New Arizona bill aims to end unlawful moving practices

A new bill introduced in the Arizona Legislature would bar moving companies from holding your household items hostage in order to force you to pay up.

BY CORBIN CARSON

Mar 14, 2017, 5:14 AM

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Johnny Osborne closes the door on a moving truck full of items from his store, Dodddlebugs, before high tide hits historic downtown Georgetown, S.C., Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

(AP Photo/Mic Smith)

PHOENIX — A new bill introduced in the Arizona Legislature would bar moving companies from holding your household items hostage in order to force you to pay up.

House Bill 2145, introduced by Rep. Jeff Weninger, aims to put an end to unlawful moving practices and ensure that movers will “not refuse to deliver a consumer’s household goods.”

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said the bill would protect homeowners during a stressful moving period while ensuring that moving companies stick to the rates that were agreed upon before the move.

“Quite frankly, it’s not fair,” Brnovich said. “Some unscrupulous moving companies will hold people’s personal belongings hostage and then demand more money at the completion of a move.”

Brnovich said moving companies that believe they are owed more money should not hold on to people’s personal property as a “remedy.”

“Their lifelong possessions, you know, their furniture, their bedding,” Brnovich said. “Maybe their medicine that they need.”

The bill has already passed unanimously in the House, but is still waiting to be introduced to the Arizona Commerce and Public Safety Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Steve Smith.

Smith said he is hesitant about bringing it to the committee because of what he called “unintended consequences.”

“My concern initially was what if you have a person who does agree to pay something and then they don’t pay their bill?” Smith said. “Do they still get their stuff?”

Before the bill moves to the committee, Smith said, he wants to make sure “both sides are equally represented.”

“If you’re doing something right, we want you to be protected. If you’re what’s wrong, we want you to be punished,” Smith said. “Whether you are the mover — we want you being punished if you’re doing something wrong, or if you’re the person not paying their bill.”

Smith said he intends to introduce the bill to the Senate committee this week.