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More clients say AM Movers increased estimate for moving costs

Posted at 10:44 PM, Jun 06, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-07 17:11:02-04

Editor's note: Contact7 seeks out audience tips and feedback to help people in need, resolve problems and hold the powerful accountable. If you know of a community need our call center could address, or have a story idea for our investigative team to pursue, please email us at contact7@thedenverchannel.com. Find more Contact7 stories here.

DENVER -- Since Contact7 first aired a report last week alerting people of some shady movers, several viewers have contacted us about the same company, AM Movers of Aurora, charging double the initial estimates and delivering belongings far later than promised.

"We don't want anyone else to go through this again. It should stop with us," said Carly Blair, whose experience has been similar to the one Contact7 reported last week.

She and her husband, Dylan Blair, planned a move from their Aurora apartment to Alexandria, Virginia. The initial estimate from New Frontier Van Lines, Inc. was about $3,800.

"It wasn't very transparent (that) they were going to farm it out to a local company," said Carly Blair. "It was a little bit of a surprise to us that there was a third party involved, and it just snowballed from there."

The Blairs signed a Bill of Lading with AM Movers, and everything they own was loaded on a truck.

Weeks later, they said, they got a call and a new Bill of Lading, with a revised estimate of more than $7,300.

The Better Business Bureau of Colorado lists three complaints in the last two months against AM Movers and gives the company a B grade, but that grade is under review.

"Primarily consumers are alleging that the company picked up their stuff and then didn't deliver their belongings, which is obviously a big concern for us," said Ezra Coopersmith, a BBB Investigative Coordinator.

We tracked down Adam Zoda, who said he was the manager at AM Movers. He would not meet for a face-to-face interview, but spoke on the phone with Contact7.

"I'm shocked. I'm kind of shocked. I don't know what's going on," said Zoda, who admitted five clients had late-delivery moves, but said his company always gives revised estimates approved before loading a truck because some people vastly underestimate how much stuff they have. "Whatever we do, everything is legal. Sometimes we keep running late with deliveries, yes, that's true. But otherwise, we have to charge for additional items."

Six weeks after the move, the Blairs are still waiting for their things to arrive. Zoda told us it would be three to five days, but the Blairs said they have heard that before.

"It's a sad thing when you lose trust," said Carly. "For our future moves, we'll probably move ourselves. We won't place our trust in anybody else again."

If you have a complaint about an interstate move, call the Federal Household goods hotline at 1-888-368-7238.