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Moving fraud in India follows a depressingly consistent script: an unbeatable phone quote, a crew that shows up under a familiar-sounding name, and then a 'revised' bill — sometimes double the quote — demanded while your household goods sit locked in someone else's truck. The good news is that a few minutes of verification filters out almost all of it.
Verify the company exists as a business, not just a phone number. A genuine mover can show you a GST registration, a permanent office address you could physically visit, and vehicles and staff that belong to it. Search the exact business name plus 'complaints' and see what comes back. Be suspicious of companies whose name is one word away from a well-known brand — lookalike names are the most common fraud pattern in this industry.
Insist on a pre-move survey before accepting any price. A legitimate mover wants to see your home (in person or on a video call) before committing to a number, because that's the only way to quote accurately. A company happy to give you a firm-sounding price for a 3 BHK sight-unseen is either guessing or planning to renegotiate on moving day.
Get everything in writing: an itemised quotation on company letterhead listing labour, materials, transport, insurance and taxes separately; the pickup and delivery dates; and the payment schedule. Never hand over a large cash advance — a token booking amount is normal, but a demand for most of the payment before loading is a warning sign.
Check the paperwork that should exist on moving day. A genuine transport operation issues a Lorry Receipt (LR/bilty) when your goods are loaded — it's the legal document of carriage, and you should receive a copy. There should also be a written inventory of items, signed by both sides, that delivery is checked against.
Ask who actually performs the move. Many websites that look like moving companies are lead brokers — they sell your enquiry to whichever local operator pays for it, and the crew that arrives has no relationship with the brand you thought you hired. Ask directly: 'Are the crew and truck your own employees and vehicles, or a partner's?' The answer changes who is accountable if something goes wrong.
Understand transit insurance before you need it. Ask whether insurance is included or optional, what it covers (transit damage only, or loading/unloading too), and how a claim is filed. A mover who is vague about claims handling is telling you something.
Finally, trust the pattern, not the promise. Real reviews mention specifics — dates, routes, crew behaviour, how a problem was resolved. Walls of generic five-star praise with no detail, or ratings that can't be traced to any external platform, are marketing, not evidence.