A Connexion reader who was scammed out of thousands of euros by a removals company has warned people moving house to check reviews carefully and always pay by credit card.
Colin Dyer, originally from the UK, bought a holiday home in France in 1988, in Cazoulès (Dordogne). He moved to the country permanently in 2020.
After a video assessment to settle on a price to ship his goods from France to Australia, Mr Dyer sent Amoov an initial payment of €2,844.
Shipment never leaves France
His goods were collected in August 2025. He thought it strange that the removal men arrived in an unmarked van, but they packed up his possessions and took them away.
Colin Dyer is not the only victim of the removals companyColin Dyer
Shortly afterwards, in September 2025, Amoov sent a final invoice of €8,107.
“I then heard very little, despite regularly asking for a shipping date as my goods were supposed to be in Australia by Christmas,” Mr Dyer said.
After being given a shipping date in November, Mr Dyer eventually received a message to say that “due to unexpected circumstances” the shipment had not left France.
Several weeks passed, and Amoov stopped replying to emails or answering the phone.
Customers left chasing refunds
It was then that Mr Dyer found the ‘Victims of Amoov’ Facebook group.
“It became clear that we had been scammed,” he said.
He went to a local police station with the information he had collected.
“I had a picture of the lorry and its number plate, and it was traced surprisingly quickly to a company near Paris that had my goods.”
The police discovered that the van that had picked up Mr Dyer’s possessions belonged to a small subcontractor of Amoov, which had not yet been paid and so was refusing to release the goods.
Mr Dyer then contacted the subcontractor directly, which confirmed it had his belongings and was waiting to be paid by Amoov.
The company was prepared to release the goods if it was paid. It arranged for a colleague to ship them to Australia. Mr Dyer ended up paying another €12,600 to release and send the shipment.
His goods arrived safely in Australia in January and he received them at the end of February.
He has had no contact with Amoov since last year, but in January 2026, the company filed for liquidation in France, leaving scores of customers in limbo.
Mr Dyer’s bank, Crédit Agricole, was helpful, he said, arranging a lawyer to look at the case.
However, the lawyer said it would take at least two years to bring the case to court and there was little chance of recovering the money as Amoov was now in liquidation.
Mr Dyer is not the only victim of the removals company. Many others who have been scammed have shared their experiences in a Facebook group and on Trustpilot, where Amoov, which appears to have had its global headquarters in Hong Kong, has 2.3 stars and many stories that echo Mr Dyer’s.
A notice on Trustpilot confirms that the moving company "ceased fully operations in January 2026."
The International Association of Movers (IAM), a global trade association for the moving and relocation industry, said in an alert posted to LinkedIn in January that Amoov's French business had been liquidated and its IAM membership cancelled.
In the posting IAM offered a way for removals companies that were owed money by Amoov to seek compensation, although the deadline for doing this has since expired. IAM added that Amoov's Hong Kong business had also declared insolvency.
There appears to be little recourse for customers who have lost their money and goods.
Many have been advised by lawyers, as Mr Dyer was, that trying to challenge the situation would be a lengthy and expensive undertaking.
Mr Dyer said that despite the awful experience, he has learned some useful things along the way.
“Always pay by credit card as there is some chance of getting the money back, whereas there is little chance with bank transfers or debit card payments.”
The Connexion has attempted to reach representatives of Amoov by email to respond to the accusations against the company but, as of the time of writing, has received no response.
