I'm finally back "on-line" after my move from Hell this week!

My one day move turned into a 3 day move, because they didn't have enough guys. Lots of problems on the pack day....but the big problem was on the delivery day. On the delivery day, the movers showed up at my destination at 10 a.m., and said that if I didn't pay the balance of the move cost in cash, up front, they would not take a single thing off the truck. So, under duress, I went to the ATM and got the cash (the only thing they would accept) and paid them, to get the nightmare over with. The movers then proceeded to move about 5 boxes off their truck, and then TOOK OFF!!!!!!

I'm NOT kidding!

I was up in my condo busily working on preparations to receive all my furniture etc., when suddenly I noticed that I hadn't heard a hand truck rattling up and down the walkway in awhile. I looked outside my unit at the elevator, where they should be coming, and saw nothing. So, I went down the elevator down to the garage level where the truck was, and found that they had SPLIT!....with my money and ALL of my POSSESSIONS!!!! Needless to say, I immediately went into shock! Quickly I went upstairs and called the moving home office and only got a busy signal. I called a Christian for prayer, and she said to get off the phone and call the police. So I did. The police were here promptly, two of them. While one was taking my statement for the police report, the other one was calling the 4 numbers I had for the moving company. At first the older policeman assured me that there is probably some misunderstanding going on, but as time wore on, and he could never get through to the moving company, he told the police officer writing up the report to classify this as Grand Theft.

I asked them if they could call the Laguna Hills police department to go out to the companies headquarters and confront them, but my police officers said "No, they couldn't do that. They would put a detective on the case, and that detective would go down and confront the moving company." When they left, they said what I should do, is sit down and make a list of every item I own and how much it cost. (Was he serious????) Since I was in shock, I was really operating kind of like a child at this point. I needed someone, (not in shock), to tell me what to do. I was totally unprepared for this possibility, even remotely. A few hours went by, and I'm sitting on the floor in my empty kitchen, trying to recall from memory every single item I own and what it's estimated value was. I can't take the suspense any longer, so I call my local police department to see if they have discovered anything. I am informed that my police report will not even be delivered to the detective's office until the following day. I'm thinking, my possessions will be in Mexico by then.

Then a friend called, who has far more street smarts than I do, suggested that I jump in my car and drive the 2 hours south to the address listed on my move estimate, to see if the address was phoney or if it wasn't phoney, demand to know what is going on. So I did. Someone along the line had said that I could call the Laguna Hills police dept, and ask them to see if the listed address for this moving company was a valid mailing address in that area. So while I am on route on the freeway, I call and ask about the validity of this mailing address. The police confirm that it is valid. I tell the person at the police dept., what has happened and that I am on my way down there to find my property, and they suggest that I ask for a police "keep the peace" escort to the mover's headquarters. So I did.

When I arrived at the address, I see that it is a business office building, not a warehouse.....or even a warehouse/industrial district. So, while I was waiting for the Sheriff to arrive, I got out and read the roster of tenants for the building. Sure enough, in the suite number that was suppose to be occupied by my moving company, a CPA firm is listed. I realize my worst fears.......the movers have used a phoney address, so I have no idea where my possessions are.

Finally the Sheriff arrived, and I gave him the highlights of what was going on. I told him what I saw on the building roster, and he said, "OK, let's go in and have a talk with the CPA's." When we opened the door, it was apparent that indeed it was a small CPA firm, busy with Tax Season, but the Sheriff's presence got their undivided attention. The Sheriff asked if Movers Express, Inc. had ever been a tenant here, and the receptionist said she didn't know, but that this CPA firm had been there for 5+ years. Then a woman popped her head out of an office and asked if she could help. She said that Movers Expess, Inc., was a client of the CPA firm, and that a few years ago they asked to use the Laguna Hills address as their permanent mailing address and that they would pay the CPA firm to handle their mail. She confirmed that Movers Express, Inc. had never been a tenant at that location, but she did have their real address and phone number. She provided the sheriff with her business card, and a note with the true address of Movers Express, Inc. The sheriff gave these items to me. He seemed satisfied, but I was not. So, I asked the sheriff if I could ask a question. He said ok. I asked this woman "Why would Mover's Express, Inc., want to use this Laguna Hills as their official mailing address, when they are really located in Cerritos, CA, up in L.A. county?" She said she didn't know.

