According to business release Tech in Asia, Moovaz has raised US$ 8 million in funding from investors including Quest Ventures, SG Innovate and Hustle Fund – its most recent money square was in 2021.
The report also said Moovaz has faced legal challenges, including a petition from its largest seller over paid service exceeding S$ 50,000. By August 2023, the judge ordered Moovaz to spend more than S$ 73,000, covering the company’s state and a wrongful termination event brought by a former staff, Tech in Asia said.
COMPANY STILL OPERATIONAL, CEO SAYS
When contacted, Moovaz CEO Vishnu Vasudeven said the business remains administrative but was” greatly hit” by escalating Red Sea conflicts and rising transport costs.
” We are in the midst of arranging funds to pay the sellers… I believe everything will be sorted by mid-next fortnight,” he said.
” I know what’s happening because every day I get a lot of threats ( from the ) police, debt collectors and news or social media. ”
He told CNA that consumers whose things had already been shipped would get their possessions within the next two days. For those whose products are still in Singapore, Moovaz is arranging for them to pull up their goods next year, he added.
But buyers say they still have not heard from the business.
Mr Noreen Caringal, who engaged Moovaz to travel her mother’s belongings to New Zealand, said the first phase of her shift in 2023 went easily.
With her subsequent delivery in September 2024, the Moovaz employees who packed her issues told her she would get her things in eight to 12 days. But communication from the business ceased wholly by mid-December.
“ I was actually devastated because those are our family ’s things. Some of my kids ’ things, my wedding album is there, ” the 50-year-old said.
“ I was so stressed about it, because ( it was ) a company that I trusted. Then abruptly they’re no longer replying or communicating about where my points are. ”
Ms Caringal received a visit from a Moovaz team member on Monday, who told her that the business was closing its inventory and she could arrange to gather her things.
He was never sure if she would find a compensation, but said she might have to make an additional payment to send her goods, she told CNA.
Ms Chen, who moved to Hong Kong with her father in July, waited for weeks for their delivery to reach. Since they did n’t include many things, they were told their possessions would have to be consolidated with different supplies.
The deal stated an eight to 12-week timeframe, meaning their goods, packed in end-June, may have shipped by October.
By the end of October, Ms Chen requested a full payment from Moovaz but did not find a reply. To check if the business was still operating, her father posed as a consumer and received a rapid response from the sales staff, Ms Chen said.
In December, they received an email from a transfer company based in Hong Kong. Despite the couple having paid S$ 2,500 to Moovaz as full payment, the Hong Kong company said it has not been paid and wants US$ 1,160 to release their sale.
” 20 YEARS OF MY LIFE IN THAT CONTAINER”
Another customer, Ms Hong, who paid Moovaz S$ 9,400 to transport her belongings to Seattle, said another relocation firm contacted her immediately about unpaid receipts from Moovaz.
To find her things, she would have to spend Family Relocation over S$ 15,000 – the sum Moovaz owes them for handling her package.
“So Moovaz has been doing something crazy, right? They were setting significantly lower rates to their clients, and then probably because of that, a lot of people will join them for their supplies, but their actual expense was much higher, ” she said, adding that she has also filed a police statement.
CNA spoke to Family Relocation, who said it is owed about S$ 70,000 for eight affected customers. The company ’s business operations manager, Ronnie Heng, said they have since escalated the matter to the courts.
Moovaz has been ordered to pay them the amount owed, according to court documents from Jan 10, seen by CNA.
“Financially, you can imagine the kind of stress we’re under. Our agents, our partners are coming to us for payment … and I have to explain to them what’s happening, ” he said.
If Moovaz pays them what they’re owed, Family Relocation will reimburse customers who made additional payments, he added.
Adrian, who moved to England, was similarly contacted by a freight forwarding company demanding US$ 13,750 – the amount owed by Moovaz – as well as daily storage fees of £70 to £150 ( US$ 86 to US$ 185 ).
He and his wife had already paid S$ 23,000 to Moovaz, but the company has not responded to their emails since December. The family has made a police report.
“If I did take them to court, I’d have to be in Singapore in person. They probably know that people who are moving internationally, they’re not going to come back to Singapore to do this, and they’ll just end up paying, ” he said.
“This is 20 years of my life in that container, with my wife’s and my four kids ’ belongings and furniture. In our house in the UK, we’re just living out of a suitcase right now. ”