uShip CEO & Founder Matt Chasen takes a look under the hood of moving and shipping to see how it’s evolving and the innovations shaping how customers and transporters do business.
This series addresses the recent NPR Marketplace piece entitled, Online competitors move in on shippers, which posed the question, “Are consumers better off shopping online or offline for household movers?” In Part I, I attempted to distinguish uShip from other “online” ways to find a mover and also compared the 98% customer satisfaction ratings on uShip to those of the overall moving industry satisfaction rating of 80% according to a recent J.D. Power’s Study. In this post I discuss fraud and scams in the moving industry and explain why I believe that people are far better off using uShip to find a mover than any other on or offline alternative.
Unfortunately, fraud exists and the moving industry is not immune. The anonymity and lack of transparency make many places on the Internet especially vulnerable to fraud and scams. Phishing emails, fake cashier checks and money orders on craigslist, and spoofed and fake websites are common types of internet fraud according to the U.S. D.O.J. Last week, the FBI release an updated list of scams that are luring unwitting people. In addition to harming consumers, these scams also undermine consumer confidence in legitimate e-commerce and the Internet.
There are some websites out there where consumers can go to read and post reviews of movers –movingscam.com is probably the most well known. While these sites have undoubtedly help lots of people, they do have several important limitations when it comes to actually finding a mover.
First, the majority of posted “reviews” are from purportedly “scammed” customers and therefore negative (there is little incentive to seek out these websites and leave positive reviews) – so it is difficult for a person to get any sense for what percentage of a mover’s customers have negative experiences, which is ultimately what is useful.
The second drawback is that it is impossible to validate that these reviews are being left by legitimate customers. Anyone can leave one anonymously, and posts can be faked by competitors and others with ulterior motives.
Third, customers have to actively search for these reviews – they do not accompany quotes from these movers that customers might get from websites or offline.
What Makes uShip Different
One of our goals at uShip is to create not only the most efficient, but also the safest possible place online to find moving and transport companies. We’ve built a transparent, transactional marketplace where movers are rated by their actual, verified uShip customers. By comparison, the reviews site AngiesList.com, claims to verify reviews, but they actually charge a fee just to read reviews – something that is absolutely free on uShip.
In addition to real customer feedback, uShip has sophisticated fraud detection systems, detailed articles about how to avoid fraud and a dedicated Fraud Prevention and Support Team that works closely with government agencies and law enforcement to assist our users. All of these features make uShip one of the safest ways to find a mover, and almost certainly safer than Craigslist, directories or any alternatives, whether online or offline.
In fact, fraud is so rare on uShip that we are able to protect our users from most types of fraud with our “Ship with Confidence” Guarantee – which we actually just increased from $200 to $500, effective September 1st, 2009. Since launching our Guarantee two years ago, users have done over $70 million of business and we’ve only had 4 claims. Of course, as in any online transaction, it is critically important that users take basic steps to protect themselves (as outlined in our Fraud Prevention Guidelines).
Safe uShipping, everyone, and look for Part III of this series: Evaluating Moving Companies.
