MIAMI (Legal Newsline) – The Florida Attorney General's Office of Florida alleges professional movers based in Miami have harmed "hundreds" of consumers by hiring laborers who damage or steal property.
Office of the Attorney General State of Florida, Department of Legal Affairs filed a complaint on Dec. 27 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division against US Moving Services Inc., Moving & Storage SF Inc., Moving Systems Inc. and Yehoshua Vaknin citing the Florida Household Moving Services Act.
According to the complaint, since January 2014, the defendants "have advertised themselves as being professional movers staffed by well-trained employees who use the utmost care with consumers’ belongings and are scrupulous in preparing and following estimates."
"Defendants regularly use unskilled, untrained laborers who often damage or steal property, and routinely provide deceptive, low ball estimates then extort higher fees by holding consumers’ property hostage," the suit states.
The plaintiff seeks judgment for civil penalties, attorneys' fees, costs, disgorgement of ill-gotten proceeds, consumer restitution and such other equitable relief as this court deems just and proper.
The plaintiff is represented by Florida Attorney General Pamela Jo Bondi and Senior Assistant Attorneys General Howard S. Dragon and Carole A. DeGraffenreidt of the Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Division in West Palm Beach, Florida.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Miami Division case number 1:18-cv-25446-CMA