How to spot fake moving company reviews

Get Your Free Estimate

    badge badge badge badge badge badge

    There is a sea of information on the internet – some true, some false. If you want to get the best recommendations when looking for professional Florida movers, you should ask the customers, rather than the movers themselves. Every moving company will try to convince you they are the smartest choice but their clients will tell you the truth. If you had nothing to gain or lose, why would you lie? That is why most people read online reviews before hiring movers. There is nothing wrong with this tactic, except for the fact that not all reviews are genuine. If you know how to spot fake moving company reviews, you will easily find trustworthy movers in Florida.

    A book and hand holding a magnifying glass
    Learn to read between the lines in order to spot fake moving company reviews.

    Read carefully in order to spot fake moving company reviews

    There are numerous review internet websites and we highly recommend using them but with caution. Fake moving company reviews make it difficult to pick reputable and cheap movers in South Florida. Fraudulent moving companies make them in order to cover up their flaws and sell their services or to defeat the competition. Some companies motivate their clients to leave five-star ratings by offering discounts while some pay people to write fake reviews for them.

    To recognize false online reviews, pay attention to their content as well as the language. Also, bear in mind that the search for reliable local or long distance movers Miami takes time – make sure you have enough of it. These are some of the red flags to watch out for:

    The time and date

    The publication date and time can reveal fake moving company reviews. If you come across a lot of similar online reviews with a similar publication time and date, they may not be legitimate. If there are many similar reviews published on the same day and then no reviews for weeks or months, something is fishy. Therefore, in addition to their content, always pay attention to when the reviews were published.

    Consider the content itself

    There are plenty of clues for you to find in the very content of false moving company reviews:

    Too many details

    Fake online testimonials are usually exaggerated in some way. Real reviews normally contain a brief description of the move, including both positive and negative parts. The information is relevant and concise. On the other hand, fake reviews describe even the tiniest details practically persuading potential clients to pick a certain company.

    An old school name tag with a generic name
    Mentioning the employees’ names is another warning sign. Real customers rarely remember the staff members’ personal names.

    Too broad

    Legitimate reviews are usually straightforward. It is easy to spot fake online reviews if they are not specific enough. If the review says a lot but nothing essential, consider it shady. An actual situation that happened during relocation shows that the move is not made up. A comment that is too general, whether good or bad, indicates that the move never took place.

    Too good to be true

    Everyone occasionally makes a mistake, even the most experienced movers. Fraudulent movers want you to believe that absolutely nothing can go wrong if you hire them. The truth is, there are no flawless moving companies, no matter what the testimonials say. There is always something that needs improvement, so do not expect every single customer to be 100% satisfied. If people say nothing but good things when describing their moving services in Florida, without one negative comment, they are definitely not to be trusted.

    Too much negativity

    Unhappy customers tend to leave negative feedback when they are angriest. When their emotions take over, they can be too harsh. However, if all reviews are overly negative, they are very likely to be fake. Reviews that use offensive language are probably fake, too. Although less frequent, one-star ratings are sometimes intended to damage the mover’s reputation.

    Too irrelevant

    Testimonials that are off-topic are a major warning sign. Such reviews only promote moving services, even though they may seem relevant at first. Additionally, they often contain links to the movers’ websites.

    The language

    Uncommon language

    Spotting fake moving company reviews is not that hard if you pay attention to the language. Fake clients tend to use specific jargon or language that is too “polished” and flowery. In addition, false moving reviews are often written in all capital letters and the punctuation can be strange.

    Repetitive patterns

    Sometimes, moving companies from Florida and the rest of the country pay people to write online reviews. If you read them carefully, you will notice the same style, structure, vocabulary, even entire sentences, again and again. When the same person writes many reviews and does not make an effort, the same pattern can be found repeatedly. Moreover, when the review mentions the name of the company multiple times, you should be suspicious. If a review sounds too much like an advertisement than it probably is.

    Hands typing on a keyboard, looking to spot fake moving company reviews
    Even though many websites use filters to detect fake online moving reviews, false reviews still find a way to sneak in.

    Conclusion

    The best way to find good movers is by visiting many review websites, such as Better Business Bureau. Also, compare the movers’ reviews on different websites to get a clear picture. There are hundreds of thousands of moving company reviews out there and they keep coming. Although we can never know for sure which ones are genuine, we can increase our chances to spot fake moving company reviews.

    • Take enough time to do your research;
    • Read and compare as many reviews as you can find;
    • Pay attention to the publishing date and time;
    • Recognize fake moving company reviews by the language they use (same patterns, uncommon language, sounds like an ad);
    • Too many consecutive negative reviews are not necessarily a bad sign;
    • Avoid the movers whose reviews are too general, positive, detailed or irrelevant.

    We hope you will be able to determine which reviews are honest and which are manipulated before your next move.  Good luck!

    Latest Posts