By Terri Parker
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PALM SPRINGS, Fla. (WPBF) — It is a common scam in South Florida with thousands of victims: so-called moving companies that lure customers with low quotes, then hold their belongings until they pay much more.
WPBF 25 Investigates has started looking into one company with scores of complaints across Florida. For now, we are not naming the company because the owner’s identity and the true legal entity remain unclear.
Rose Marie Ditolla says she hired a Fort Lauderdale mover she found on Facebook to take everything from her small Palm Springs apartment to another building less than a mile away. The written price, she says, was $427.
“This company — please, people, please, I’m begging you. They’re scammers. They’ll take all your money,” Ditolla told WPBF 25 News investigative reporter Terri Parker.
On moving day, Ditolla says the crew refused to unload unless she paid thousands more.
“‘Ma’am, you owe us $4,400.’ I was devastated. I’m still crying about it,” said Ditolla.
Ditolla says the truck held everything she owned, including vital medications for serious illnesses. When she called the company office, she says the person on the phone threatened to drive her furniture back to Fort Lauderdale and charge daily fees if she did not pay.
“I’m like, there’s no way. ‘Well, if you don’t pay, it says we’re taking the furniture back to Fort Lauderdale and charge you $250 a day until it’s all totally paid up.’ I’m like, there’s no way,” said Ditolla.
She says the caller then offered a “deal.”
“OK, to be nice, we’ll take $2,200,” DiTolla recalls being told. She says they wanted cash.
With no other option, she sent her son to the bank.
“It was $1,800, my life’s savings,” she said, adding that she also paid additional cash to reach the amount the movers demanded.
The crew eventually unloaded, but Ditolla says they dumped her belongings in giant piles, broke furniture, and left the mess behind.
When she began searching online, Ditolla found dozens of similar complaints about the company and multiple addresses that did not add up.
“Unfortunately, we see a lot of moving scams, especially in this area. And it’s a lot of what we call holding hostage and bait and switch,” said Cinthya Lavin, of the Better Business Bureau.
Lavin says these operators are hard to stop.
“They disappear. They really have been working the circuit of the scam and the reputable moving company for a long time. So they do this all of the time, and they know how to avoid accountability and how to take your money,” said Lavin.
Parker found disconnected phone numbers, four different “offices,” and several different names tied to the outfit Ditolla hired. It is a puzzle even seasoned investigators are working to piece together.
“They’re taking people and families — all their money. It’s not right. It’s not right. They need to be stopped,” Ditolla said.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
• Get the mover’s legal business name, physical warehouse address, and Florida registration number before you book. • For moves inside Florida, ask for the company’s Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services registration. • For state-to-state moves, ask for the USDOT and MC numbers and verify them on federal databases. • Be wary of very low quotes, big cash demands on delivery, and threats of daily storage fees. • Pay with a method that leaves a trail, not cash.
Parker has begun tracing the company’s corporate filings and the people behind the LLC. Once those identities can be verified and the company is given a chance to respond, we will publish a follow-up investigation.
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