After 2 months, Denton County woman gets her belongings back from moving company
After waiting nearly two months for belongings she said were being held hostage after a move, a Denton County mother finally got them.
It's only after she called FOX 4 that progress was finally made.
Moving to a new home gives a look at all the stuff accumulated throughout the years.
Amanda Cascella’s dearest possession is a scrapbook containing nostalgic memories, including a letter from her high-school sweetheart — the father of her oldest daughter — who she says passed away unexpectedly in 2006.
"When life gets very heavy, I go to this specific letter that tells me to keep going and reminds me of who I am and how much I was loved," she said.
Lately, life is heavy for the single mother of three.
Back in June, Cascella says she paid nearly $4,000 to First National Van Lines to move her belongings from California to Denton County.
"It did not need to get to this point," she said.
Cascella filed police reports, however, claiming First National Van Lines was "holding her belongings hostage asking for more money."
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"They weren’t going to deliver. They were going to leave again," she said.
Earlier this week, Cascella interviewed with FOX 4 in her empty home.
After our story aired, First National Van Lines apologized and placed blame on Ernest Moving & Storage, a company to which it says it brokered the job.
First National Van Lines promised a finished job and a full refund.
On Friday, Ernest Moving arrived.
Ernest Moving has not responded to FOX 4’s request for comment.
Workers unloading threatened to leave with her belongings because FOX 4 was there on Friday but ultimately decided to complete the job.
"Always stand your ground," Cascella said. "They can continue doing this to other people. So stand your ground."
Cascella’s new home is now starting to feel like a home, filled with all of the items from furniture to hand-written letters which make home complete.
"Such an enormous sense of relief. We’ve been through a lot with and without each other, and then it all ends we end up together," she said. "It gets me through those hard times because he meant so much to me."
Cascella has been refunded about 70 percent of her move. The company says it’s working on the rest.
The Better Business Bureau says there are scammers in the moving industry who price gouge, take belongings hostage and destroy goods.