Online competitors move in on shippers
Dropping home prices and a dismal job market mean more people are staying put and moving companies have fewer customers. Lenora Chu reports online competition is also giving traditional movers a headache.
A renter packs his things into a UHaul. (John Moore/Getty Images)
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TEXT OF STORY
KAI RYSSDAL: Moving can be a nightmare. The packing and unpacking. The changing of addresses. All of it just adds up to one big, fat bad experience. So nobody does it unless they have to. Throw in falling house prices and a still-weak job market and more people are simply staying put. That means moving companies have fewer customers nowadays. But it is not just the recession that's causing headaches for traditional movers.
Lenora Chu reports.
Lenora Chu: When Jerry Eldred had to relocate from New Hampshire to Texas, his new employer gave him a shoestring budget for the move.
Jerry Eldred: I definitely could not do one of the Cadillac moves, Mayflower, those kinds of companies.
The quotes he got from full-service movers came in at seven grand and up. So he hopped on uShip.com. That's the online site where movers bid for your business. Eldred listed the contents of his three-bedroom house and stated his price.
Eldred: So I put my lowball figure on there, the lowest I figured somebody might possibly be willing to take.
The bids started coming in. Eldred read the online reviews of companies who submitted quotes and eventually chose a local trucker. Eldred says he was nervous at first about trusting his belongings to someone he found on the Internet. But he met with the trucker first before signing on the dotted line. The final price? A touch over three grand. And his stuff arrived safe and sound.
Eldred: So for a lot less money I got a lot faster delivery. That was kind of the amazing thing to me.
And it's been amazing for uShip.com. The company's revenues have doubled over the last year. That's despite Census data that shows fewer Americans moved in 2008 than at any time since 1962.
uShip CEO Matt Chasen.
Matt Chasen: So I think people are just changing their behavior and going to places like uShip where they can try to get better pricing and more competitive quotes.
Enter the new landscape for the moving industry, where buyers and sellers connect on the Internet. Steve Weitekamp is president of the California Moving and Storage Association.
Steve Weitekamp: Ten years ago the average consumer went to the Yellow Pages, opened up the section that said "Movers," and the traditional movers had the large ads. Now most people go onto the Internet, they type in movers and they get all kinds of options.
Traditional movers are having to get creative to find new customers and inspire loyalty. Especially when plummeting house prices mean people are staying put.
In Santa Monica, Anne Burkley is watching movers roll a BBQ grill into her new home. Her mover, Ram Katalan, is supervising a half-dozen workers on the job. He says his full-service company, Northstar Moving, has seen year-over-year growth screech to a halt.
Ram Katalan: These days we're about a 12 to 14 percent decrease from previous year.
So Katalan is going the extra mile on branding and service. He's greening up his moving trucks with biodiesel, slashing prices when customers ask for recycled boxes and putting pets in a luxury daycare free of charge during a move.
Katalan: We understand that being a moving company is not just about moving boxes from one place to another. It's about making sure we address all of our clients' needs.
Katalan's not worried about the online competition, he says, because he has loyal customers like Anne Burkley. Burkley has hired Northstar before, and she says she'd do it again.
Anne Burkley: Putting everything you own in the hands of some company that you don't really know is sort of, for me, uncomfortable.
Burkley says moving is too personal to trust to the Internet.
In Los Angeles, I'm Lenora Chu for Marketplace.
Comments
Comment | Refresh
From MO, 10/04/2009
QUOTE*****from Matt Chasen’s (CEO of uShip) post above
…."Please decide for yourself by visiting stopillegaltrucking.com, where you will find the ramblings of a small group of disgruntled, suspended uShip members that are trying in vain to tarnish our excellent reputation."……..
RESPONSE*****
Mr. Chasen's choice of words to describe the membership of the “Stop Illegal Trucking” is very offensive and totally inaccurate. As a co founder of the "Stop Illegal Trucking" organization, I find it surprising and insulting that any astute individual would use such a broad brush to paint all "Stop Illegal Trucking" members as "a small group of disgruntled, suspended uShip members". I for one am not disgruntled, suspended, nor am I trying to tarnish anyone's reputation. I certainly do not agree with all the negative comments made in this column about uShip, however, simultaneously, I strongly disagree with Mr. Chasen's characterization of the "Stop Illegal Trucking" organization.
