Department Of Transportation Issues Warning About Moving Fraud
(CBS) -- May is the most popular month for moving in Chicago. But if your move will take you out-of-state, the Department of Transportation wants to warn you about fraud.
CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez has more.
Clarissa O'Connell is settled in her new home after quite an unsettling move from California to Texas. When the movers finally arrived, weeks late, her boxes were battered, her glasses were shattered, and a lot of her belongings were missing.
"At this point we're really either living without or we're purchasing new," she said. "It's devastating. There are things we find every single day that aren't here that we know we'll never get it back."
The estimates seemed reasonable, but when the company raised the price by more than $4,600 on moving day, red flags went up.
When those damaged boxes arrived, filled with damaged property, O'Connell filed a complaint with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The agency has received nearly 6,000 complaints about moving companies in the last two years, more than 16 a day.
Deputy Administrator Daphne Jefferson says people need to pick movers carefully.
"It's critical for consumers to do their homework," Jefferson said. "They need to make sure they've got the best information, understand their rights and also the responsibilities of the movers."
O'Connell says she's an educated person who just picked the wrong organization.
"I didn't do enough homework and if anybody can hear my story and learn from it, and it doesn't happen to them, I'm embarrassed, but happy to share," she said.
Florida has the most complaints against movers, more than 11-hundred compared to 376 in Illinois.
For more tips, visit protectyourmove.gov.