It’s been a long road for Lawrence Alpert who moved from Minneapolis to Connecticut. The Danielson resident said he had to wait months for some of his personal belongings to be delivered.
“There’s family heirlooms, pictures,” said Lawrence Alpert. “This is just a lot of anguish.”
Last June, Alpert contracted the Florida-based Discount Interstate Moving, which, according to corporate records, also goes by the name Fara Trucking, to transport his furniture, clothing, electronics and family mementos.
When the movers showed up, they didn’t even know how to make an inventory list nor did they have enough labor to move his stuff, according to Alpert. So, he pitched in to get it onto the truck.
“They were in no way prepared to do that,” said Alpert. “And at that time, I needed to get out of the house that we were renting. So, I was kind of stuck.“
The contract gave the company a window of up to one month to deliver Alpert’s goods.
Alpert said he received a text message a month after the truck was loaded that his delivery would be arriving on July 12 or 13. But he said it never came.
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Over the next few weeks, Lawrence made numerous calls, sent emails and text messages, but still heard nothing from the company.
“I have no idea what’s going on with it. I don’t know if it’s sitting in a warehouse somewhere. I don’t know if it was taken off the truck and sold piece by piece,” said Alpert.
Alpert filed multiple complaints with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration against Discount Interstate Moving and Fara Trucking, which are the same company using two different names.
FMCSA told NBC Connecticut Responds, “U.S. DOT# 3000641 has no current for-hire operating authority with FMCSA.”
FMCSA added the carrier’s Bodily Injury and Property Damage (BI&PD) insurance was canceled on Aug. 30, 2018 and, as a result, its operating authority was revoked.
In August, Alpert added that a Fara Trucking dispatcher texted him claiming that they were trying to locate his shipment.
Alpert said dispatch told him his things were in Columbus, Ohio, and he offered to pick it up.
He then called the company asking for information. But Alpert said he got no response. Responds also reached out through phone calls and emails to both Discount Interstate Moving and Fara Trucking. But to no avail.
We found out that there were four complaints filed with Florida’s BBB against Discount Interstate Moving by customers alleging that the company stole their belongings and did not return phone calls. Two similar complaints were filed against Fara Trucking.
In September, the company sent Alpert a photo, asking if items in the picture belonged to him.
He confirmed they did and a month later a rental truck showed up at his Danielson home with the TVs and 50 boxes of items. But Alpert said the master bedroom set and half of his clothing were missing.
The Dispatcher told him they couldn’t fit all of it on the truck. But Alpert hasn’t heard from the company since.
While the Better Business Bureau couldn’t comment on this specific case, Luke Frey offered advice on what consumers should do.
- Don’t go with the first or the cheapest estimate you get.
- Watch out for movers who pose as someone else.
- Keep an inventory list especially on high ticket items.
- Be leery of movers who show up with rented vehicles.
- And offer you a discount for a large down payment or the entire amount upfront.
Alpert said he filed complaints with a police department in Florida, Florida’s Attorney General’s office and the BBB. Alpert said he hasn’t heard back from police or the AG’s office. But said Florida’s BBB closed his complaint stating it’s unresolved.