If Mr. Chasen’s company is receiving negative comments on the “Stop Illegal Trucking” website forum, he is very welcome to respond directly to any and every comment. He’ll find that our discussion forums are not edited or censored while the uShip forums are severely censored.
While we (Stop Illegal Trucking) do have members that are strongly opposed to many of uShip's policies and practices, for Mr. Chasen to condemn our organization based on the comments of a few members that are critical of uShip is totally inappropriate. The "Stop Illegal Trucking" organization's mission statement is very clear. Our mission is to improve the safety of our nation’s highways. We attempt to accomplish this in several ways. One prong of our offense is to cause illegal truckers and trucks to be removed from the highways. The fundamental reason for this is quite simple. If the trucks are registered carriers and compliant with US DOT requirements, in order to maintain their interstate transport authority, they are subject to regulation and inspection which helps keep our highways safer. Transporters that operate without the appropriate authority are not subject to those equipment inspections, driver’s physical exams, daily driving hours, minimum safety equipment, licensing, training, and record keeping, just to name a few. As pointed out above, one only has to sample the uShip carrier directory to find a high percentage of those listed are not operating in compliance with federal requirements for interstate transport of property.
Based on “Stop Illegal Trucking” member’s comments, the major gripe about uShip by “Stop Illegal Trucking” members is focused on this easily verified fact. UShip has become very attractive for illegal truckers to find shipments. Regardless of uShip’s stated policy, in actual practice there is no comprehensive verification of the legal status of their many so called “Transportation Service Providers”. This fact alone has allowed uShip to become a haven from which illegal truckers operate with impunity. I say without impunity because even if reported to uShip, uShip takes no apparent action to remove them from their directory of Transportation Service Providers.
Anyone who really wants to know the truth about the "Stop Illegal Trucking" organization should visit our website. There you'll find that we offer a lot more than simply a forum for discussion.
Our Mission Statement speaks for itself and accurately defines the objectives of our organization…………
The mission of Stop Illegal Trucking is to provide a method for elevating the awareness level of the general public, enforcement authorities, consumer advocacy groups, and elected officials about illegal trucking activities. Stop Illegal Trucking will provide a forum available to all for the purpose of sharing information on illegal trucking activities and other topics of mutual interest. Stop Illegal Trucking will work legally and ethically while protecting the privacy of the supporters of this cause.
……………
From SC, 10/02/2009
OK! Here's the real story behind this argument. This should fully support all claims made concerning Uship and clear up who's really telling the truth.
Google the phrase below:
Uship feedback negative rating
After initial results appear, scroll down to where is says:
Show more results from www.UShip.Com and click on that.
Then scroll down to where it says:
Show all results from www.UShip.Com and click on that.
From Cincinnati, OH, 09/06/2009
We're a moving labor service in Cincinnati, and Uship unfortunately provides an easy pathway for illegal movers to flood the market. Any one in Ohio who accepts to transport goods without a PUCO number, regardless if its their truck or not, is illegal. There are a lot of companies promising to help who are more illegal than they let on.
From Concord, MA, 09/01/2009
I'm surprised to see this shallow depth of reporting on Marketplace, something I'd expect from a lesser news agency.
Amidst the countless moving horror stories of Internet brokerage companies, Marketplace offers a story of success. Furthermore, claiming the economy has brought this change to the moving industry, meanwhile, missing the point that by 2006 Congress had finally enacted greater consumer protection laws, largely due to unscrupulous Internet brokering of household goods shipments.
Knowing at least one of the sources quoted in this story, I would certainly believe information was omitted in order to shape this report. This type of report makes me wonder about the many other stories covered by Marketplace, stories that I knew less about, but thought informative.
From SC, 08/30/2009
I'M MORE CONFUSED NOW THAN EVER.
What is the real truth behind USHIP?
The more I read, the more concerned I become about that site. What kind of wool is really being pulled here?
