Call Kurtis: Why Am I Being Charged For 2 Trucks For 1 Move?
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — Lucille Pugh's trust was shattered during a move from Michigan when her moving company,
National Van Lines, showed up with her things at her Roseville apartment complex.
"I trusted these people to move my things," Lucille said.
They charged her $450 for a small van to drive her stuff from the street to her apartment several hundred feet into the complex.
"Nobody told me if the truck didn't fit into the complex I would have to pay for the shuttle," she said.
Lugh, who is on a fixed income with a handicapped daughter, said she told the movers she couldn't pay – but a bill showed up anyway.
"I almost started crying because I said I don't have it," she said.
Consumer Action's Joe Ridout said most moving contracts allow companies to charge up to 15% above the contract price for unexpected circumstances, called impracticable operations. He said that could include a big truck unable to make it inside a small apartment complex.
"Is it unreasonable to expect a mover would say 'hey is this an apartment complex, can we fit our big truck in there? '" Kurtis Ming asked Ridout.
"A good moving company we would hope would find out if there would be a problem at a drop off site." Ridout said.
A spokesperson for National Van Lines told us they could charge extra because Lucille signed a "non-binding contract", meaning charges would be based on actual weight and services. They called this van charge "legitimate and necessary."
But after we got involved, they agreed to waive the extra charge.
Lucille is relieved she no longer owes money she doesn't have.
"I've never been though anything like this." She said.
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