(WSVN) - Many people hire moving companies to help make their move less stressful, but one South Florida family says their moving company is making their move across country a nightmare. 7’s Brian Entin has more.
David works hard to provide for his family, so when he was offered a new higher paying job in Chicago he took it.
He and his wife hired Sunway Moving & Storage in Fort Lauderdale to move their belongings from Pembroke Pines to Chicago.
They paid the company a down payment of nearly $7,000.
On April 21, the movers showed up and started packing.
David Abi, moving to Illinois: “I watched them drive away, and then in my mind I was going to meet them somewhere in Illinois to deliver my stuff.”
But on May 7, David got this email saying: “The company is bankrupt. Please make other arrangements.”
David Abi: “I started calling; the phone numbers are disconnected. The website is offline.”
For weeks, David tried calling and emailing Sunway Moving & Storage to find out where his belongings were.
David Abi: “Stuff we inherited from our grandparents, the souvenirs that the kids were growing up and drawing for us, their first baptism stuff and all the memories that are irreplaceable.”
After we interviewed David, he got an email from the administrator for the company’s bankruptcy case.
It said his belongings were inside a trailer in a gated area at the Interstate 595 truck stop in Davie.
David Abi: “I have to start from scratch. I have to go back and hire another moving company.”
David did find another company, but they told him they could not remove the trailer with his belongings from this truck stop until Sunway Moving & Storage gave them permission in writing.
David Abi: “My kids are having breakdowns. We’re going through hell.”
And David is not alone. People across the country have been affected since the company filed for bankruptcy.
Elena Torsielo, moving from New Jersey: “I felt like I was taken advantage of, you know, and now my moving plans. I have to go get another mover; it’s costing me another $1,000.”
Elena lives in New Jersey. She paid a $510 down payment to Sunway Moving & Storage to move her things to South Carolina, but the movers never showed up. Then she was notified the company filed for bankruptcy.
An attorney for Sunway Moving & Storage sent us a statement saying they are “working very hard with the court to assure the process goes smoothly.”
David says the process has been anything but smooth.
David Abi: “You are ruining people’s lives.”
Sunway Moving & Storage sent David paperwork releasing the trailer to him on May 26.
David was finally able to get into the trailer over the weekend and, with the help of a new moving company, load up a new truck.
David Abi: “I am very delighted to finally get my stuff back.”
David says the new truck is going straight to Chicago, and after six weeks, he can finally move his family into their new home.
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