They say that our belongings hold special memories, and when they’re lost due to the possible negligence of others, it can be devastating and infuriating.
Unfortunately, this was what disgruntled customers of Singapore-based relocation firm Moovaz have been experiencing since 2024.
The firm is currently undergoing police investigations, and on January 27, 2025, the Singapore Police Force confirmed the ongoing probe in response to Vulcan Post’s media inquiry.
The Police confirm that a report was lodged, and investigations are ongoing, as information related to Police investigations are confidential in nature. We will not be commenting on the matter.
The Singapore Police Force’s response via e-mail on January 27, 2025
To better understand what some customers were going through, we’ve reached out to a few customers, many of whom have declined to comment or cannot provide proof. One couple, however, decided to speak up—and here’s what they had to say to us.
Disclaimer: The interviewees we spoke to have requested to be identified with aliases, due to privacy concerns.
Four months for their belongings to arrive
Migrating to another country is no small feat, making it essential for “Andy” and his partner, “Lily” (not their real names), to find the right mover for their move to New Zealand.
“My girlfriend discovered Moovaz on Google. We contacted a few companies, and their rates appeared reasonable, so we chose theirs. While their rates weren’t the lowest among all the companies we compared, they were in the low-middle range, between the lowest and the middle,” explained Andy.
The couple first contacted Moovaz on September 6, 2024, and Lily shared that the firm was prompt and responsive during the initial stages. They added that they were promised their belongings would arrive within eight to twelve weeks, meaning they were supposed to receive their stuff by the beginning of December at the latest.
However, on October 8, 2024, the couple received an email from Moovaz stating that their shipment had not left Singapore and that the “pre-preparation” for their shipment may take longer due to New Zealand’s requirements.
Nevertheless, the couple decided to wait patiently and reminded themselves that the process would take 12 weeks, per the company’s advice. However, after receiving the initial email, they shared that they heard nothing further from Moovaz, even after the 12-week period had passed.
Eventually, a Kiwi mover company contacted the couple, informing them they could expect their shipment to arrive on Christmas Eve last year. Despite being told this, they still hadn’t received their parcel by then.
It was not until January 7, 2025, that the couple received another email from the New Zealand mover company informing them that they would have no choice but to pay additional charges for the customs levies, destination charges and MPI examination fees, as Moovaz had “closed shop.”
According to Andy and Lily, these charges amounted to S$1,000. In an email exchange, the Kiwi mover firm was supposed to receive these funds from Moovaz and had contacted the firm multiple times, only to find that their call lines “had been disconnected.”
Note: According to an article by CNA, Moovaz’s founder, Vishnu Vasudeven stated that the company remains operational and is “in the midst of arranging funds to pay the vendors.”
After paying the additional fees, the couple finally received their belongings on January 16, 2025.
When the couple inquired about the four-month delay, Moovaz claimed they could not find a suitable importer to receive their goods. The couple also requested reimbursement for the additional fees, but they have yet to receive a refund at the time of reporting.
Vulcan Post has reached out to Moovaz for comment but did not receive a response.
Multiple changes in business direction
Unfortunately, Andy and Lily were not the only ones who had a problematic move overseas. A news article by CNA revealed that 22 complaints were filed against Moovaz to The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) from last year to January 22, 2025, with losses amounting to S$80,000.
This might not surprise some, given that Moovaz has been no stranger to controversy and change since its inception in 2017.
First founded by Vishnu Vasudeven, Junxian Lee, and Jerry Chua, the startup initially provided moving services and was launched based on the founders’ relocation experiences and desire to create “a more efficient way to get people from one place to another.”
Vasudeven went “on a hiatus” from the company four months after its launch, after which the other two co-founders pivoted the business model to become a relocation platform, outsourcing to vendors and operating multiple service channels for expatriates.
This entailed a one-stop digital platform that allows users to get estimated moving prices and Moovaz Mini, a self-inventory shipment system that lets users get instant shipment prices and have full visibility and control over their items.
Moovaz also made two acquisitions in 2020: Singapore Press Holdings’s expat publication, The Finder, in June, and local ride-hailing firm GetVan in September as part of the company’s aim to “strengthen community-building amongst customers” and bolster its tech and operations.
Not long after Vasudevan re-joined the business in August 2022, Lee and Chua exited the business, with Chua stating the following on his LinkedIn page:
Speaking to Vulcan Post in 2023, Vasudeven shared that he took over the business with two business partners, shedding most of its platform team and bringing back its focus to offering relocation services—essentially, scaling down from operating in various segments in the relocation-supply chain in a bid to “set Moovaz on track to achieve growth.”
Founder’s legal troubles
However, since our interview with Moovaz in 2023, the company found itself in hot water with the law a few months later. According to an article by Tech In Asia, Moovaz had a lawsuit with its biggest vendor for unpaid services amounting to more than S$50,000.
An ex-employee also sued Vasudeven for harassment and wrongful dismissal after the co-founder made inappropriate comments via texts, even sending 56 messages accusing the recipient of lying, criminal misconduct, and making unsolicited remarks about her religion.
It is also worth noting that Vasudeven was declared bankrupt in 2019, but when Vulcan Post conducted an insolvency search with the Ministry of Law, we found that he was no longer bankrupt at the time of the search.
Vulcan Post has also purchased Moovaz’s business profile from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and found that Vasudeven is not included in the list of shareholders and directors.
However, the Tech In Asia article stated that filings confirm that he is not the official director—instead, he is a major shareholder of Moovaz.
Vulcan Post has reached out to Vasudeven for comment but has yet to receive a response.
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While it might seem simple to say why one did not perform adequate research before engaging a company for its services, the firm has the duty and responsibility to communicate with its clients and ensure they fulfil what was promised.
In the case of Moovaz, it was one bad move after another that eventually snowballed, and unfortunately, the customers received the shortest end of the stick.
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Featured Image Credit: Moovaz