Moving Company Scams: Woman In Tulsa Says She Was Charged $20K More Than Initial Quote

A Tulsa family is warning people to be careful when it comes to what movers they hire after they were charged an extra $20,000 more than they were expecting.

Betty Wall moved from Lubbock, Texas, to Tulsa to be closer to her daughter.

She says she thought she had found a reliable moving company but was shocked to find the company wouldn’t give her furniture back unless she paid $30,000 over the quoted price.

"I questioned it, and he said 'well, there's just a lot more than we thought,’” said Wall. “And I thought well, you came out here and looked at everything! But that's the way it was, because they had my furniture."

Cindy Morrison, Wall’s daughter, says she felt the company took advantage of her mother by forcing her to pay a higher rate to get her stuff back.

"She saw that they were veteran owned, she equated that to when the Navy used to move Mom and Dad back in the day, and she was just very trusting of them,” said Morrison. “I mean she believed what they told her and she should have been able to believe what they told her."

The owners of 2 Fellas Moving Company in Broken Arrow helped Wall and Morrison after they were scammed by the other company.

The owners say they see clients often who come in saying they’ve been affected by this same scam with other companies.

"If you get a quote online, sight unseen, nobody came out, they only ask you how many rooms in your house it is, more than likely they're a broker,” said Heidi Herburger, the co-owner of 2 Fellas Moving Company. “And they're going to lowball you so they can reel you in and then charge you what you actually have.”

"Be careful, if the story is too good to be true, then it usually is,” said Steve Herburger, also a co-owner.

Wall says she wishes she would have talked to other companies and hopes other people will do the same.

"I would get several bids from different companies, and once they did give the bid, find out if that's the final price, or what they're going to do if they decide that it took a little more time," said Wall.

Movers say one way to stop yourself from being scammed when the movers weigh the moving truck is to ask to see them do it.

“You have all rights to do a visual weigh of your goods, you can watch them weigh,” said Josh Keeler, one of the co-owners of 2 Fellas Moving Company. “Don't let them tell you you can't, because in the rules you're allowed to visually watch them get an empty weight and a heavy weight."

Experts also say you can check with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to see if the moving company you’ve hired is licensed, bonded, and insured.

They also recommend researching the company to see if they have any fines against them.