In response to this article and related comments, Mr Chasen Founder and CEO of Uship.Com, stated within his response on 08/17/2009, the following:
QUOTE: we do perform identity verification and fraud detection as well as provide you with tools that make your required due diligence as easy as possible.
But yet in their User Agreement they state the following: http://www.uship.com/user_agreement.aspx
1. uShip is a Neutral Venue. uShip is not a Transportation Service Provider (TSP), freight forwarder or broker.
Furthermore, due to the difficulty of individual authentication, especially on the Internet, we cannot and will not in any manner verify or confirm the identity or ability of members to pay for the provided services
In his response his states that Uship performs identity verification, but in their User Agreement they claim that individual authentication is so difficult that they don't even bother?
Is he saying that it's easy enough to perform identity verification on carriers so they do that. But it's to difficult to perform on the consumers (Shippers)?
I'm confused. How can they do one group of people but not the other?
I'm equally confused as to why Uship doesn't take action against the carriers that are in violation of Uship's User Agreement.
If you take the results that I came up with after reviewing only the 1st 10 carriers of Uship's top U.S. household movers by uShip Sales Rank and it's without question that 7 out of the top 10 carriers don't have Motor Carrier authority according to the Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA) database.
Find the Carriers at: http://directory.uship.com/householdmovers/nationwide/.
Then review the User Agreement at: http://www.uship.com/user_agreement.aspx
Extracts of the User Agreement
2. Membership.
Our services are available only to individuals who can form legally binding contracts under applicable law.
16. Transportation. You must legally be able to transport the shipments you bid on.
18. Information You Submit You further represent and warrant that any and all of your online communication, content and/or information:
Will not violate any federal or state law, regulation, rule, or statute;
Will not violate the terms of this Agreement;
So what kind of song and dance is being done here?
From TX, 08/27/2009
I personally could write a book on all the things that are in question and/or indisputably outright wrong concerning Uship's site rules and deceptive practices. But I'm only going to mention one of the dozens by complimenting my previous post concerning operating authority (MC and DOT#'s).
The Federal Trade Commission states:
Vague labels like "Terms and Conditions" are not enough to direct consumers to important restrictions or qualifications.
In addition, information that is significant to the advertised offer should not be buried at the end of a long web page that requires consumers to scroll past unrelated information.
Consumers should not have to wander through an electronic maze to discover important conditions or limitations of an offer.
But yet Uship has this entry at the bottom of the page of a carrier's profile when the information to be verified "Company Snapshot" block is at the top.
* Profile information provided by member. Please verify all credentials.
Additionally, it's very light in color compared to everything else on the page?
Just another of the dozens of examples that portray the real story.
Extremely good guidance can be found on the Federal Trade Commission's web site.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/resources/guidance/adv.shtm
Care to continue this discussion for the world to see, or is it time to make things right?
From Ocala, FL, 08/27/2009
Matt I see that you still didnt answer my one question and I would like for you to please go back and read my post and just answer my ONE QUESTION. It isnt that hard to do, or is it that you dont want everyone to know the truth about the so called GUARENTEE that you talked about is nothing more than BS. Hey look I am not here to bust your _SS I am here to offer a solution to the problem you have on your web site that we all know you have but for some reason you just wont face up to it. Which brings me to my next point, can you tell me how long USHIP.COM is going to let this CARRIER take these peoples money and do nothing about it? I have emailed uship about this TSP but as of today 08/27/2009 I see they are still active and bidding on the uship web site and still asking for deposits by either "MONEYGRAM or WESTERN UNION" which us TSP's were told was illegal to do and if we did do it we would be suspended. But here is your #245 carrier as of today still doing it so do you care to explain? Please Matt clean up your site it could be a big money maker for the right type of legal motor carrier. Here is a link to the TSP's USHIP PROFILE. http://www.uship.com/profile/scottgable/
From TX, 08/27/2009
There was a slight error in my previous post on the Story #1 entry.
I wrote:
DOT is inactive and you can’t have an MC# without an active DOT #
What it should have read was :
DOT is inactive and you can’t have an MC# without an active DOT # unless you have Broker authority.
