According to startup publication Tech in Asia, Moovaz has raised US$8 million in funding from investors including Quest Ventures, SG Innovate and Hustle Fund – its most recent funding round was in 2021.
The report also said Moovaz has faced legal challenges, including a lawsuit from its largest vendor over unpaid services exceeding S$50,000. By August 2023, the court ordered Moovaz to pay more than S$73,000, covering the vendor’s claim and a wrongful dismissal case brought by a former employee, Tech in Asia said.
COMPANY STILL OPERATIONAL, CEO SAYS
When contacted, Moovaz CEO Vishnu Vasudeven said the company remains operational but was “severely hit” by escalating Red Sea tensions and rising freight costs.
“We are in the midst of arranging funds to pay the vendors … I believe everything will be sorted by mid-next month,” 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 customers whose items had already been shipped would receive their belongings within the next two weeks. For those whose items are still in Singapore, Moovaz is arranging for them to pick up their items next week, he added.
But customers say they still have not heard from the company.
Ms Noreen Caringal, who engaged Moovaz to relocate her family’s belongings to New Zealand, said the initial phase of her move in 2023 went smoothly.
With her second shipment in September 2024, the Moovaz workers who packed her things told her she would receive her items in eight to 12 weeks. But communication from the company ceased entirely by mid-December.
“I was really devastated because those are our family’s belongings. 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 suddenly they’re no longer replying or communicating about where my things are.”
Ms Caringal received a call from a Moovaz staff member on Monday, who told her that the company was closing its warehouse and she could arrange to collect her items.
He was not sure if she would get a refund, but said she might have to make an additional payment to ship her goods, she told CNA.
Ms Chen, who moved to Hong Kong with her husband in July, waited for months for their shipment to arrive. Since they didn’t have many items, they were told their belongings would have to be consolidated with other shipments.
The agreement stated an eight to 12-week timeline, meaning their items, packed in end-June, should have shipped by October.
By the end of October, Ms Chen requested a full refund from Moovaz but did not get a reply. To check if the company was still operating, her husband posed as a customer and received a prompt response from the sales team, Ms Chen said.
In December, they received an email from a relocation 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 shipment.
“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 directly about unpaid invoices from Moovaz.
To get her belongings, she would have to pay Family Relocation over S$15,000 – the amount Moovaz owes them for handling her shipment.
“So Moovaz has been doing something weird, right? They were setting much lower prices to their customers, and then probably because of that, a lot of people will engage them for their shipments, but their actual cost was much higher,” she said, adding that she has also filed a police report.
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.”
