Philadelphia-area family says moving company held their belongings hostage for months
Jennifer Laible says her family's move turned into a nightmare after she claims the company they hired held their belongings hostage and demanded thousands of dollars more than their original contract required. She contacted CBS News Philadelphia for help.
Laible said she signed a contract with a company to move them from the Philadelphia region to Florida in September 2024. But when those movers didn't show up with the equipment and trucks they'd agreed to, she said they were left scrambling to find an alternative. In her mad dash, she made a decision that she says turned her life upside down.
"It has been months of a nightmare," she said. "It was hell. Trying to explain to your children where their stuff has gone is devastating."
Hostage situation
The same day her initial movers fell through, Laible secured another mover she found online.
She showed us the contract she signed with Cross Country Movers, which quoted her an estimate of $15,863 and an email confirmation from a company representative showing that she had paid $10,762 upfront.
But as soon as the truck was loaded, she said the trouble started. Laible claims the company jacked up the price by thousands of dollars.
"The amount changed by the day," she said. "Today it's $11,000, tomorrow by this person it's $13,000, next week it's $28,000."
The company sent a notice to Laible threatening to auction off her belongings if she didn't pay the $27,893.01 they said she owed for storage.
"The emotions of going through your stuff missing is unbelievable," she said. "We went through Christmas with nothing of our family traditions, nothing of our grandparents' legacies."
Laible admits in her rush to secure a new mover, she didn't do her due diligence. When CBS News Philadelphia began investigating Cross Country Movers, we found a history of complaints.
History of complaints
CBS News Philadelphia found the Laibles are not the only ones who claim they've had issues with Cross Country Movers.
Searching the company's DOT registration in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration database revealed complaints going back three years.
More than two dozen have been filed against Cross Country Movers since 2023, alleging things like deceptive business practices, delivery issues and similar hostage-like situations. The database doesn't show how those complaints have been resolved.
The two addresses and phone numbers listed in the company's registration led to Better Business Bureau profiles for moving companies with different names, with the same owner identified for each, Yehoshua Vaknin.
Court records reveal Vaknin has operated moving companies under several trade names, and he and several of his companies were civilly sued in 2018 by Florida's attorney general.
The complaint echoes many of Laible's allegations, saying Vaknin's companies "regularly used unskilled, untrained agents who often damaged or stole consumers' property, and routinely provided deceptive, low-ball estimates, then extorted high fees by holding consumers' property hostage."
CBS News confronted Vaknin in 2019 in Florida. He refused to talk other than to deny the allegations. Vaknin and his related companies formally denied the allegations in court.
In 2020, Vaknin and his companies entered into a consent judgment that found them liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Court records show an agreement was reached, and $78,000 was paid for consumer restitution.
CBS News Philadelphia made several attempts to contact Vaknin.
Neither he nor his lawyers responded to our requests for responses to specific questions. But an attorney for Cross Country Movers emailed a cease and desist letter to Laible calling her statements to CBS News Philadelphia and similar statements she made to the FBI and U.S. Department of Transportation "harassment."
The letter stated Cross Country Movers held Laible's belongings due to "unpaid contractual payments," but that an agreement had been reached to release her belongings and cancel the remaining payments. Laible contends no further payments were due.
"I'm grateful eternally that our stuff is safe, but those four plus months of fighting for our stuff to be safe was something I hope no one ever, ever has to go through," she said.
Protecting yourself
When looking to hire a moving company, doing your homework.
If a company is moving you across state lines or outside the country, it must be registered with the U.S. Department of Transportation. You can to check registrations and get details about the company, including its history of complaints.
A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation said the agency is working on a new registration system to combat fraud by making it easier for the agency to identify companies reopening under different names and flag when a company may be registering new credentials.
Some states also require certification for in-state moves. In addition to registering with the DOT, Pennsylvania and New Jersey mandate local movers to be on file with regional travel authorities. You can check the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission's or call the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.
A spokesperson for Pennsylvania's PUC said Cross Country Movers was sent a warning letter in April 2022 for not having a certificate on file for in-state moves. He said an application was never submitted.
The FTC recommends getting written estimates from several movers before making any decision. A company should look at your property in person or ask you to fully describe it before it sends the estimate.
You should never:
- Sign incomplete forms with blank spaces where important information like prices, dates and signatures should be.
- Hire anyone who demands cash or a big deposit up front before the move
- Hire an interstate mover that isn't registered with the DOT
The offers free resources and tools to help prepare for your move and to protect yourself from moving fraud.
Do you have a money question or a consumer story you want to share? Email [email protected].
