How to cancel a move and get a deposit back
Things don’t always go as planned, including moving too. If you hired a moving company and now don’t want their help, what to do? How to cancel a move and get a deposit back? You can hire another company (if the previous one wasn’t good) or reschedule your relocation. But first, you need to take care of this problem.
There are many different reasons for canceling the relocation. Financial problems, finding out that a mover is a scammer, the pandemic, etc. Moving from state to state or to another country is now, in 2020 more complicated. If moving to Arizona during coronavirus outbreak, make sure your entire family is healthy and consider the relocation again.

Cancel a move and get a deposit back
No matter what the reason for canceling a move is, there are some steps to take now and to know how to deal with moving stress. When hiring a company, it is common to pay a deposit, but before you pay, ask them why and what is their cancellation policy.
Write a letter to cancel your relocation and keep one copy for you. Say that you will no longer need their services and that you want to cancel your relocation and that you want your deposit back. In a letter, you should include this information:
I want to cancel my move with your company (company name) and I have paid a deposit (write the amount). My proposed pickup date was (date) and I am requesting an immediate refund of my deposit.
Some deposits are refundable and some are not, depending on different factors.
- If you notify a moving company about canceling the relocation on time, they should refund your moving deposit (fully refundable). You can cancel a move and get a deposit back if you call them in advance.
- Deposit is also refundable if you want to change a moving date and movers are not available on that day. But, if you do it last minute, they may not pay you back, depending on their policy.
- Canceling a move 1 week before or less is possible, but a deposit won’t be paid back.
- If you are not there on a moving day and a company comes to pick up your items, you cannot expect your deposit back.

A reasonable deposit
Some moving companies don’t ask for a deposit, but most of them do. Especially during the moving season. But, usually, it is not a big amount of money (20-30% of total moving costs). If they ask for a larger deposit, it may be one of the red flags and a moving scam, and you shouldn’t hire that company. Anywhere from $200 to $500 is a reasonable amount to pay and if you notice anything wrong, keep searching for another moving company. Before you cancel a move and get a deposit back, read a moving contract, there are all pieces of information. This is why you need to read the contract carefully before signing it.