I just got wind of a nifty new law on the books in the Great State of Texas!
It’s a law designed to help prevent moving companies (or those posing as a moving company) from stealing people’s hard-earned money, their earthly possessions or both!
And, after the plethora of moving scams in Texas, such as this one, I’d say it’s not a moment to soon (to coin a country crooner!)
Previously, when a moving company attempted to extort one of its customers out of more money in exchange for their goods, there was little that the consumer could do except to pony up more money. Even a call to law enforcement did little to no good, rarely even resulting in a citation for the moving company. But, as of May 1, 2012 that has changed!
Now, if an individual encounters a rogue mover in Texas, a call to local law enforcement can result in the rogue mover being arrested and hauled off to jail on the spot.
If a mover can’t produce what is called a “cab card”, they can be charged criminally with a Class A misdemeanor. If convicted, it means a maximum of a year in jail, plus quadruple fines per offense. If a rogue mover has 20 offenses, the penalty is multiplied times 20, resulting in a hefty stay in jail as well as hefty monetary fines.
Score one for Texas! Perhaps other states will soon follow through with similar or even harsher legislation and put the brakes on all these moving scams!
