FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday,
June 13, 2001
Contact:
Dave Longo
Telephone:
202-366-0456
FMCSA 13-01
FMCSA
Fines New York Motor Carrier $45,000 for Multiple Household Goods Violations
The
U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) today announced that Starving Students Moving Systems,
Inc., which also does business as Official
Moving Systems, of Brooklyn, N.Y., a for-hire carrier that primarily transports
household goods, was served with a “Revised Notice of Claim” letter for
$45,000 in civil penalties.
The
FMCSA uses the notice of claim to initiate enforcement actions for violations of
the Federal Motor Carrier Commercial Regulations (FMCCR).
This revised claim letter alleges that Official Moving committed multiple
violations of the FMCCR. The
violations were discovered during an investigation conducted by FMCSA’s New
Jersey Division.
FMCSA
conducted an investigation after receiving numerous consumer complaints.
FMCSA investigators subsequently cited Official Moving for violations
involving failing to charge applicable tariff rates; failing to provide the
required consumer information, “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You
Move,” which is an accurate summary of its dispute settlement program to
shippers; failing to release shipments moved under a non-binding estimate upon
payment of 110 percent of the estimated charges (that is, the carrier demanded
more than 110 percent); failing to weigh interstate household goods shipments in
the required form and manner; failing to reweigh household goods shipments upon
request of the shipper; and requiring shippers to sign documents releasing the
carrier from its liability.
Official
Moving will have an opportunity to contest the alleged violations and the amount
of the penalties in an agency proceeding.
Consumers
may file household goods or other commercial motor carrier complaints on
FMCSA’s nationwide complaint hotline at: (888) 368-7238 (888-DOT-SAFT).
To further assist consumers, a commercial complaint form is now available
on FMCSA’s website at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/.
The form may be mailed or faxed to FMCSA, 400 Seventh St., S.W., MC-PA,
Washington, DC 20590. The fax number is 202-366-7298.
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