New Florida homeowner out $20,000 after moving company nightmare

ORLANDO, Fla. - Relocating from Texas to Central Florida, the Johnson family’s new chapter had a rough start.

"This is very much a horror story," Finoy Johnson said.

Along with the hardware for their bed, the moving company they hired lost many of their belongings, including expensive clothing, electrical items, and a brand-new dirt bike. The nightmare started long before that, said Johnson.

According to Johnson, he shopped around for a moving company and signed a contract with one he found reasonable. The agreement was $5,000 for his move, insurance included. Their items were promised to arrive in Orlando within three days. Johnson said that when the movers arrived, the story had changed.

"They loaded all my items. They brought the paperwork to me, and this is when they said, ‘Before we drive off, where’s our money?’ I’m like, ‘I already paid the full amount.’ He said, ‘That’s not how we get paid. We get paid by you.' They only accepted cash. They would not accept checks or credit cards. I had to give them $7,000 in cash.

Johnson’s household items were being held hostage in the truck, so he paid up. It gets worse: Johnson’s belongings didn’t make it in three days — let alone 13. It took 18 days for the truck to arrive.

"We had no furniture, no utensils, no kitchen appliances," Johnson said. "We had nothing."

During that time, Johnson did some research. He found out that the company he had hired subcontracted another company to do the work. They were not movers; they were a brokerage company. 

When the truck did turn up at the Johnson’s new home, the crew demanded another $7,000 ransom – this time, to unload.

"What could we do, Hannah? We were at the mercy of them delivering the items," Johnson told FOX 35’s Hannah Mackenzie. "We’d paid so much money into it at that point."

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Spero Georgedakis, founder of Good Greek Moving and Storage, warns that it's a common scam. As a former Miami police officer, he uses his experience to warn others.

"Do research on the company that you’re dealing with," said Georgedakis. "Check out their website, make sure they have a physical address, and ensure that their licenses are listed on the website."

Georgedakis said red flags to look out for include: 

- Companies operating under multiple names.

- Brokerage companies subcontracting jobs.

- Cash-only operations.

"I always recommend electronic payments, especially credit cards," Georgedakis said. "You have recourse through the credit card company if there’s a dispute."

He said there are also green flags to look for:

• In-person assessments and a binding quote.
• A fleet of trucks – preferably marked.
• Insurance options.
• Driver background checks and drug testing.
• Incident plan.

That last one is very important, according to Georgedakis, because accidents can happen when moving.

"A legal, legit company will guide the consumer through that and make it as painless and seamless as possible," Georgedakis said. "Rogue movers, unfortunately, likely won’t return your phone call… likely will ignore you or deny your claim, even though it’s clear they lost or stole all your goods."

Johnson said he has contacted the Florida Attorney General’s office, the governor’s office, and the Department of Transportation. He was out close to $20,000 and left with damaged furniture and piles of moving boxes.

"They closed the case because they got a hold of the shipping company, and the shipping company committed to paying me," Johnson said.

But then, Johnson said, the shipping business closed — or at least changed names. His hope for recouping his money and property was non-existent.

"I didn’t know this could happen in this country," Johnson said. "I know where I was born and raised, this happens, and no one bats an eye, but I didn’t know that we could live in this country, and this could happen."

You can search for registered moving companies online at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

To find complaints on specific companies, head to the Department of Transportation.

A search of the company Johnson used has revealed six complaints so far this year and 29 complaints the previous year.