Illegal Rogue Movers Busted In Oregon
November 18, 2009 by admin
Filed under Moving News, Moving scams
In the latest war on movers, Oregon has taken on setting up a sting to catch illegal movers (also called “rogue movers“) in the act.
A little history lesson for you folks. Oregon is embroiled in a large war on movers. They had, up to recently, a very oppressive law which basically hindered and stopped movers from ever becoming licensed and insured. You can read about that here.
That law has been nixed.
However, Oregon has decided it will now start going after the movers again in new sting operations.
Here is an article detailing what the found and how they punished these movers:
In an effort to ‘crack down’ on unlicensed and uninsured moving operations, the Oregon Department of Transportation partnered with Beaverton Police Department on an undercover enforcement operation. Consumer protection was a key goal of the operation.
Illegal household goods movers often advertise on web sites or bulletin boards offering to help people with a move for a fee. Many consumers don’t realize that these “companies” don’t have legal operating authority or insurance and in some cases, safe vehicles and drivers. Consumers who choose an unlicensed mover, whether intentionally or unintentionally, may have little or no recourse for loss or damage to their property, may be charged higher than normal fees, and may be at higher risk for property or identity theft.
In today’s operation, ODOT Motor Carrier inspectors and Beaverton police officers looked for two things. First, was the mover properly certified with the state to offer moving services? Second, was the mover’s vehicle and driver properly registered with the state and was the vehicle in safe working condition?
ODOT Motor Carrier staff identified non-certified moving companies, then made appointments to meet at a decoy house. Upon arrival, the movers were met by ODOT and law enforcement officers who checked drivers and trucks for any violations.
During today’s operation there were 23 vehicle related violations issued; no vehicles were placed out of service for safety violations. Additionally, two citations were issued for other violations; one for driving while suspended and one for failure to provide proof of insurance.
The most commonly written citation was (ORS 825.100) Holding Out For-Hire Without Operating Authority; which holds a $472.00 fine. Some of the other citations were for no medical cards, no fire extinguishers, no USDOT markings or no warning devices.
Twelve “companies” had been booked for a moving date today. Nine of the twelve showed and were issued the various citations.
Past operations in Fairview, Bend, Eugene, Canby, Medford and Portland resulted in multiple citations for Operating without Proper Authority and other violations, and multiple arrests were made for outstanding warrants and parole violations.
Although no arrests were made on today’s sting operation, many of the subjects who posed as movers had felony convictions. Some of the crimes were Rape I, Robbery II, Assault IV, Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, and drug charges. Two were registered sex offenders.
Moving is a regulated industry in Oregon. Any company or person that offers household goods moving services must be certified by ODOT. The companies also run background checks on perspective employees.
Certified movers are trained to follow industry standards for loading, moving and unloading property. In addition, the companies are required to charge approved, reasonable rates. They must also carry liability and property damage insurance and the vehicles must meet federal safety standards.
This website has over 200 articles teaching you how you can avoid these illegal rogue movers and avoid moving scams.
where you get a certified mover ? not a big company , uummmmm ( well sometimes u get a good crew ) maybe odot knows ????