August 19, 2005

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced fines for 12 interstate moving companies from California, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, and New York for multiple violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Commercial Regulations. FMCSA monitors interstate movers to spot problem areas, help bring companies into compliance, and provide information to consumers. The civil penalties assessed are:

• A. Professional Movers, Inc. of South Hackensack, NJ: $14,300
• Air 1 Moving & Storage, Inc. of North Hollywood, CA: $6,800
• All Points Van Lines, Inc. of Sun Valley, CA: $6,600
• All Victory Van Lines, Inc. of Woodland Hills, CA: $4,700
• American Moving Services of Hollywood, FL: $4,400
• Coast to Coast Transportation of Pembroke Park, FL: $6,400
• Focus Van Lines Inc. of Dallas, TX: $9,400
• Prestige Moving and Storage Corporation of West New York, NJ: $18,800
• Smooth Move Moving and Storage, Inc. of Jessup, MD: $7,200
• Trans American Van Lines of Miami, FL: $9,400
• U-Save on Moving, Inc. of Woodland Hills, CA: $6,500
• Victory Moving & Storage, Inc. of Brooklyn, NY: $18,100

Common violations included failure to have the appropriate operating authority for the service provided and failure to prepare written estimates of charges. In addition, U-Save on Moving, Inc., A. Professional Movers, Inc., and Victory Moving & Storage, Inc. were cited for failing to relinquish a shipment of household goods to consumers after the payment of the required maximum 110 percent of the original estimate. All cited companies will be able to contest the alleged violations and the amount of penalties in an FMCSA proceeding.

To help protect consumers before a move, FMCSA recently launched the Protect Your Move Web site (www.protectyourmove.gov), which provides a guide to moving rights and information on how to research movers and brokers registered with FMCSA. Complaints related to household goods movers or other commercial motor carriers may be reported to the agency's hotline at 1-888-368-7238, filed online at nccdb.fmcsa.dot.gov, or sent using a form on the Web site via mail to FMCSA: 400 Seventh St., SW, MC-PA, Washington, DC 20590, or fax 202-366-7298.

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