KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tim Lukasiewicz and his fiancé, Danica, should have been on their way to California.
Instead, the Kansas City couple spent the day frantically packing and calling movers after the company they hired canceled on Monday, the night before their big move.
"It's been incredibly stressful," said Lukasiewicz.
Two months ago the couple hired Purple Heart Moving Group, a moving broker located in Florida.
Described on its website as a "family owned and operated" company, it appealed to Lukasiewicz because of its connection to military veterans. Lukasiewicz also said he read dozens of positive reviews about the company online.
He gave the company a $622.84 deposit.
"Eight weeks ago we scheduled a truck... everything was built around that," he said.
But he started to question the company when they failed to finalize the date and time of his move, which lead to an email from the company:
"I apologize for the inconveniences with the delayed information. We were not informed until later in the afternoon that the previous carrier which we had assigned to your move was unable to complete the job.
Our dispatch department immediately began working re-dispatching your job. However, they were unable to do so within the pickup window that was on file by the end of the business day," the email read.
Because it was considered a "service failure," Purple Heart Moving Group told Tim he could get his deposit back if he signed a form.
The form was a "settlement agreement," which prohibited Tim from discussing his experiences with the company on any social platform.
41 Action News contacted Purple Heart Moving Group.
Over the phone, the company said it does not send the "service failure" forms to everyone in order to get a deposit back. Instead, it is a decision made by the billing department depending on if a customer threatens a lawsuit.
Twenty minutes later, the company emailed Tim to inform him the billing department had approved to fully refund his down payment.
41 Action News also contacted the carrier Purple Heart Moving Group said could not complete the job.
Over the phone, the carrier's transportation manager said it was unaware of the job. Additionally, it terminated it's agreement with Purple Heart Moving Group, sending an email saying, "We are not interested on continuing our business with your company!"
"It's a start. We don't still feel like we've been made whole," said Lukasiewicz.
He has since found a new moving company to take his boxes. However, Lukasiewicz said he is now paying over a thousand dollars more than he budgeted for, because of the last-minute scheduling for his move.
