Get Marty: Cancer Patient Says Movers Held Her Belongings Hostage For 5 Months

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A woman claims a moving company held her life hostage for more than five months when they failed to deliver any of her furniture, and even her clothes, when she moved from Delaware to Pittsburgh earlier this year.

After living in an empty apartment for all that time, she finally reached the end of her rope and decided to Get Marty.

"It's been just scary from the beginning. It put me in a severe depression and anxiety," Heidi Morra told KDKA investigator Marty Griffin as she toured him through her barren home. "But then I dove out of that and got really angry."

Morra, who is being treated for cancer, told KDKA that a family member found Public Movers online while she was in the hospital. On the surface, the company looked like a good choice. Their website describes Public Movers, based in South Carolina, as "The Best Rated Long Distance Moving Company in the U.S."

So-called reviews on the company's website called them "The best... if only everything could be done so easily," and gushed that Public is a "great company... I have read many people complaining about how their valuables went missing during a move. Luckily, I faced nothing like that while Public handled my move."

But KDKA's Marty Griffin discovered much different ratings when he checked the website for the Better Business Bureau. The BBB rates the company an "F," with customer reviews saying things like, "No. No. No. This company should not be in business."

Another person wrote, "We've never been so poorly treated and ignored;" and yet another wrote, "I plead with anyone who reads this. Do not hire this company."

After Heidi emailed KDKA, Marty Griffin reached out to the company several times.

They finally did promise to find her furniture and other stuff and deliver it.

The night the moving van arrived, Marty Griffin and KDKA photographer Ian Smith were there to ask why it took so long. Instead, they found a moving company employee who threatened to break Ian's camera if they didn't stop recording and asking questions.

Despite that, the move was finally completed, and Heidi is now able to be in her new home the way she envisioned it.

"Nobody has helped me up until this point. You were the first one. I am every so grateful. Truly I am," she told KDKA. "I can finally start concentrating on my health. It's a huge, huge relief."

But the story doesn't end there. KDKA's Marty Griffin has since discovered that the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has suspended Public Movers' license to transport goods. He also discovered that the owner of the company has registered other names with the FMCSA, so the company could still be doing business under another name.

The South Carolina Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection is also investigating.

If you'd like Marty to help you solve your problem, email him at GetMarty@kdka.com.