April has been one of the most chaotic month by far. You can tell just by my absence. Settled little one into nursery, it didn’t just end there. Little one was down with a variety of sickness every other week. Juggling my new role as a working mother, time always seems to run thin. My partner and I also had to move our residence in making space for our new mini family. Mentally and physically tired, what could be worse than being conned by reviews?
Fairly new in a foreign land, online research is always handy. Initially, I used Compare My Move and Really Moving portals for shortlisting mover companies. I was also on the lookout for movers nearby due to trust in local familiarity. After a week of screening through quotations, they came back rather pricey, mainly on average above £950. Our new residence is only twenty minutes away, it was manpower that costs the most as we‘re moving from third floor.
Thinking that “online may not necessarily be cheaper”, this one local company popped up on the very last minute, averagely £200 cheaper than all online quotations I received. What could potentially go wrong with a local company that has an office set up nearby with 4/5 score of positive Google reviews? I paid the deposit and the rest was to be settled on moving day. A month went by, there was neither news nor updates from the mover company.
One week prior to moving, the mover informed that no action was taken all because the full amount was not settled. Shocked and lost, worried and anxious, I reached out to clarify my concerns of the changing procedures and idiotically paid the remaining amount a day before the moving day. Despite so, the mover insisted that they did not receive any sum and planted vaguely that they might not show up. Overnight, my partner really looked into the company. It turned out that most of their Google reviews were too good to be true, bogusly written using sham accounts. Some genuine reviews were really bad. Furnitures were apparently thrown by part-timers who have no moving experiences.
Then, I realised the insurance value guaranteed was far too high and too good to be true, like £500k compared to other companies at £50k, an amount that will flee with potential damages. Was it worth the risk? – We cancelled the service immediately at the absence of cancelation policy, with hope for a full refund.
Pounding heart rate, my partner called the bank if there was slightest chance for us to reverse the transaction made. The bank couldn’t validate if it was indeed a scam. On one hand, it was a legitimate business that provides an imperfect service. On the other, the online fake reviews played a part in our decision making process. It was our bad for paying everything over debit transfers, one of the silliest thing ever done.
We followed through over a month with the bank, raised the case with a small court and got threats over phone calls in return. Concerned over our family safety and security, we eventually gave up and withdrew the case. We got some money back with an over £500 loss. Some is better than none, right?
We learned our lessons the hard way. Despite that, I couldn’t help but wonder…
What is Google’s responsibility on fake reviews?
