User talk:Twalker123

You recently edited the article "

" with the notation that you removed spam. The "spam" you removed was a link to a nationally recognized consumer web site created to help consumers avoid rogue moving companies.

MovingScam.com has been quoted by countless media organizations, such as the Washington Post (also see [this Washington Post] article), CBS Morning Show, The Billings Gazzette, People Magazine, Money Magazine, and many more.

Diane Schmidt, About.com's guide for their moving help site called MovingScam.com "the best place to start your research" for consumers looking to hire a moving company.

This is the most relevant web site for the topic and is a free service to all consumers. I could say much more, however, what it comes down to is one simple question:

When you write an article about moving scams, how does a link to a well respected web site such as MovingScam.com become spam?

Thank you Tim Walker

Because it is a referral site for moving companies. All of what you wrote above is irrelevant. Please do not post links to, or write articles about, sites to which you have a connection. It is against the rules. See WP:Spam. Please sign your posts using four tildes. -THB 02:34, 25 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

THB,

MovingScam.com is absolutely not a referral service for moving companies. The purpose behind MovingScam.com since its inception in 2001 is to educate consumers about the very topic that this article is about, and to assist them in finding a reputable moving company that suits their needs no matter who the company may end up being. There are only three companies that MovingScam.com actually endorses; two of them are not even full-service moving companies and the third is a small, but reputable, company in New York who would not be able to service the number of moves the web site could send them if that were all we were doing.

MovingScam.com's recommendation is, and always has been, for the consumer to find three companies that are local to the consumer. MovingScam.com assists the consumer in researching those three companies and helping find the right (reputable) company that meets the needs of that particular consumer's needs. That means that MovingScam.com does not receive any money at all for those moves. I founded the site after becoming a victim of a rogue mover myself in 2001. There are approximately five consumers who consistently volunteer on the web site to help people find reputable moving companies. That means that they are not paid by me, the web site, my corporation, or any moving company. There are approximately four more volunteers who work in the industry and also provide their answers and advice for free - they are also not allowed to promote their own company or van line in any way whatsoever. They are also not paid by myself, the web site, or my corporation for their time.

Indeed, the vast majority of consumers that we help will use a company that we have absolutely no affiliation with and do not receive any revenue from at all.

It appears that you view MovingScam.com as being similar to one of the many web sites that I find personally appauling (123moving.com, vanlines.com, etc) which simply allow any company to become one of their "certified movers" (or whatever they call them) and let them bid for moves no matter how ethical they may be. This is as far from reality as could be with MovingScam.com. Over the five years that I have been running the web site we have collected thousands of consumer reviews of moving companies and we use those reviews to assist consumers even though there is no affiliation or revenue from either the consumer or the moving companies whatsoever.

Myself and other volunteers have worked with state and (especially) federal agencies and representatives over the years to bring about laws and enforcement capabilites to give consumers an equal edge in the moving industry. Just this spring (May 4th), the longest serving volunteer testified in front of the Senate Commerce Commission explaining what happened to her when she was taken advantage of by a rogue mover, and recommending solutions. I too have worked with Representative Petri (WI), who is the previous head of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to propose legislation to help consumers. I have also worked with Joe Harrison, President of the American Moving and Storage Association, and Charles Horan, Director of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to shut down rogue moving companies around the country.

The view you take of MovingScam.com is far from the reality. I will not argue with you about a link on one Wikipedia article. Leave it off if it is that much of a concern to you. I will also never allow MovingScam.com to be compared any slimy referral site. MovingScam.com is not comparable in any way whatsoever to that type of site. The difference is years of building integrity and trust, and never backing down from our original intentions.

Tim Walker