From TX, 08/27/2009
I’m not a member of Uship(suspended or otherwise). But I’m going to shed some indisputable facts on this topic.
FEEDBACK FEEDBACK FEEDBACK
The issue is NOT about FEEDBACK! It’s about the numbers of people using your site to transport in a “For Hire” capacity across state lines without the Federally mandated credentials.
I read where someone wrote that UShip is to the Transportation industry what Craigslist was to Prostitution until the Feds got involved. We’ll keep working on the issue.
Yes, you do provide fields for a Carrier to enter their Department of Transportation (DOT#), "if they even have one". This number is required (in most cases) for conducting transport “For Hire” operations WITHIN state lines (Intrastate). It’s issued totally free from the Government within minutes and is meaningless for interstate transport operations).
Correction: It’s issued within minutes providing that its applied for online.
Yes, you do provide a field for a Carrier to enter their Motor Carrier (MC #), "if they even have one". An MC# is issued at a cost of $300 and is required for crossing state lines while conducting transport “For Hire” operations.
Note: For the most part, this number will remain valid for as long as the carrier maintains their COMMERCIAL financial responsibilities and doesn‘t have any major or repetitive infractions.
These fields are ELECTIVE fields on your site. The absence of these fields is never detected by probably 99.9% of the average consumers (Shippers).
Once again, the DOT# is required in most cases when transporting for hire intrastate (within state lines). The DOT# is NOT the green light for interstate operations (across state lines). The DOT must be accompanied by a MC# to conduct interstate operations.
THE FIELDS SHOULD BE A PART OF YOUR CARRIER’S PROFILE PAGE BY DEFAULT!
It would "incentivize" Carriers (TSP’s as Uship calls them) to become legal transporters. But that would end up being the end of the “UP TO” 80% savings. It would also possibly be the end of Uship.
An actual example from Uship pulled off at random:
Company: CAMPBELL CONSTRUCTION CO LLC
DOT Number: 1333331
MC number = NONE
http://www.uship.com/profile/CampbellCo/
This carrier’s profile states interstate transport, they have conducted such transports and yet they don’t have Motor Carrier authority (an MC#)to do so!
They have a DOT number shown on their profile. When clicked upon it does cause a pop-up window to appear from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). But the popup is outright deceptive to those who don’t know, that information is intentionally omitted by the FMCSA because of the fact that an MC# number was never issued and therefore the omitted information does not apply!
Uship is totally aware of the fact that having legal authority imposes an enormous financial overhead on Carriers. Uship on the other hand comes to the table claiming 60-80% savings and the customers eat it up because they have no understanding, nor do they care as to why it‘s so much cheaper than a nationally known trucking company. If you will, “A PROPERLY LICENSED CARRIER”
The reason that there so much of a “savings” on Uship, is simply because the Carriers on Uship that transport via pickup trucks and various style trailers are doing so Illegally (without the huge Commercial Liability and Cargo Ins required by Federal Law)!
Additionally, most people have no idea that even something like a pickup truck pulling boats, transporting property via various style trailers are required to follow the same laws as a semi!
The identity verification that you mentioned is simply validating that a valid Credit Card number was used upon a Carrier’s registration. It’s so that you’ll get your money when applicable. It’s a pinging process so to speak.
QUOTE:
While uShip does not and, in fact, cannot legally qualify movers on your behalf, we do perform identity verification and fraud detection as well as provide you with tools that make your required due diligence as easy as possible
The key to this sentence is that you can’t Legally qualify movers "on behalf of the Shipper", but you can uphold ALL parts of your User Agreement! When it is brought to your attention along with the proof that an individual is engaging in transport for hire operations illegally, you should remove that person from your site just like you would for someone advising a shipper to check for a carrier's MC#. By not doing so, you are contributing to this type of activity and not enforcing "all parts" of your own User Agreement.