Then I received a phone call from my local police dept. They had finally managed to get through to one of the phone numbers for my movers. The movers claimed that I had refused delivery of my own possessions and had threatened the movers with bodily harm......and thus, these big burly hispanic moving guys were afraid of me! I asked the police officer if that was believable to her.....it was such a WHOPPER of a lie. She said, "Mam, it is not my job to decide if someone is lying or not. Its clear to me that your movers have not stolen your possessions, so there is no criminal case, this is a civil dispute and is a matter for the courts to decide should I decide to go that route." I asked "What do I do now?" The officer said, "You have two choices. Your movers will be happy to come back and deliver your property, but they want more money to do so. Alternatively, I could hire other movers to go get my property and deliver it to my home."

During my 2 hour drive back, I thought and prayed about it. Without a doubt I did NOT want anything more to do with these CROOKS. But who....who.....who could I call to move my goods? How do you find someone you can trust? I found these people on the Better Business Bureau on the internet, where they had a AA rating! Obviously, the BBB is totally untrustworthy. I decided I would try a big nationally recognized moving company like Mayflower. So I called Mayflower and asked if they could move me the next day. It was after business hours by this time, so I just left a message. I had to spend another night at a hotel. The next morning, Mayflower called me back. I was honest with them, and told them what needed to be done and why. The Mayflower manager I spoke with was shocked as well, that such slimmy movers existed. He said, "No problem", he would have 4 movers and a large truck at the location specified by the police at 11 am this morning." I had just enough time to get there by 11 am myself. So, off I went.

Fortunately, my brother is an attorney, and he advised me to ask for a "police assist" at the location to make sure the movers do not get hostile with me, and make sure they uphold the law. So, I did. By this time, I was a total nervous WRECK!!! My hands were shaking so much, I was literally afraid to make the drive for fear that I would end up in an auto accident. I prayed the whole way! I found this warehouse in a terrible high crime district of L.A., and made it there without getting into an auto wreck. (Thank-you, Jesus!)

I found the location of the warehouse but was too afraid to go in, so I left and went to a 7-11 store a block away. This neighborhood was so rough the store owners stayed behind a counter to ceiling high, bullet proof plexiglass wall! I bought a bottle of water, and nervously walked out to my car.....then I couldn't find my car keys. I ended up emptying my purse on the hood of my car......no keys. I went back inside, and sure enough there they were on the counter. When I am this nervous, and shakey and in shock I become very absent minded!!!!

Finally the Mayflower moving truck arrives and the guys get out. I pull up and tell them that they are not to go inside until the sheriff arrives, so they just sit down on the grass. Finally, one sheriff arrives. I try to give him a cliffnotes version of what is going on and why a "police assist" is needed......I'm so nervous, I do it poorly and he doesn't understand. So, I had my brother the attorney on my cell phone standing by and I tell him to just talk to my brother, who is calm, cool, and collected. Several minutes go by, and the sheriff understands what is going on and what he needs to do. He hands me my cell phone and goes into the moving company office alone.

Then another sheriff arrives. He is very rude and short with me. As far as I can tell he doesn't know what is going on.......or doesn't have reason to know what is going on (unless he was sent by someone else????). Anyway he immediately takes a position as a guard outside the front door of the moving company.

The first sheriff who has been conferring with the moving company owners, steps out briefly and says I can get my property if I sign a "release". I tell him I will sign no release, because these movers have breached their contract with me. They have been paid in full to pick up my property and to drop it off at the specified destination. Cerritos, CA was NOT the location for the drop off on the contract! The sheriff steps back into the moving company office with my message and then steps back out again. He says, the moving company will not release my property unless I sign a "release". I ask my brother on my cell phone what to do. He says, go ahead and sign it, but under your signature put "signed under duress". Recalling my business law classes from college, I understand exactly what this means. So, I told the sheriff I would sign, but I would add "signed under duress". The moving company said, if I add anything to my signature, they will not release my possessions. So, I asked my brother what to do. He couldn't believe how unhelpful the sheriff's were. He said, go ahead and sign it, that this "release" will never stand up in any court of law, as it is tantamount to extortion.

