{"id":381868,"date":"2026-07-01T07:44:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T07:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/381868\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T07:44:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T07:44:26","slug":"california-couple-says-moving-company-doubled-their-price-and-is-now-holding-belongings-for-ransom-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/381868\/","title":{"rendered":"California couple says moving company doubled their price and is now holding belongings ‘for ransom’: report"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple looking to leave California<\/a> said their moving company is holding their belongings hostage after allegedly doubling the agreed-upon price.<\/p>\n

Roughly one month has passed since John Nelson and his wife, who were relocating from Oceanside to North Carolina, encountered what they described as a troubling experience at the end of May, according<\/a> to CBS 8.<\/p>\n

The couple initially signed a contract with a moving broker for just over $16,000 for a full-service move and paid a $7,000 deposit upfront, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n

However, on moving day, the company allegedly increased the cost to $32,000, claiming the couple had more belongings than originally estimated.<\/p>\n

Californians Fleeing To Red States Are Driving Up Home Prices And Rents In Their New Cities, Data Shows<\/a><\/p>\n

\"workers<\/p>\n

Professional movers load furniture into a moving van on April 6, 2016, in New York.<\/p>\n

(Getty Images)<\/p>\n

While Nelson ultimately agreed to move forward to avoid losing his deposit, he later alleged that the company attempted to charge another round of additional fees upon delivery.<\/p>\n

Read On The Fox News App<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the couple, the company attempted to deliver their belongings on June 3 \u2014 one week before the date Nelson said they would be available to receive them, CBS 8 reported.<\/p>\n

The failed delivery attempt allegedly led the contractors to issue an additional redelivery fee, according to the report.<\/p>\n

American Drivers Warned About Red Flags To Avoid \u2018Predatory Towing\u2019 Targeting Motorists Across Us<\/a><\/p>\n

\"moving<\/p>\n

A moving truck and loading ramp is stationed outside a home in Queens, New York.<\/p>\n

“They\u2019ve got $30,000 and they\u2019ve got our stuff\u2026 and they\u2019re basically holding it for ransom<\/a>,” Nelson said.<\/p>\n

“When you move, it\u2019s an exciting thing…you never expect for somebody to take your stuff and not deliver it,” he added.<\/p>\n

Sophisticated Porch Pirate Ring Hacked Shipment Tracking Info To Steal Hundreds Of Phones, Prosecutor Says<\/a><\/p>\n

Nelson also claimed the initial delivery attempt may have been staged to pressure the couple into paying additional charges, alleging that the moving truck captured on video did not appear to be the same vehicle used to load their belongings.<\/p>\n

“I think they just pulled up an empty truck to stage a charade,” he said.<\/p>\n

“As far as I\u2019m concerned, they\u2019ve got stolen property<\/a> that\u2019s crossed state lines,” Nelson added.<\/p>\n

Nelson and his wife reportedly filed police reports in both Oceanside and their new city in North Carolina.<\/p>\n

\"american<\/p>\n

American flags hang from beachfront homes in Oceanside, California, U.S., on Saturday, July 4, 2020.<\/p>\n

Click Here To Download The Fox News App<\/a><\/p>\n

Complaints were also filed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), a dispute-resolution service that helps consumers address issues with companies, the outlet said.<\/p>\n

According to CBS 8, the broker has received 280 complaints with the BBB over the past three years.<\/p>\n

The broker reportedly disputed the couple\u2019s claims but said it was working to find a resolution.<\/p>\n

Original article source: California couple says moving company doubled their price and is now holding belongings ‘for ransom’: report<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A couple looking to leave California said their moving company is holding their belongings hostage after allegedly doubling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381869,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[154287,7,9,8,154286,37789,3282],"class_list":["post-381868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-belongings","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-john-nelson","tag-moving-company","tag-oceanside"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}