Norton, Duckworth Announce Senate Committee Passage of Bill to Strengthen Consumer Protections Against Fraud Involving Residential Moving Companies
The bill passed out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation last week.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – RealEstateRama – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced that the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation passed their Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act last week without amendments. The bill is co-lead by Congressman Mike Ezell (R-MS) and Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE). This bipartisan bill would equip the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) with the necessary tools to protect consumers from fraud perpetrated by scammers in the interstate transportation of household goods. The bill was written to address a growing type of fraud involving entities that charge an up-front fee, pack and hold consumers’ household goods, then demand more funds to deliver or release the items. The companies involved have launched websites with fake 5-star reviews, and when negative reviews become prevalent, the scammers simply close the existing companies and open new ones, repeating the original scheme under a new FMCSA license. Norton and Ezell introduced the House companion bill in January.
“Senate committee passage of this bill is a significant step in the right direction for consumer rights,” Norton said. “Combating illegitimate shipping companies is like a game of whack-a-mole. As soon as one business is shut down, another pops up. This bill would protect consumers by clarifying FMCSA’s authority to assess civil penalties for violations of commercial regulations, and crucially, withholding registration from applicants who fail to provide verification details demonstrating they intend to operate legitimate businesses. I thank my colleagues, Senators Duckworth and Fischer, for leading this important bipartisan bill in the Senate.”
“Bad actors are constantly developing new ways to defraud hardworking Americans, so it’s critical we keep our laws up to speed in order to protect our constituents from the latest scamming techniques,” said Senator Duckworth. “I’m proud my bipartisan bill with Senator Fischer has passed through committee in the Senate and is now that much closer to helping ensure FMCSA has the tools it needs to shield American consumers from theft. Moving is stressful enough as is—you shouldn’t also have to worry about whether your movers are trying to steal your money and belongings.”
The bill has been endorsed by the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), American Trucking Associations’ Moving & Storage Conference (ATA-MSC), Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association (OOIDA), the National Association of Small Trucking Companies (NASTC), Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), Institute for Safer Trucking (IST) and Road Safe America.
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