A retired Toronto Police dispatcher of 23 years who on a weekly basis got calls from victims claiming to have been defrauded.
"I just can't believe this could happen to me," Julie Lennick, 66, of Newmarket said. She wants to warn others to be wary when choosing a moving company after she alleges she was scammed by one.
In early October, Lennick made a post online asking for recommendations for a moving company, and one of them she ended up really looking into was based in the GTA.
Lennick said she was satisfied with the quote of $300 she was given over the phone by them, which she said included the delivery of three kitchen appliances from her friend's Pickering home to her place, and the removal of her two old appliances.
She e-transferred a $200 deposit to book the Oct. 10 moving date.
On the moving date, Lennick said her items had been picked up when she received a call from a representative of the moving company demanding that she pay the remaining balance before the items were delivered to her home.
The remaining balance Lennick expected to pay was $100. Except, the moving company demanded more than four times the original quote price, and she said she was told it was because her things were overweight.Lennick faced paying $1,100, or was told her things would be placed in a warehouse and charges would accumulate.
Lennick's friend had signed the contract in Pickering which, according to the company, made her liable for payment — so she ended up paying the fee.
When the movers got to her home and delivered the appliances, Lennick said the movers refused to remove her old appliances since it wasn't written in the contract.
At that point, Lennick said one of the movers intimidated her into signing the contract.
She called the police and asked one of her friends to come over since she was feeling "uneasy."
Lennick described the experience as "painful," and having felt "stupid."
"Anybody who was scammed probably felt stupid and felt violated... I just trust people too much," Lennick said.
Fortunately, Lennick said she has great friends who came out that day to help her finish the move.
To this day, Lennick said she hasn't received an invoice and that her requests for one have been ignored.
According to a report in 2020 by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), it receives an average of 13,000 complaints and negative reviews from people in Canada and the U.S. about movers each year.
The report states that in 2019, the BBB received 5,492 negative reviews and complaints about being overcharged by a moving company.
"Do careful and extensive research to ensure you are dealing with a legitimate mover. After all, you are allowing someone you don’t know to drive away with almost everything you own. While the vast majority of movers care about reputation and customer service, not all do," the BBB report states.
The act of dramatically increasing the price of a service is called "price gouging," the BBB stated.
Lennick advises people to do lots of research on a company before hiring them. If she had done so, she would have seen the reviews from previous customers claiming they had a similar experience.
https://www.thestar.com/local-newmarket/news/2021/12/10/it-can-happen-to-anybody-retired-toronto-police-dispatcher-warns-others-after-she-alleges-she-was-scammed-by-moving-company.html
