, there are also posts where the usage of all caps seems unnatural. If you are unsure as to the style, just ask yourself which style you would use to write a review. Also, pay attention to the structure of it. Similar reviews which were published almost at once may seem rather suspicious, don’t you think?

With this in mind, do not trust everything you read online. The outcome of the move depends on the background check you run on the moving companies. Yes, we know, it requires quite some time, but it’s worthwhile in the long run. Read as many testimonials as you can. Once you eliminate suspicious and shady companies, it will be easier for you to choose the moving crew that will deliver good results. Learn how to read between lines and beware not to fall for the first dazzling offer you get. In addition to that, once your move is over, take the time to summarize your experience in a couple of sentences and share it with other people.

Eventually, skip reading the reviews and go straight for one of the top-rated NYC movers, such as Dumbo Moving and Storage. If you’re looking for a licensed and reliable moving company, we’re at your service! Let’s get in touch to chat about your upcoming relocation.