Hiring a moving company in the state of Florida comes with a reasonable expectation that you and your possessions will be treated well. You expect the movers to show up on time, pack your belongings, and move them to your new house – all while being courteous and careful.
What do you do when you end up being dissatisfied with a bad moving company? Florida residents can file complaints with the state’s Division of Consumer Services.
Contact the Company
Before you escalate to filing a formal complaint, contact the moving company first. A phone call might be your best bet given that you can specifically request to speak to someone in senior management.
Be polite and articulate in voicing your complaint. Also, provide as much detail as possible. If no attempt to rectify the issue is made, consider filing a claim with the state.
Filing a Complaint with the State
Filing complaints in Florida can be made online or over the phone. You can call 1-800-435-7352 to file a complaint with the Division of Consumer Services. You can also submit online by visiting https://www.fdacs.gov/ConsumerServices. You will need to provide information about the moving company, the date of service and the details of your complaint.
Filing a complaint with the state could initiate an investigation into the moving company and its activities. Whether or not it will result in any definitive action depends on the complaint itself and the type of information you provide. Note that there is no guarantee that you will achieve satisfaction. At the very least, filing means you will be alerting state authorities to the fact that the moving company might not be trustworthy.
Filing a Federal Complaint
Some of what moving companies do when conducting business across state lines is regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). As such, you can file a federal complaint against a bad moving company if that company transported your possessions across state lines (for example, if you move from NY to FL).
It should be understood that filing a federal complaint does not guarantee the launch of a formal investigation. The information from your claim will at least be added to a national database used by the FMCSA to keep track of bad movers. If the details of your complaint do warrant an official investigation, one will be opened.
Filing a federal complaint is as easy as visiting the FMCSA website and navigating to the appropriate page. The site includes a search tool that should help you find the right page reasonably quickly. Submitting a complaint online should take only a few minutes. If you would prefer to call, the appropriate phone number is 1-888-368-7238. Note that phone calls are only answered between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
If you have been treated poorly by a bad Florida mover, consider filing a formal complaint. Even if it does not result in an official investigation, you’ll be helping state and federal authorities identify bad movers.