Better Safe Than Sorry

So my husband and I are looking for an apartment. We haven't found a place yet but I thought to be proactive about it by placing an ad on Craigslist to obtain quotes. Nothing wrong with that, right?

I surf the Craigslist site every single day. I have gotten lots of cool gigs from it - from film background work to catering server - and am grateful that I am still alive today (there are a lot of psychos out there; in case you don't know, a few people have been murdered by responding to some of the ads from the site). As much as I love finding gigs from the site, I am ALWAYS careful. ESPECIALLY being a female.

Anyway, since I've placed the ad on the site, I have gotten an overwhelming number of responses. In my ad I had specifically listed the furniture I have, and asked for a quote and the company info, if it applied.

Apparently not too many read carefully, because many of them replied still asking me what I had to move. Many didn't give me a quote. Even more did not give me their company information.

I came across one that offered the most affordable price for me and he claimed that his business is licensed and bonded. But, of course, he too did not give me his company information.

I thought to inquire further. I want to know who I'm potentially hiring. Is there anything wrong with that? I don't think so. So, I responded to his e-mail and asked him if he had a company website. He said no, and that he hasn't been advertising to save money. That didn't give me any information so I probed further by asking him what is the name of his business and/or his business location. This was the response I got from him:

"THIS IS WHAT TOTALY ERKS ME! YES I DO HAVE A LEGIT ADDRESS AND LOCATION BEEN IN BUSINESS IN PASADENA FOR OVER 16 YRS AND A MEMBER OF THE BBB...I QUOTE YOU A PRICE THAT NOBODY IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD QUOTE CAUSE I CAN AFFORD IT AND I DO IT SO MY GRAND KIDS CAN GET A FEEL FOR THE BUSINESS AND YOU ACT LIKE IM MOVING THE PRESIDENT !!! DONT NEED YOUR BUSINESS LADY"

OMG!!! Is he kidding me? He can't give me the VERY BASIC information about his company and is getting defensive about it? Talking about something to hide!!! I was livid by his uncalled for response and did not know whether I should be mad or laugh at this situation!

Just wanted to share my story with as many people as I can. I don't believe in "asking too many questions", when your safety is or can be on the line. 

Please be careful and beware! Make sure to ask as many questions as you can and use your best judgement! Nobody, especially for private gigs or anything for that matter, should get that defensive and fault or snap at you for asking questions! 

BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY!