Moving Scams
Moving creates storm for Katrina survivor
November 2, 2005
Albany- In the last two month’s Dorothea Royster evacuated her home and made the decision to make a permanent move. Most of her possessions survived the storm, but now a moving company may be holding them hostage, charging her more than the estimate to bring them only God knows when.
After surviving Katrina, Dorothea Royster is ready to get on with her life. She got an apartment and a job at Phoebe. Now, all she needs is her furniture.
“I have a bed that I purchased maybe less than a year ago. I’ve had furniture, my whole life is in that truck, wherever. I don’t even know where it is,” said Royster.
Dorothea now sleeps on an inflatable mattress and rests in this folding chair. Illinois based Olympic Moving and Storage picked up her belongings in New Orleans two weeks ago, that’s when everything changed.
“My first price was $1,200 now it’s $2,083, which to be honest with you, I don’t know how they came to that figure,” said Dorothea.
Dorothea has also tried repeatedly to find out when she may be able to fill her empty home.
“I’ve just been shuffled, back and forth, back and forth and just now when she said to me, she’s repeating the same information that repeated on Saturday,” said Dorothea.
While we were there, the company called. “You were supposed to call me on Monday and give me a date and you haven’t done that yet,” said Royster.
They had few answers. “Still couldn’t give me a date, still couldn’t give me a time.”
The situation left Dorothea frustrated.
“I could break down and cry, but I won’t, I won’t,” said Royster.
The experience has her warning others to check twice before choosing a company to handle your most valuable possessions.
“I want other people to know, choose your moving company very carefully, find out about them. I didn’t know that they had 28 violations until after the fact,” said Dorothea.
Those 28 violations Dorothea mentioned are unresolved complaints against Olympic Moving with the Better Business Bureau. The company is also on the black list of a web site www.movingscam.com. Calls to the moving company were not returned.
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