WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Contact 5 recently reported on a West Palm Beach moving broker whose business practices prompted more than 20 people to file complaints with Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody's office. WPTV has now learned that the company has shut down.
Several people called Contact 5 in July complaining that they lost their belongings and money after hiring a West Palm Beach moving broker called Home Safe Transit.
Because they were a broker, the actual move was outsourced to local moving crews in whatever city the move was happening in.
For more than a month now, according to U.S. Department of Transportation records, Home Safe has not been authorized to operate as an interstate-for-hire carrier. However, they were still operating.
When Contact 5 first started investigating the company, a sales representative said that was a mistake and they were working with the DOT to get it fixed.
However, one month later, the company shut down, according to its website and Florida Department of State records.
People from all across the country spoke with Contact 5 in July.
They said they were quoted one price for the move and then that number doubled on moving day. Some people said they paid the company and the outsourced movers thousands of dollars but never received their belongings.
Since the company shut down, Contact 5 is now hearing from customers who recently paid the company for a future move. They want their money back.
"One of their competitors said, 'No, they're going out of business.' And I called them on their billing line and I inquired about those things, and I was told it was all a lie," Thomas Hallam, a Home Safe Transit customer, said. "Then, I asked for a refund and that turned into a very unpleasant conversation with their customer service representative."
Hallam said he lost $1,740. He is now working with his bank's fraud department to get his money back.
Contact 5 sent an email to Home Safe Transit management to ask if they’d like to comment, and they have not responded.