I ask the sheriff (standing guard) if I could have a copy of the "release" so I could read it to my brother, to save everyone time. He said, "No. If your attorney brother wants to know what is on the "release" he should be here in person." I told my brother what the sheriff said, and he said let me talk to him. I asked him if he would talk to my brother. He said "No. I'm not talking to any DAMNED attorney!" (My tax dollars pay THIS guys salary????)

Finally, the first sheriff comes out of the building and hands me a hand-written "release" note. The handwriting was so poor, I couldn't even read it. I asked the sheriff if he could read it because I sure couldn't. He had trouble making it out as well, and said bottom line, my signature confirms that this moving company owes me no money and has no further obligation to me. I decide since I am required to sign this scribbled illegible note in order to get my possessions back, I would scribble my signature so badly that it would be indecipherable as well......plus I scribbled after my last name the word "duress". It worked! As far as they could tell, it was just a signature, they agreed to release my possessions. But if this scribbled document shows up in court, I will point out where my "signature" ended and where the word "duress" began!

Everything in me wanted to jump in my car and get the heck out of there. But somehow I knew it would be unwise to do that. My Mayflower movers came up to me, and asked me to sign their move contract, and asked me if I was going to be as hard on them as I have been on these movers. I told them, look you don't know the whole story, I will tell what happened, but bottom line? They packed my property and took off with it, and would only release it to me if I was willing to pay double the original move quote. I asked them if that was how their company operated, and they rolled their eye balls and said "no". I asked the head guy from Mayflower, "what next?" He said, he had been instructed by his manager to unpack the other company's moving van and to carefully inspect each item for damage. If any damage is identified, it needs to be documented. I realized I needed to be a part of this process too. So, as nervous and shaken as I was, I got out pen and notepad, watched for the next 4 and 1/2 hours as they unloaded and examined each item for damage. At first the Mayflower movers were afraid of me......but as time wore on, they were actually pointing out to me packing and moving errors of the previous movers. In particular, my PC, TV, stereo, lamps, etc. NONE of it was packed in a box or with any bubble wrap, as represented during the estimate. Most of my furniture was bare in the truck, and ended up with all kinds of scrapes and mars to the finish. One lamp was completely broken. The leg of my computer table was broken off......I can't use it even now. A chest of drawers was broken. One book case was totally SMASHED at the top. It is unrepairable.

Finally, by 3:40 p.m. Wednesday, the Mayflower truck was loaded and ready. The Mayflower movers encouraged me to go ahead of them........but after what I had been through, I don't trust ANYONE! So, I follow right behind them all the way to my home. Surprisingly, during rush hour, we make it in only about 45 minutes. Movers charge double time for the drive time. We arrive at my place and unload, until about 11 p.m. I am so physically and emotionally exhausted by this time, I call my hotel and tell them I am checking in for one more night. (I ended up staying 3 nights in a hotel. Each night when I check in, I tell the gal behind the counter of the days events. She feels so sorry for me, she gives me a discount on my room.)

Oh, I forgot to mention that in the middle of my move, suddenly all the lights went out in one-half of my unit. I hopped to and said, "no problem, I know what to do". Just turn out all the lights in the den, bathroom and bedroom, and I will reset the circuit breaker. It doesn't work! After several people tried, it becomes apparent that the circuit breaker is broken! So, I have to direct the movers placement of furniture in the dark by flashlight! My bed was put together by flashlight. One of the movers, a big burly black guy who is a Baptist, said, after I had told him all I had been through to date, and now the circuit breaker breaking.....he said..."DARK FORCES are definitely at work here, without a doubt! But don't you worry Mam, God is stronger than these dark forces, .....you just keep the faith.....don't let the devil steal your joy." Steal my joy??? Without a doubt I was at the absolute bottom of the "joy-spectrum"! I was just trying to not fall into a helpless heap on the floor in a crying jag! Joy????? What is that???? At this point, I can't remember the concept!

The next morning, after I awoke in the hotel I remember the circuit breaker problem. Realizing the cable guy is coming at 10 am, and would probably need power to do his job, I jumped out of bed, grabbed the hotel yellow pages and called the first electrician I laid eyes on. BIG MISTAKE!!!! They arrived right away, ....all 3 of them! They confirmed that I needed a new circuit breaker, and needed to go to their truck to draft an "estimate". A circuit breaker I have come to find out costs about $20. Guess what the estimate was for???? Are you ready for this???? They wanted $950 to change a part that cost $20!!! Sensing another sham I call a friend who is more mechanically inclined. He says to tell these electricians to pack their bags and leave. They leave. Now, in the dark surrounded by a sea of boxes I finally fall into a sobbing heap on the floor. I called out to God, "Are you up there??? Will you PLEASE help me???? Will PLEASE help me??? What do I have to do to get your help??? I cannot take any more! Will you PLEASE help me???"

