A Henry County couple says they’ve lost everything after relocating to Georgia from New Mexico.
Furniture, a wheelchair, walkers, even a loved one’s ashes were last seen months ago after a moving company picked the items up in New Mexico.
“It’s pictures that you can’t replace. It’s jewelry passed down from my mom,” explained John Rogers. “We have clothes we came here with and a few personal items. That’s all we have.”
Rogers, and his wife Debra Taylor are devastated. They’re both on disability benefits, a fixed income and are living with family in Hampton while they fight to find their belongings. They’ve filed complaints with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the FBI.
The couple trusted US Pro Moving and Logistics with the cross-country move. They agreed to a quote of $2,700 for the job.
But on April 28, 2021, a company called AMM Trucking showed up to move Rogers and Taylor’s things. They learned US Pro was only a broker company, not a mover.
After AMM Trucking looked at the couple’s belongings the quote rose to more than $4,600. Checks show the couple paid more than $2,000 up front.
“You pay them, and then a price goes up, they hold you hostage,” Rogers said. “It’s wrong. It’s highway robbery. It’s criminal, it’s fraud, it’s thievery.”
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Rogers said US Pro pressured him to sign a contract quickly to lock in the moving rate and he didn’t have time to read the fine print.
“They acted like they were actually the moving company. They never told us they were a broker,” he said.
According to Rogers’ contract with US Pro, the carrier, AMM Trucking, is responsible for lost of stolen goods.
Rogers said AMM Trucking gave him the run around and now he said they won’t return his calls. AMM Trucking never returned Channel 2′s calls either.
US Pro said AMM Trucking is liable for Rogers and Taylor’s belongings.
“It’s been one lie after another and now our stuff’s gone,” Rogers said. “Someone stole our stuff and I hope they enjoy it. I hope you enjoy her dad’s ashes.”
Channel 2 found out about Rogers’ situation because he called Clark Howard’s Consumer Action Center for help.
Channel 2 found plenty of complaints against both companies. According to US Dept. of Transportation records, there have been at least 169 complaints against US Pro in 2021. There were 94 complaints for estimates and 115 for deceptive business practices.
AMM Trucking had 81 complaints so far this year, including 58 for pickup and delivery and 24 for loss and damage.
“We’ve been seeing an uptick in this year of people have either contacted lead aggregators or brokers and they thought they were moving with them, and then something happens with their shipment and, you know, they’re saying sorry we can’t help you,” explained Katie McMichael with the American Trucking Associations, a trade group for the industry.
McMichael said to protect yourself check the FMCSA mover look up or Moving.org.
You can look up a moving company to learn if it will move your things or if it’s a broker. You can also make sure it’s registered with the US Dept. of Transportation and see if the company’s license was ever suspended or revoked.
According to the state, if you run into a problem file a complaint with the Georgia Department of Public Safety’s household goods division for in state moves and FMCSA for a move across state lines.
McMichael said some red flags to watch for are demands for a large portion of the bill up front and estimates over the phone without a visual inspection of your things.
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