QUOTE:
uShip utilizes sophisticated systems to protect our users against fraud, and reported fraud on our site is far below moving industry averages. We stand behind our service with our “Ship with Confidence Guarantee” (http://www.uship.com/learnmore/guaranteelearn.aspx), and fraud is so rare that since we launched our Guarantee 2 years ago over $70,000,000 has transacted on our platform and we have had fewer than 5 claims.
Uship's guarantee.
http://www.uship.com/learnmore/guaranteelearn.aspx
What is not covered?
Problems that arise from not following our Fraud Prevention Guidelines.
UShip's Fraud Prevention Guidelines
http://www.uship.com/community/fraud_prevention.aspx
One of the Fraud Prevention guidelines is to:
Verify credentials
Verify the credentials of any service provider you choose to do business with. Federal government sites such as Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Safety and Fitness Electronic Records System (http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov) may provide you with useful information about your service provider.
So what you’ve said is that you’ve had less than 5 claims by Shippers that have used properly licensed Carriers in the last 2 years?
Now how many Shippers have not followed the steps 100%, have gotten taken, have approached you about the guarantee claim only to be turned away because they had no clue how to identify a properly licensed Carrier?
Ramblings of a small group of disgruntled suspended Carriers? The majority of Stop Illegal Trucking (SIT) members are actually active on Uship for entertainment value only. The rest of them elect not to use Uship even though they have active accounts, or don‘t have accounts on Uship at all.
Most SIT members elect not to use Uship because they can’t compete with all the illegal activity while paying their average $600 monthly COMERCIAL Ins premiums in order to remain legal carriers.
Random sample of Uship stories
Story #1
http://www.uship.com/community/stories/uShip/49110/Great-piano-shipping-experience/
The carrier’s profile that’s referenced in the story
http://www.uship.com/profile/chimera/
Company: Heartland Movers
Indiana
DOT # 187907 shown on profile
The record matching USDOT Number = 187907 is INACTIVE in the SAFER database.
DOT is inactive and you can’t have an MC# without an active DOT #
Story #2
http://www.uship.com/community/stories/eBay/56213/Fantastic-First-uShip-experience/
The carrier’s profile that’s referenced in the story
http://www.uship.com/profile/IRRL/
They don’t have an MC# nor DOT# shown on their profile and have NO authority of any kind within the FMCSA’s database.
So what do the stories really reflect?
They reflect that some Shipper was extremely happy with how things worked out and at how cheap it was when compared to the cost of a “Legal Carrier”! Funny thing is, they didn‘t even know that they had used an improperly licensed carrier! Not only did they not know, but they have no clue as to the risk that they exposed themselves to.
On the other hand, hundreds of others that have used UShip found out the hard way after it was to late.
Debate with www.StopillegalTrucking.Com on countless times? There’s been no debate of any kind. For there’s no debate warranted. How funny.
Yes, it is true that a quick glance by the FMCSA has determined that that Uship (the site itself) is in compliance with the applicable laws. The issue is NOT nor has it ever been with the Uship site itself, but rather the numbers of folks that post as Carriers and then transport illegally!
From SC, 08/27/2009
It look like Mr Chasen and UShip.Com aren't looking like all that!
This article supports what I said in my previous comments.
