Fraud detectives with Toronto Police have issued a public warning about two moving companies that give members of the South Asian community lowball estimates on moves and then double or even triple the price once their clients' belongings are in the companies' trucks.
"Beware 416-571-3459 offering very low rates which are too good to be true," warned Const. Peter Ward from Toronto's fraud squad, who is investigating 17 complaints against Desi Movers and Indo-Pak Movers, two companies owned and operated by a Scarborough man named Arif Adnan Syed.
The police warning comes more than a year after a Star investigation found more than 30 people – most of them from the South Asian community – said they had been taken advantage of by Desi Movers.
The complaints showed a pattern.
Desi Movers (which at the time also operated under the names Dynamic Movers and Dynamite Movers) would quote a very low cost. Their clients would sign a contract on the day of the move, but would usually not read the fine print.
The company would ask for a deposit up front, then, halfway through the job, would increase the cost. If a client refused to pay the increase, the company would threaten to hold their belongings in a company storage locker.
Chris Brown was caught by the scheme during a midsummer move in 2008.
Brown hired Desi Movers after receiving a $500 estimate to move from his old apartment on Lakeshore Rd. E. in Port Credit to his new apartment 200 metres away. When his belongings were loaded onto one of the company's trucks, Brown was told that his goods would be thrown into a storage locker if he didn't pay $1,497.50 more in "extra fees," such as charges for stairs and heavy items.
"All of my worldly possessions were on their truck, right down to my toothbrush," said Brown.
"I felt I was being ransomed just to get it all back."
Like other victims interviewed by the Star, Brown called police, who showed up but did not intervene because the moving company's contract stated – in small print – that excess charges might apply.
The Star uncovered a clause in the company's contract allowing them to hold clients' belongings ransom that was in violation of the province's Consumer Protection Act.
Syed says the company dropped the "ransom" clause from the company's contract after learning of its illegality in the newspaper.
Ward said recent complainants have been told their belongings will be dumped on the street if they do not pay all the extra fees.
Syed, who was fined $500 in April after he pleaded guilty in Newmarket court to one count of engaging in an unfair practice, says his companies are not doing anything illegal.
He says his companies move more than 120 people a month and complaints are few and far between.
"The main problem isn't me, it's the public," said Syed. "It doesn't matter whatever you publish, people are so cheap.
"If I change my name today and put $2 less on the hourly rate they will still come to me.
Fraud detectives with Toronto Police have issued a public warning about two moving companies that give members of the South Asian community lowball estimates on moves and then double or even triple the price once their clients' belongings are in the companies' trucks.
"Beware 416-571-3459 offering very low rates which are too good to be true," warned Const. Peter Ward from Toronto's fraud squad, who is investigating 17 complaints against Desi Movers and Indo-Pak Movers, two companies owned and operated by a Scarborough man named Arif Adnan Syed.
The police warning comes more than a year after a Star investigation found more than 30 people – most of them from the South Asian community – said they had been taken advantage of by Desi Movers.
The complaints showed a pattern.
Desi Movers (which at the time also operated under the names Dynamic Movers and Dynamite Movers) would quote a very low cost. Their clients would sign a contract on the day of the move, but would usually not read the fine print.
The company would ask for a deposit up front, then, halfway through the job, would increase the cost. If a client refused to pay the increase, the company would threaten to hold their belongings in a company storage locker.
Chris Brown was caught by the scheme during a midsummer move in 2008.
Brown hired Desi Movers after receiving a $500 estimate to move from his old apartment on Lakeshore Rd. E. in Port Credit to his new apartment 200 metres away. When his belongings were loaded onto one of the company's trucks, Brown was told that his goods would be thrown into a storage locker if he didn't pay $1,497.50 more in "extra fees," such as charges for stairs and heavy items.
"All of my worldly possessions were on their truck, right down to my toothbrush," said Brown.
"I felt I was being ransomed just to get it all back."
Like other victims interviewed by the Star, Brown called police, who showed up but did not intervene because the moving company's contract stated – in small print – that excess charges might apply.
The Star uncovered a clause in the company's contract allowing them to hold clients' belongings ransom that was in violation of the province's Consumer Protection Act.
Syed says the company dropped the "ransom" clause from the company's contract after learning of its illegality in the newspaper.
Ward said recent complainants have been told their belongings will be dumped on the street if they do not pay all the extra fees.
Syed, who was fined $500 in April after he pleaded guilty in Newmarket court to one count of engaging in an unfair practice, says his companies are not doing anything illegal.
He says his companies move more than 120 people a month and complaints are few and far between.
"The main problem isn't me, it's the public," said Syed. "It doesn't matter whatever you publish, people are so cheap.
"If I change my name today and put $2 less on the hourly rate they will still come to me.