We recently told you about an Arlington-based moving company that’s accused of holding people’s items for ransom.
Theresa Riley said Presidential Moving Services added outrageous charges to her move and told her she’d have to pay $5,500 to get her stuff back.
She had just lost her mother, and at the same time she was fighting with Presidential Moving Services to get her things back.
"To them it might be junk. To me, that's my life," said Riley.
Last year, Riley hired the company to move her back to Texas after her mom passed away.
She said she was given a quote of $3,500, which included break down, packing, loading and delivery.
Riley said she provided a full list of items she needed moved and paid $895 over the phone to secure the date.
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But she said it wasn't until everything was loaded on the truck that she was given a contract to sign, and her balance increased $1,300 to a total of more than $4,200.
According to movers, Riley had more items in her home than they had on their list. Riley said she gave the company an accurate list and someone clearly dropped the ball.
And after months of trying to fight the balance, Riley learned that between storage and re-delivery fees she’d now have to pay $5,500 in addition to the money she already paid to get her items back.
"Just give back my things," she said. "I made a box with my mother's personal things in it and that's on that truck. If I could get anything else back, I just want that little box."
The Better Business Bureau of North Central Texas says it’s received dozens of negative reviews and complaints about presidential moving services over the last four months alone.
The BBB says many consumers claimed the company never delivered after requiring thousands of dollars over the initial estimate to complete their move.
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles oversees moving companies in the state. The Texas DMV told us they’ve received 136 complaints on this company, which also goes by Presidential Moving and Storage, Presidential Moving LLC and Presidential Moving Services LLC.
After our first story aired an investigator with the Texas DMV reached out to Riley to learn more about her case and help get her things back.
Riley thought this was too good to be true, but about a month later, she was finally able to get all of her items from the company and move everything into her new home.
The balance of $5,500 was eliminated.
Riley has spent the last few days unpacking, starting with her mother’s boxes.
"I smelled her," she said. "When I opened some boxes I smelled her in the air."
Riley is now a happy consumer who can finally make her North Texas house a home.
When we first talked to Presidential Moving Services, a representative told us that Riley wasn’t up front about how many items she needed moved the bad reviews online were from ex-employees.
The representative said if they weren't up to code with the state, they would have been shut down a long time ago.
We tried calling the company back several times, but kept getting a busy signal.
The Texas DMV told us they are still investigating the company and could not provide additional comment.
Consumers are advised to make sure they’re given a written estimate, an in-home estimate, so there’s no dispute on how much is actually moved.
According to the DMV, the mover is required to provide consumers with a moving services contract prior to loading, which Riley said didn't happen in her case.
If you have a problem with a Texas moving company, click here.