My friend had said it is easy to change out a circuit breaker, all you have to do is pull it out, take it to Home Depot and get one just like it and push it back in. So I got up off the floor, got my screw driver and removed the circuit breaker plate. I tried to pull on the defective circuit breaker, but it wouldn't budge. The next thing I know the cable man is knocking at my door. I answer it and inform him that the power is out in one half of my unit, does it matter? He said yes, that he would not be able to complete the cable set up without electricity. So, I thought ......cable.....circuit breaker....maybe this guy knows how to change a circuit breaker and he will help me? He agreed to try. So, I did what I was told to do to remove the circuit breaker, to push the circuit breaker all the way to the "on" position and hold it there, and then you are suppose to pull it out. But this time when I did it the circuit breaker stayed in the "on" position, instead of "off'. I thought, "Is it possible?" I ran to a light switch in the infected area, and sure enough the light came on!!!!! LET THERE BE LIGHT!!!! I was so excited......no doubt this is a MIRACLE from GOD, because SO many people had tried their hand with this defective circuit breaker the night before. Now suddenly it works? I told the cable guy, lets not turn on any lights, just use the power to get the cable box set-up......who knows how long it will run for.

Rejoicing with the "juice", the cable man proceeded to complete his set-up. I had to go down to the garage to get something, and noticed that the elevator was turned off. So I took the stairs. When I got down there, I spotted the elevator repairman. I thought "elevator's use electricity......maybe this guy knows something about electronics?" So, I approached him and told him I had an emergency, does he know anything about circuit breakers and electronics? He said "Yes, I'm an electrician." (YAHOO!!

) I asked him if I paid him would he help me fix my circuit breaker. He said ok. As it turns out he was quite professional, and knew exactly what he was doing. It was close to noon by now, so he agreed to go to Home Depot on his lunch hour and purchase the necessary parts. He not only fixed my circuit breaker but identified a source of the problem causing the circuit breaker to burn out......a faulty outlet in my bathroom. So he fixed both for just $150! But he said that in the process of fixing the outlet in the bathroom, it would fowl up some grout work.

I had to go to the garage again for something, and I ran into a man I had previously seen painting on the premises. I thought "paint", "grout"......maybe he could help replace the grout work? So, I approached him and asked. Not only was he a painter, he was a "handi-man"......AND he had grout on his truck! I told him what it was for, and it was such a small job he said he would do it for FREE......can you imagine anyone offering to do anything for free????? He followed through and came up after the electrician was finished fixing everything. Once I knew he was a handi-man, I asked him if he could fix some of my furniture that was broken by the "bad" movers. He looked everything over, and said he will be back on Monday to fix everything! Thank-you JESUS!!!

All day long as all this was going on, I kept thinking about those terrible fraudulent movers. I just couldn't get my mind off of them. In the past couple years I was working on a consulting assignment I met a fellow Christian who was a very experienced fraud auditor. He also completes the background checks for people requiring high security clearance for the military. In the sea of boxes throughout my home, somewhere I had his phone number. All day long, whenever I had a moment, I would go from box to box trying to find the box most likely to have his tiny little business card! (a virtual needle in a hay stack). I kept praying to God, "God? You know EXACTLY which box his phone number is in.......I need him now.....I'm dealing with fraud.....show me where his phone number is!" Finally, around 4 pm, I found it and called him. He was very helpful, took down the necessary information agreed to do some checking........ah......at last......someone working on my side!

I also called the CPA firm that was "handling the mail" for Movers Express, Inc. I pretended to be someone interested in leasing a suite at this office building, and could they tell me who the property manager is? They gave it to me. I called the property manager, who was out, but her assistant was in. This was a very interesting conversation, because she said that another woman came into their office all frazzled about a year ago, and wanted to know where Movers Express, Inc. were located, because they had taken off with all of her possessions too! This confirmed my hunch that what happened to me was not an isolated event.....this was routine. They probably target single women in particular. Not everyone would have the presence of mind to hop in the car and go looking for the movers, so there are probably many more. Probably everyone in the past has antied up and just willingly paid the extra money to get their goods back and try to forget it ever happened to them. So this is the scheme: come in with a very low bid to land the contract. Then take off with the goods, and hold them ransom until the victim pays double the original bid. It is extortion!