http://reloroundtable.com/blog/?p=3426
From Ocala, FL, 08/26/2009
Matt as you are well aware my name was dragged into this because I was sent a email from Mickey asking if I made a post on here with the name "DURATRANS" which I DIDNT which is my USHIP NAME. I have been since reading all the back and forth and I have to say it is pretty sad that this has to go on and that the TRUTH CAN NOT BE TOLD, On one side you have a site that makes you big money and that is OK I have no problem with that and then on the other side is a site that is trying to EDUCATE the PUBLIC about ILLEGAL TRUCKERS on the road and for some reason you just dont seem like you want that known and I have to ask one question. WHY? We all know they are out their and they will always be out their so why not try to stop them before they steal or damage someone's property or KILL SOMEONE? Or how about the SEX OFFENDER you have on your SITE as a carrier, do you want me to post his REGISTRY PAGE? It would be a WIN WIN for you MATT stop the illegal truckers on your site because you would not have the posts on all the consumer web sites how USHIP is a scam web site, I know I most likely shouldnt of written this but I wont hide behind the keyboard and told Mickey this in my email to him but I will say this one thing and one thing only and please Matt answer this without all the dancing around the truth OK. Did the USHIP GUARENTEE help all the shippers that got scammed from this CARRIER ON YOUR WEB SITE from this link? NO BS just the TRUTH a YES or NO will DO because we are talking THOUSANDS of DOLLARS HERE and this is just one of HUNDREDS of people I can post about if you want me to. Also Mickey has my email & phone number if you would like to talk to me or better yet, I would even FLY to TX to sit down and talk to you face to face to see if our site can help your site clean up the ILLEGAL TRUCKERS you have on your site but again it would have to be a meeting to rid the ILLEGALS or it isnt worth my time to fly to TX to just say HELLO. Their is so much our site can offer to help USHIP to get the illegals off your site all we would need to do is work together to put a plan together to make it work. Here read these poor peoples storys and tell me if your GUARENTEE helped them. A YES or NO will do http://www.stopillegaltrucking.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=186&t=476
From Denver, CO, 08/25/2009
As a an active member on uShip, (#1 piano mover in fact), I will say its been a mixed blessing. On one hand, we have met a lot of grat customers and filled some slots in our routes. On the other hand, the "pickup truck and trailer" movers are a dime a dozen. These people are well intentioned and its extremely simple to become a carrier. Unfortunately, they run about 20 shipments and gain a good reputation, then once the money starts rolling in, its all too easy to overcommit and under deliver without reprocussion from the burned customer. Hoeany of uShips's supposed 150000 carriers are legal, active, and have recent feedback. Being an active legal carrier, it appears to be approximately 300 are legitimate. Unfortunately just like all internet commerce, buyer beware!
From Denver, CO, 08/25/2009
As a an active member on uShip, (#1 piano mover in fact), I will say its been a mixed blessing. On one hand, we have met a lot of grat customers and filled some slots in our routes. On the other hand, the "pickup truck and trailer" movers are a dime a dozen. These people are well intentioned and its extremely simple to become a carrier. Unfortunately, they run about 20 shipments and gain a good reputation, then once the money starts rolling in, its all too easy to overcommit and under deliver without reprocussion from the burned customer. Hoeany of uShips's supposed 150000 carriers are legal, active, and have recent feedback. Being an active legal carrier, it appears to be approximately 300 are legitimate. Unfortunately just like all internet commerce, buyer beware!
From Memphis, 08/25/2009
I read the comments of Mr. Chasen and the detractors of uShip with interest. I have used uShip with great success. And if used the way it was intended it is a fantastic resource. The key is feedback. If you choose a carrier with good feedback and low prices you will rarely go wrong.
What I see in the negative comments are unhappy moving companies that are finding it more difficult to gouge the consumer. Competition is a good thing. And uShip allows consumers to benefit from increased competition amongst the moving companies.
From SC, 08/25/2009
Mr Chasen,
I took the 1st 10 Carriers as they appeared at the link you provided and here's what I found.
Took the 1st 10 listed at the link provided
7 Carriers have no Motor Carrier authority
3 were transporting months before having authority
Top U.S. household movers by uShip Sales Rank: http://directory.uship.com/householdmovers/nationwide/.
