Across the country, from now through Labor Day, this is the season for moving. For most families the process of packing up, picking up and moving on is traumatic enough but for others, it can turn into a nightmare.

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Hear About One Woman's Horror Story With Movers

Many people end up with sad stories of heirlooms broken and damaged, treasures lost along away and thousands of dollars wasted -- all because they wanted to move to a new place and make a new life for themselves.

One case in point is Sandy Harrison, who wanted to move from Long Island to Westminster, Colo.

She wanted her move to be inexpensive and simple so she found a moving broker on the Internet.

National Moving Network promises big savings when it books the move. It says it does 1,500 moves a month and charges a 15 percent agent's fee to the moving companies it uses.

Harrison paid over $3,100 and when her goods arrived, 12 days behind schedule, she was astonished.

"I couldn't believe what I saw," she said.

Most of her precious Hummel figurines were broken -- the heads snapped from the bodies or the bodies from the bases.

"The tears came to my eyes because I couldn't believe it. Each piece has such meaning to me, each one of them," she said.

All seven of her collector plates were broken. And even the bedroom set was damaged.

"Here it's actually broken away. Gouged up here. Broken away over here," she said pointing to her mirror frame and dresser.

Harrison's furniture was only wrapped in paper and light bubble wrap by Cross Country Movers.

The government Web site that tracks moving companies -- SaferSys.org -- says Cross Country Moving has just two trucks and two drivers and one truck was not working on a recent inspection.

Cross Country's license was revoked early this year but it can still move household goods. Its three insurance policies, including a cargo policy, have been canceled in the past three years and the company has worked out of three New York/New Jersey area codes in that time.

National Moving Network said that it checks every company it uses, but the Better Business Bureau said Cross Country Movers does not move goods on time and overcharges customers. The bureau said items are damaged or missing and that the mover didn't seem to care.

Still, Harrison was insured, or so she thought.

"They're telling me now I have no insurance," she said.

National Moving Network cashed Harrison's $600 damage insurance premium then rejected her claim. National said Harrison never sent in the paperwork.

But she said she knows the paperwork arrived because it was in the same envelope with the check -- the check the company cashed.

The Web site MovingScam.com tracks complaints against moving companies. It said nearly all the victims it hears from found their movers on the Internet.

The site has three rules for hiring a mover: Do not call a broker -- once they've got your money, they quickly lose interest. Get an estimate in your home -- no one can estimate by phone or on the Internet. And before you sign a contract, check the moving company and its trucks.

"I just can't believe this. I can't believe how they run their company, how they used a consumer. How they'd take a check and cash it and then tell you, you have no insurance," Harrison said.

A rather hostile customer service representative with National said it's the broker's word against Harrison's.

Movers almost never get punished because the government has just two investigators to cover the whole industry.

If you've got a move in the works, do your homework and reduce your risks.

Check out SaferSys.org. It provides a list of movers with complaints against them. Also check out MovingScam.com and The Better Business Bureau to see if they have files on the companies.