MEDINA, Ohio — Even the TV set doesn't have a place to sit in Karen Wood's new apartment in Medina. Besides one table, a few chairs and the air mattress she bought, the people aren't much better off.
Wood has been living in an essentially unfurnished apartment because her furniture still hasn't been delivered more than three weeks after she says she was told it would arrive from her move to Medina, Ohio from El Paso, Texas.
Karen sits in the middle of her living room after waiting more than three weeks for her furniture to arrive.
"I'm kind of stuck," said Wood. "How do I get my stuff back?"
Wood hired Gold Standard Relocation to move her belongings. Her experience has fallen short of the company's name.
Karen says she bought this air mattress so she'd have a place to sleep while waiting for her furniture to arrive.
"Horrible," said Wood, talking about working with the company. "They don't answer and when they answer they don't know what's going on."
At first, Wood says Gold Standard beat any other company's quote, but then later increased the price right before the move. The original estimate shows a roughly $1,700 quote, but the final contract is written out for a little more than $3,000, nearly double.
Karen's TV sits on the floor next to toys she bought for her young daughter to keep her entertained until the movers deliver her belongings.
After that change, Karen says Gold Standard delayed the move a few times and as of Feb. 25, still hasn't delivered Karen's belongings after she says she was promised they'd arrive on Jan. 27.
Cleveland Better Business Bureau President Sue McConnell says Wood's experience is textbook when dealing with what the BBB calls a "rogue mover."
Karen holds her daughter's hand in their nearly empty apartment.
"Rogue movers have been a problem for a long, long time," said McConnell. "Probably even more so because of the internet because that's where they hide."
McConnell says they promise to beat any price but then add on additional costs. Sometimes, McConnell says they'll call, say the furniture is in storage and won't be delivered until the customer pays a few hundred dollars more. By that point, the customer has no choice but to pay the money or risk losing their belongings.
Much of the apartment sits empty around a TV camera before Karen's belongings are delivered.
McConnell says if a quote is too good to be true, it probably is.
"When you're shopping around for a mover and somebody online offers you a very good price that you can't get anywhere else, it's tempting," said McConnell.
Wood isn't alone.
Complaints on the company's Facebook page led us to the owner of a damaged dresser and ottoman in California. That customer also lost entire boxes of fragile belongings that were broken after being moved by Gold Standard.
A woman who moved from Oklahoma to California says this dresser was bend during her move with Gold Standard Relocation.
She also reported extra charges, a delayed pick up, and a last second payment so the movers would bring the furniture up to her apartment in California.
Gold Standard Relocation declined to answer any of News 5's questions about why the delays happened and why there were extra charges.
You can check out a company's website by running it through this website.
You can see when a company was created in Ohio by checking the Secretary of State's website.
RELATED:Local couple had belongings held hostage by rogue moving company until they paid $1,500