Company: OnTheMoveforyou
Member Since: 2/17/2006
MC number 669495
HOUSEHOLD GOODS COMMON CARRIER
GRANTED 03/17/2009
Transporting for 37 months from Uship prior to having MC authority
Company: SOUTHERN MARYLAND MOVING AND STORAGE LLC
Member Since: 8/14/2006
MC number 592784
HOUSEHOLD GOODS COMMON CARRIER
GRANTED 02/23/2007
Transporting for 8 months from Uship prior to having MC authority
Company: KENDALL TRUCK RENTALS INC
Member Since:03/10/08
DOT Number: 878203
No Motor Carrier authority and displaying a
Pirated DOT # on profile
KENDALL TRUCK RENTALS INC doesn’t perform moves. They rent and lease trucks
Company: PENSKE TRUCK LEASING CO LP
Member Since:03/21/04
DOT number 327574
Pirated DOT # on profile
Penske doesn’t perform moves. They rent and lease trucks
Company: WORLD CLASS MOVING COMPANY
Member Since:09/12/08
MC number: 524943
NO Authority
HOUSEHOLD GOODS COMMON CARRIER
REINSTATED 09/12/2008
REVOKED 10/15/2008
Company: QballExpress
Member Since:03/22/06
No MC authority
Company: Action Transport
Member Since:06/24/08
MC number: 654989
MOTOR PROPERTY COMMON CARRIER
GRANTED 08/29/2008
Transporting for 2 months from Uship prior to having MC authority
Company: Artist with van/truck
Member Since:05/30/04
No MC authority
Company: LA Pack Pros
Member Since:12/11/08
Business Type: Freight Forwarder/Broker
No MC authority shown on profile
NOT LISTED ANYWHERE ON
SafeStat
Contains data as of July 24, 2009
Updated Monthly
Company: FAR AND WIDE MOVING LLC
Member Since:12/13/04
HOUSEHOLD GOODS COMMON CARRIER
DISMISSED 08/21/2007
From Cincinnati, OH, 08/25/2009
UShip, as with most other corporations isn't going to change until they stop making money or a law makes them change.
If you make your decision based on cheap prices, you will remember the service long after you have paid the price.
We are Cincinnati Movers on UShip with perfect feedback. We are often more expensive than the other guys who think just because they have a pick up truck and trailer they can play mover. The customer still chooses them when it saves $500 or $600. Then they have a horrible experience.
Sadly, it is just as much the customers fault when they stake their moving day on the cheapest bid. Your life is going into the back of that truck, is it worth the risk of losing it all to save a couple hundred dollars?
From San Francisco, CA, 08/18/2009
A few years ago we used a site similar to uShip to get bids for a very simple move from one part of San Francisco to another. We chose the lowest bid. What followed was a horrible experience, with the moving company pulling a bait and switch on us, threatening to not refund out deposit if we didn't use their service (illegal, according to the CA Public Utilities Commission), and ultimately charging us 2 1/2 times the quote. Our mistake was that we didn't further research the moving company. If we had, we would have found numerous complaints, nightmare stories, and a BBB F rating. While I agree that services like uShip can be useful, I think the lowest bid process motivates movers to underbid and try to make it up on the back end. We learned a valuable lesson, which I hope others will heed, always research a business before using them. Checking the BBB, any State or Federal licensing agencies that may apply, and even searching the Internet for "COMPANY NAME sucks" or "COMPANY NAME complaints" can provide valuable information.
08/17/2009
To “K R” and stopillegaltrucking.com:
We, at uShip, respect your stated intention of helping to educate the public regarding transportation laws, however your focus on uShip is misguided and your assertions are simply wrong.
When uShip was founded in 2004, one of our main goals was to empower consumers by creating the first transparent, unbiased feedback rating system in an industry that has historically lacked accountability. Our unbiased feedback system helps people find the very best movers and it incentivizes movers to provide the best customer service. The fact is that over 98% of feedback left on uShip is positive and less than 1% is negative (remaining ~1% is neutral) – I challenge anyone in the industry to match that level of customer satisfaction.
We give customers the tools they need to evaluate moving companies including extensive articles and guides about how to research moving companies (e.g. http://www.uship.com/moving/articles/investigating-moving-companies/), and we help customers verify information provided by moving companies by linking mover profiles directly to the government website that is set up exactly for the purpose of tracking the operating authority and legal compliance of movers. Here are links to the profiles of our top U.S. household movers by uShip Sales Rank: http://directory.uship.com/householdmovers/nationwide/.
