Movers Hold Home Owners’ Items Hostage?
DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 04, 2012
Federal lawmakers are cracking down on moving companies who try to hold home owners’ belongings hostage during a move — a scam that's more common than many realize.
Home owners will soon have more protection against this increasingly reported rip-off in the moving industry. It usually involves a moving company providing a home owner with a lowball quote for a move. The mover then packs up the home owner’s belongings onto a truck and refuses to unload it until a higher fee is paid.
"If you hire a mover to transport your goods across state lines and they hold your personal property hostage, you can appeal to the Department of Transportation and it now has the power to enforce fines," Ada Vassilovski, vice president of online marketing and product management for Imagitas, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Starting in October, movers who hold home owners’ items hostage can be fined by up to $10,000 a day, according to new rules imposed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, an agency of the Department of Transportation. Starting in October 2014, moving company owners will be mandated to pass tests on consumer protection and moving-cost estimates, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
"We are finally seeing recognition that movers holding people's possessions hostage is a problem," Vassilovski says. "I don't think many people are aware of this being a problem, so it's great this legislation is shining a light on it."
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