Family sits in empty house waiting for their belongings
When Paul Hawkins was accepted for a job at Bartlett Regional Hospital as an ultrasound technician in early October it was a dream come true for him and his family.
Hawkins, 33, and his wife Pascale, 34, were living in Sumter, S.C., and had less than a month to make it to Juneau with their four children and possessions.
With a $10,000 signing bonus from the hospital to move to Juneau, Pascale Hawkins checked the Internet for an affordable moving company to ship their possessions. They decided to use Century Express Van Lines out of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
The Hawkinses said they filled out an inventory sheet online and were quoted $4,300 for the move. But when Century Express arrived on moving day, it more than doubled the estimate. Noting that the estimate was based on cubic feet of space used in the moving truck, Century Express loaded the truck and then charged the family $10,000 for the move.
With a deadline to make it to Juneau by the end of October to start Paul's new job, the Hawkinses agreed to the larger cost. But that was just the beginning of their troubles with the company.
On Nov. 15, the family waited anxiously for the movers to arrive with their furniture and clothes and other belongings, but they never did - nor did they the next day or the day after that.
After a week of trying to contact Century Express, Paul Hawkins reached Avi Neo, the sales representative who coordinated the move.
"They told me they already delivered it to me," Paul Hawkins, speaking from his empty three-bedroom house, told the Empire last week. "(Neo) said he would look into it and call me back, but he never did."
Moving scam prevention
• Never use a moving company that provided an estimate over the Internet.
• Eliminate movers who do not offer to come to your house and estimate the cost of the move before moving day.
• Eliminate movers who give an estimate on cubic feet instead of weight. Estimates based on cubic feet are easier to falsify based on the way the truck is loaded.
• Do not sign any blank document that says addendum on the page. If signed, this document can be used to amend the contract with statements such as "I waive any previous estimates" or "I agree to pay the price of $XX,XXX."
Do not allow a mover to take possession of your belongings if:
• it arrives in a rented truck or does not have the name of the company printed permanently on both sides of the vehicle.
• the mover does not provide you with a copy of the federally required publication "Your Rights and Responsibilities when Moving."
• the mover cannot provide a U.S. Department of Transportation registration number, a physical address, the owner's name and the name of the company's insurance carrier.
• it cannot show a weight ticket from an official weigh station stamped from earlier that day with your name and the identification number of the truck.
Source: www.movingadvocateteam.com.
To file a complaint about a moving scam:
• Call 1-888-DOT-SAFT (1-888-368-7238)
• Download complaint form at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/pdfs/COMMERCIAL_COMPLAINT_FORM.pdf.
Tony Oz, operations manager at Century Express, when asked by the Empire why the shipment had not made it to Juneau yet, said: "I guess it's the weather."
Oz told the Empire the shipment would make it to Juneau by Dec. 18. But the shipping company being used, Classic International Moving, said the barge is due to arrive in Anchorage on Dec. 22 and then head to Juneau. Classic International Moving could not say when the barge would arrive in Juneau.
Meanwhile, the Hawkinses are losing hope.
"From all the horror stories I've heard on the Net, we're not going to get our stuff," Pascale Hawkins said.
After one failed promise that their possessions would be delivered the week after Thanksgiving, Pascale Hawkins did some research on the company. She found that Century Express has been fined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration - the government organization that oversees the industry - for violating commercial regulations.
Century Express was fined $9,500 in July on charges such as failing to weigh shipments properly and overcharging customers, failure to file for operating authority with the Department of Transportation, and failure to provide customers with the required consumer information pamphlet "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move."
Six other carriers were penalized for similar violations, with fines ranging from $7,000 to $71,000.
Suzy Bohnert, an FMCSA spokeswoman, said that of the 1.4 million to 1.6 million households that move every year in the United States, 3,000 to 4,000 consumer complaints are filed with the agency. She said only three employees at FMCSA are working on all interstate-moving violations throughout the country.
She said the seven companies that were fined last summer constituted some of the most egregious violators, noting that many of the worst violators originate from Florida and New York.
James Balderrama of Orlando, Fla., said the federal government is not doing enough to pursue what he calls "scam movers."
Balderrama, a former police officer, became a consumer advocate in 2001 after he hired a moving company that never delivered his belongings. Balderrama launched www.movingadvocateteam.com.
Until 1995, interstate violations by moving companies were regulated by more than 100 investigators working in the federal government's Interstate Commerce Commission. But that year Congress gave authority to the FMCSA.
Since 1995, Balderrama said, violations have skyrocketed and those who have been scammed by moving companies have turned to advocacy Web sites like his for support.
"Now it's just ballooned," Balderrama said, noting that he answers about 30 to 40 e-mails a day from people who think they have been cheated by moving companies.
He said the Web site has a blacklist for companies that are known to have broken the law. Century Express is one of the companies listed, but Balderrama warned that scam companies often change names to prevent ending up on advocacy blacklists. The site also gives tips on how to keep from getting scammed.
But for the Hawkins family it's after the fact.
Pascale Hawkins said she has filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In the meantime, the family is working to get the basic necessities from day to day.
"With four girls, just to replace their clothes will be a small fortune," Paul Hawkins said.
The family has been unable to enroll their children in school because the necessary paperwork - birth certificates and transcripts - is in transit with the rest of their belongings.
Through it all Elizabeth Hawkins, who turns 10 at the end of December, remains optimistic.
"Maybe we'll get our stuff by my birthday," she said.
Timothy Inklebarger can be reached at timothyi@juneauempire.com.