A Tucson moving company was fined by the state for raising its rates mid-move and refusing to deliver a customer’s items until the higher rate was paid.
Attorney General Mark Brnovich said a Pima County Superior Court judge found 3 Gorillas Moving and Storage LLC violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act and ordered the company to pay more than $17,000 in consumer restitution.
Brnovich said 3 Gorillas Moving is out of business and was owned and operated by Troy Emerson.
The business’s phone number is still working, however; no one responded to a message left there Friday seeking comment from Emerson.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office filed a consumer fraud lawsuit in November 2014. After a bench trial, the court found 3 Gorillas and Emerson:
- Misrepresented to some customers that 3 Gorillas was affiliated with a national moving company;
- Failed to address some consumer claims after personal property had been damaged during the move; and
- Misrepresented prices quoted to consumer; told a consumer they would not leave the consumer’s home unless a new, higher price was paid; or did not deliver a consumer’s belongings because the new, higher price was not paid.
The court found 3 Gorillas and Emerson “engaged in deceptive practices, misrepresentations, and suppressed or omitted material facts in connection with the sale or advertisement of services,” the attorney general said in a news release.
The court banned 3 Gorillas and Emerson from engaging in deceptive, unfair and fraudulent business practices and ordered it to pay a total of $17,010 in restitution to seven consumers. The defendants will also pay a civil penalty fine of $18,000 and the state’s attorneys fees and costs.
