Public Citizen: Movers Database Missing Crucial Information

Consumers still won't know which companies may hold their belongings hostage

April 27, 2007

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A proposed federal database that would allow the public to research complaints against interstate moving companies lacks important consumer information, such as which companies have histories of holding customers’ belongings hostage, Public Citizen has told the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

The agency needs to make important changes to the proposed database so that the information reported by the moving companies is relevant to consumers, Public Citizen said.

"Consumers place a significant amount of trust in moving companies when they use them to move the contents of their homes," said Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook. "It can also be a very large expense - and, when moves go wrong, a huge headache. It is imperative that FMCSA does the best job it can to provide people with the ability to research complaints against these companies effectively."

Congress called for the database in the 2005 highway bill because of mounting consumer dissatisfaction with household moving services. The legislation requires interstate moving companies to compile consumer complaints and report them to FMCSA every quarter. The highway bill also set up a second database to track the more than 3,000 complaints that consumers file directly with FMCSA each year.

In comments filed with FMCSA, Public Citizen identified three chief complaints with the information that will come from the moving companies:

"Consumers have waited a long time for these much-needed tools," Claybrook said. "FMCSA must improve its proposal to make sure that wait was not in vain."

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