It is important for consumers to understand that they have certain rights and responsibilities when they contract with a mover in the U.S., which are described on this helpful government website: http://www.protectyourmove.gov/. uShip can provide you with a variety of tools to help you shop for competitive quotes from thousands of movers, research and evaluate the movers that bid on your move, and even manage and track your move with GPS; however, whether you find a mover on uShip, Google, or any other directory like the Yellow Pages, it is ultimately your responsibility to protect yourself when you enter into a contract with a mover. While uShip does not and, in fact, cannot legally qualify movers on your behalf, we do perform identity verification and fraud detection as well as provide you with tools that make your required due diligence as easy as possible.
uShip utilizes sophisticated systems to protect our users against fraud, and reported fraud on our site is far below moving industry averages. We stand behind our service with our “Ship with Confidence Guarantee” (http://www.uship.com/learnmore/guaranteelearn.aspx), and fraud is so rare that since we launched our Guarantee 2 years ago over $70,000,000 has transacted on our platform and we have had fewer than 5 claims.
Please decide for yourself by visiting stopillegaltrucking.com, where you will find the ramblings of a small group of disgruntled, suspended uShip members that are trying in vain to tarnish our excellent reputation. Then head over to uShip and read over 23,000 unbiased stories left by our members about their uShip experience: http://www.uship.com/community/stories_directory.aspx.
I am posting this response only to set the record straight, and I will not get dragged down into a the same debate here that we have had with stopillegaltrucking.com countless times. Even after being told so by the U.S. D.O.T., they refuse to acknowledge that uShip is 100% compliant with both the letter and the spirit of all applicable laws. This is not an appropriate forum for such a debate, and I’m sure nobody appreciates their misuse of this website to spread false claims about our company. Anyone else wishing to learn more about uShip and our policies can contact legal@uship.com or join a discussion on our site’s forums.
Regards,
Matt Chasen
Founder and CEO, uShip.com
From SC, 08/15/2009
For the full story concerning UShip, Google UShip or UShip Scams.
Visit http://www,stopillegaltrucking.com
as well. There, you will find the meat and potatoes (facts) about UShip and why it may be cheaper in the beginning and cost you more than you ever dreamed of, in the end.
Could it be that since a MOVER'S Federally mandated credentials aren't verified by the web site itself that 1000's of people post ficticious information on their respective profiles in order to win bids?
No overhead equals less cost to the Shipper. Shippers don't have a clue on how to check out a Carrier to see if they are dealing with a legitimate Carrier/business.
So you thought that that pickup truck driving Carrier was a legal business, think again! Even pickups when used in a For-Hire capacity across state lines are required to follow the same rules as semi's!
Still want to use that CHEAP price you were quoted and can ultimately accept? Go ahead and let something go wrong. You'll have NO recourse. Because it's strictly a civil matter and UShip will NOT come to your rescue. They declare themselves a NEUTRAL VENUE.
UShip simply pockets the full amount of the initial deposit that you make when you accept a bid. It creatively worded in the User Agreement to make you think otherwise.
Visit http://www.StopIllegalTrucking.Com
for free assistance and some of the comments made by victims of UShip. New information gets posted often, so check back frequently.
Check out the Mug Shots of convicts, police reports, the FBI investigations both past and present. It's all listed on Stop Illegal Trucking for your convience and in support of their cause of trying to educate the public. The best part is, it really is FREE and there are absolutely NO catches of any sort. It doesn't get any better than that!
How often do you find a group of people willing to help you research your prospective Carrier(s) before you enter into any agreement? They even provide you the black and white proof and/or the links to the information from the Government's own Federal and/or State web site!
Use UShip at your own risk. The User Agreement clearly states that the Carriers are NOT screened. Anyone can sign up and take you for a ride.
By the way, I am NOT a competitor of UShip, a Carrier or even in the moving business. I'm simply an average citizen that is attempting to help my fellow Americans help themselves.
From Budapest, Hungary, YT, 08/14/2009
Thank you for your timely and insightful report on the moving industry. On a global scale the industry has also radically been transformed with the almost elimination of the family moving company in many parts of the world. Our company , Move One Relocation is a great example of this trend. In 1990, I moved from the US to Eastern Europe and eventually started Move One in 1992. Since then we have hit this trend and have expanded to 42 countries and watched not necessarily the internet but failed Cartels, the rise of global relocation companies and change in buyer habits virtually destroy all European family owned companies.
Regards
Curt Clements
Move One Relocations
http://blog.moveone.info
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