Military families say Jacksonville moving company stranding them for weeks without belongings

STORY: Woman claims moving company charged her $3,300 to unload truck 

Military families tell Action News Jax a Jacksonville-based moving company is stranding them for weeks – sometimes even months -- without their belongings.

An Action News Jax Investigation has uncovered a lack of accountability for the moving company that the military is requiring those families to use.

“This is the dining room where the table's supposed to go," said Evelyn Washington, walking through the empty space.

“Yeah, right now it's just the large feeding area for our dogs," said her husband, Army Staff Sgt. Marvin Washington.

After 12 years in the Army, the Washington family has moved a lot, but they've never had a move like this.

“We're sitting in the living room – an empty living room with nothing, (except) two beach chairs,” said Evelyn Washington. “These are our sofas right now."

They had to send their three kids to stay with grandma because there are no beds for them to sleep in.

“I've been through my ups and downs in this uniform. And they've felt it, too. But when they feel it, then it hurts me. And I can't stand that," said Marvin Washington.

When he found out he had to move from Fort Stewart in Georgia to El Paso, Texas, the Army assigned the job to Jacksonville-based Suddath Relocation Systems.

STORY: Mother deployed overseas frustrated with leaks in brand-new Jacksonville home

Military families don't get to choose their moving company.

Suddath picked up the Washington family's stuff in Georgia on June 4, saying it would be delivered to their new Texas home three weeks later.

Our interview with the Washingtons was more than four weeks after they watched the truck drive away.
"Here we are, still waiting. We just had an email this morning saying that it should arrive today. So, we'll see," said Evelyn Washington.

That didn't happen.

Click here to read full statement from Suddath's CEO.

Suddath gave the Washingtons a new delivery date, of July 30; that would be nearly two months without their belongings.

“It's getting to a boiling point," said Marvin Washington.

Suddath’s website says it's one of the largest military relocation service providers in the country, moving more than 35,000 military families a year.

That's about 8 percent of all Department of Defense family moves.

Suddath uses a public website called eTon to allow trucking contractors to view and claim open jobs.

It shows dozens of military family deliveries are overdue.

Suddath’s Yelp reviews show every military family gave the company a one-star review in the past year.

U.S. Transportation Command spokesperson Maj. David Dunn said movers like Suddath are selected by the military based on 30 percent cost and 70 percent past performance.

That past performance score is based on U.S. Transportation Command’s surveys of military families after their moves.

Dunn said the score is not open to the public because “this would reveal proprietary information,” despite the fact that taxpayers are paying the moving companies.

After three phone calls and five emails, a Suddath spokeperson said no one would do an interview with Action News Jax, but agreed to answer our questions by email.

The company blames delays on a truck driver shortage.

The Suddath spokesperson also said, “Military relocations typically involve high volumes of moves to smaller markets,” especially problematic during the summer “peak season.”

The company points to its 4.6-star average review on Google, and said Suddath has a 94 percent on-time delivery rate.

Less than 24 hours after Action News Jax brought the Washington family's situation to Suddath's attention, their belongings arrived at their front door.

"And there they were standing, like, 'We're here to deliver your stuff,'" said Marvin Washington.
After five weeks, the Washington family can finally call El Paso home sweet home.

Action News Jax asked Sen. Bill Nelson and Sen. Marco Rubio if they think the U.S. Transportation Command system for selecting movers is working. We have not heard back.

Florida Sen. Bill Nelson is taking action because of this story.

Earlier this week, Action News Jax brought our findings to Sen. Nelson, who is a senior member of the Committee on Armed Services.

On Wednesday, Sen. Nelson sent a letter to the head of U.S. Transportation Command asking him to investigate whether there's enough oversight of military moving contractors.

He also wants a breakdown of how those contractors are chosen.

Sen. Marco Rubio spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said military members who are having issues should “contact our office, and we of course would be happy to help.”

Cox Media Group