Action 9

Action 9 investigates risky movers

A Michigan couple who relocated to Leesburg felt badly burned by a Florida moving company.  The mover was really a broker that sent another company the couple had never heard of.  
The couple claimed the mover charged hidden fees, and then delayed delivery for weeks.
Lisa and John Hunt moved into their Leesburg home but haven't seen the movers since they left Michigan.
“Where is all your furniture?” asked Todd Ulrich.  
“We don't know. Don't know. It's in limbo,” replied Lisa Hunt.
The couple chose a mover online and got an estimate from Charter Van Lines in South Florida. But on moving day trucks from Midwest Movers, also known as Top Rate Moving, showed up. Turns out Charter Van Lines was a broker that hired other movers.
“I just immediately knew we had big problems. Really big problems,” said Hunt.
She said Midwest/Top Rate then demanded $1,800 more than the $6,000 estimate.
They had some extra boxes.
“But that's a lot of money, and I knew it wasn't right,” said Hunt.
That's why a broker contract can be risky. Consumers don't always know what moving company is going to show up at your front door.
Midwest/Top Rate didn't arrive on the delivery date. Now the Hunts say they’ve been told it could be three weeks or longer.
“Our furniture is still in limbo somewhere,” said John Hunt.
The Hunts say Charter Van lines won't help.
Top Rate Moving is rated F by the Better Business Bureau. The company has a pattern of complaints involving surprise fees and failing to deliver goods on time.
The Hunts say they would have never hired that mover, but the broker did. 
Consumer experts say that's why it can be risky. “These are things that signal red flags, stop and ask questions because once they drive off with your belongings it's anyone’s guess what happens next,” said BBB President Holly Salmons.
A manager at Top Rate told Ulrich the company had 21 days to deliver, the contract fully disclosed all fees, and it did nothing wrong.          
           
The Hunts just want their belongings back.
“It's like you don't have your life,” said Hunt.
Consumers sent 20 complaints to federal regulators against the broker, Charter Van Lines just this year.
      
The company denied doing anything wrong, and told Action 9 the Hunts will have their furniture by this weekend.