JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A woman moving to Jacksonville was forced to shell out an extra $3,300 just to have her items unloaded and moved into her new home in Intracoastal West.
Elizabeth Miller said it's been a traumatic experience and wants to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else.
She said her move from Kansas to Jacksonville has been a nightmare.
“I got on Google, searched for interstate movers, best prices, best services. Came up with an estimate giver. So I put my information in and received a few phone calls,” she said.
Miller said she received four estimates, but she decided to go with a company called New Frontier Van Lines based in West Palm Beach.
"I received an estimate of $3,800, approximately. They told us we would have our furniture picked up on the 22nd or 23rd and delivered within 7 days with 4 movers,” Miller told Action News Jax.
But she said that price continued to increase from $3,800, to $6,000 to more than $10,000 with a new company called High Quality Moving Services, based out of Denver, Colorado.
“There’s forged signatures agreeing from a weighted price to a fixed price,” Miller said.
In the initial conversation, Miller said she was not aware that she was dealing with a broker, contractor, sub-contractor for her move.
Miller was excited to finally see the moving truck pull up at her home but she didn't know it would take an extra $3,300 to get everything unloaded and inside her new place.
"We’ve been staying in hotels and farm homes waiting 21 days now for our furniture," she said.
Action News Jax reporter Courtney Cole wanted to see if anyone else had this problem, so she looked up the New Frontier Van Lines Company on the Better Business Bureau and Yelp -- both turned up several negative reviews.
One customer said: “They charge you 200 percent more than their bid.”
Another customer said: "This is the biggest scam of a company that has free will to exist."
Action News Jax Law and Safety Expert Dale Carson said it's important to always read the contract carefully.
But it’s equally important to do your homework and hire a reputable company.
"Some of those contracts, because it’s interstate, often are controlled by federal rules,” Carson said.
Carson said the best thing you can do is to work with a company supported by the Better Business Bureau that doesn't have a lot of complaints.
"It’s really critical to work with a reputable company because sometimes you miss something in a contract,” Carson said.
He said it's also a good idea to work with an agent.
"Because the agent, the person you deal with, can have a critical impact on what happens on the tail end of the transfer of home goods,” Carson said.
Getting an insurance policy with the carrier is another way Carson said you can get someone involved who's responsible to you and the company.
Miller said she filed a report with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and she’s contacted the FBI.
For a look at what the BBB says you can do to protect yourself against moving fraud, click here.