The Consumer Council received 29 complaints about moving services in the first nine months of 2026, up from 25 in the same period last year. The complaints involved unclear quotations, overseas-shipping delays and disputes over compensation for damaged belongings.
In one local case, a customer entered details on a mover’s online platform and received a quotation of about HK$2,000. After he paid a HK$200 deposit, the company said his building’s five-step entrance would bring a 15% surcharge. The company told him the quotation excluded staircase fees and that charges applied from four steps; the customer said the quotation gave neither the threshold nor the calculation method. After initially refusing his request to cancel, the company agreed to cancel the booking and refund the deposit following Council intervention.
A family moving from Hong Kong to Melbourne paid about HK$28,000 to ship roughly 250 cubic feet of belongings in a shared container. Its contract gave no firm shipping date. The mover first forecast dispatch by the end of February, then pushed that estimate to late March. It told the Council that other customers had cancelled or switched to exclusive containers, leaving it short of goods to fill a shared one. The belongings reached the family’s Melbourne home on April 20, about 15 weeks after collection on January 2.
In another case, a customer’s 75-inch television, valued at about HK$11,000, was found cracked and unable to display an image after a move costing about HK$9,000. A repair provider said it could not be fixed. The mover initially offered HK$300. After the customer submitted the required claim forms and information, the company reviewed the case and paid the HK$2,000 compensation limit set out in its terms.
The Council urged movers to ask about property and access conditions before quoting, and to set out extra-charge calculations, overseas-shipping risks and compensation arrangements clearly. It advised customers to provide full moving details, check the service terms and compensation limit before paying a deposit, and keep transaction records. Photographing valuable or fragile belongings before the move and inspecting them promptly on delivery can also help document their condition.