RELO Roundtable…a gathering place

How many people purchase, bait, and then deploy skunk traps when they're not being bothered by the stinky predatory scavengers? That was my first reaction when asked if I'd seen the new “Review Verification System” subscription service that was announced by MovingScam.com on October 1, 2012. MovingScam is the popular free “consumer oriented” trash-your-mover venue [...]

On Tuesday, September 25, 2012, Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) sent letters to three major search engines based in the U.S. – Google, Yahoo, and Bing – alerting them to their how their popular online shopping services are being used by unscrupulous internet brokers and rogue movers to [...]

A New Consumer Protection Problem in the Household Goods Moving IndustryOn Thursday, September 20, 2012, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee held a public hearing to discuss the growing number of complaints that virtual household goods moving companies and move brokerage services were scamming unsuspecting consumers online. Titled "Taking Consumers for a Ride: Business [...]

If you're one of the thousands of responsible professionals involved in the full service interstate moving industry, you are probably going to want to clear your calendar (and your thoughts) for Thursday, September 20, 2012 at 10:00 AM EDT. That's when the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a public hearing about virtual [...]

Normally I'm not a big fan of inforgraphics. With only a few seconds to grab their attention, however, many companies and advertisers are turning to these increasingly popular visual representations to present complex information quickly and clearly to potential customers online. Today many web developers often use these colorful (and sometimes confusing) tools to visually [...]

As the peak season winds down, full-service household goods movers all across the country should cast their eyes west and take a gander at a new assembly bill that the California State Legislature sent to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature last week. The legislation is particularly noteworthy because of the way the lawmakers have [...]

ICC Household Goods Movers Enforcement Action Results in 23 Arrests for Illegal Activity News from the Illinois Commerce Commission May 2, 2012 – Illinois Commerce Commission’s police officers, working with state and local police, in one week in April, arrested 23 people operating illegally as household goods movers, issuing administrative and court citations for violations [...]

A new bill (AB 2118) introduced to the California State Assembly by member Betsy Butler would prohibit “a household goods carrier from engaging, or attempting to engage, in the business of the transportation of used household goods and personal effects, by motor vehicle over any public highway in the state, including advertising, soliciting, offering, or [...]

SAN FRANCISCO, March 15, 2012 – The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in its ongoing commitment to consumer protection, has recently taken a number of actions to protect consumers from illegally operating moving companies. During the fourth quarter of 2011, CPUC staff took the following enforcement actions against moving companies for violations of the Public [...]

State increases enforcement action against HHG moving companies operating illegallyRegulators in the Evergreen State took action against ten residential moving companies that have been operating without household goods permits in Washington. According to a consumer warning announcement published on February, 17, 2012, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) fined four residential moving companies for [...]