Worse yet! On the day that the movers took off with my possessions, my brother (an attorney), told me to immediately file a complaint with the Public Utility Commission (PUC), the state organization that issues licenses to movers. So I did. The next day they sent a PUC detective out to investigate. I found out from the property manager's assistant that the PUC detective had come on site and questioned them about the true address of Movers Express, Inc. The property management company told them that they had never heard of Movers Express, Inc, and that they had never leased to such a company. Later that same day, when I was at the warehouse with my Mayflower movers, this same PUC detective came up to me, gave me his card and announced that he had investigated the case, and was satisfied that these movers had themselves just moved from Laguna Hills, and hadn't gotten around to changing their mailing address......and that "these things happen all the time". Since I knew this was a total fabrication, I just closed my eyes and said, "Let's talk about this later, I am busy now. I'll call you after my move." When I told the property manager's assistant (Sarah) this, she found this incredible, since he had just been in to interview them, and they distinctly told the detective that Movers Express, Inc. had never been a tenant of this business office building. Then the PUC detective, the same day, tells me that Movers Express HAD been a tenant of that building.............is the PUC detective on the payroll too?

Personally, all I can think is that Movers Express, Inc. has a lot of people on their payroll. I think bribes have been flowing abundantly this week. No doubt my move has turned out to be a total loss to them. I could do as others before have done.......once you have paid through the nose to get your personal possessions back from these extortionists, just do your best to try to forget the whole thing happened and move on.....and let them snare another unsuspecting soul. But I am determined to not let the matter drop, even though it would be one heck of a lot easier to do so. I am filing suit to recover the cost of the Mayflower movers expense, and in the process expose these fraudulent gangsters.

Oh, I forgot one more thing. Also, on Friday (yesterday), I received a follow-up phone call from Mayflower Movers to confirm that I was happy with their work. I confirmed that I was. This manager was curious as to what happened with the others movers, so I went into more detail than before. When I told him all of the above, he said "Sue!" He said I have an and open/shut case.....these movers will be lucky if the judge doesn't throw the book at them, as they have violated so many laws......including possibly fraud. Fraud is a federal criminal offense, which means prison time. Yes, I will file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau who has this company listed with an "AA" rating. But I have come to learn that the BBB is NOT not like Consumer Reports. The BBB is a "sham" themselves. Beware! I will file a complaint with them, just to see if it shows up on the BBB. And Yes, I will also follow up on Monday with the manager of the PUC detective who had reason to know better, but repeated the moving companies lies regarding having been a tenant at the Laguna Hills office building. The property managers told me that they told him this moving company was never a tenant of their building.

I called a friend to let my hair down last night. She said, "Wow, good thing we continued to pray for you. If we hadn't you would probably be dead by now!" This week has taken years off my life. It will haunt my nightmares for years to come. And, unfortunately, it is not over yet. I still have to face these slimy people in court. I am not looking forward to this, but feel it is "the right thing to do". When they lose this case, it will be on their record for future victims. If they continue their deceptive extortion practices, they will eventually end up in jail. We, the victims, need to step up to the plate and establish a more accurate track record of companies like this.

For anyone who has a move in their future, I would recommend Mayflower movers.

PS: One of my neighbors was sharing with me that she can top my moving nightmare. When she and her husband moved out to CA from NJ, the movers came out and packed everything. When it arrived in CA, the boxes arrived with nothing in them. This is an older couple who lost a lifetime of keepsakes, etc. If our terrible experiences can benefit even one other person, and save them from these experiences, I will be happy.

PPS: Every now and then someone reminds me that it is "Easter" weekend. I've been consumed with this mess, I've hardly noticed. So......Happy Resurrection Day everyone! I will leave you with the greeting used by the first century Christians for this special holiday, that everyone's eternal future hinges upon:

"He is Risen!"

"He is Risen, Indeed!"

PPPS: Please keep me in your prayers, this thing isn't over yet! When I ask this, I MEAN it!

Thanks!