As if moving wasn't already stressful enough!
One TikToker is shedding light on the heavy burden many people take on during their moving process.
The content of the TikTok is shocking to put it lightly.
TikTok user Sam, better known by their TikTok alias @followyourflow, took to the social media platform to warn people of the potential scams associated with moving companies.
You can see their video here:
@followyourflow please if anyone see’s this do not use national relocate as your moving company! 🙏 #scam #movingcompany #falseimprisonment #malekaren #foryoupage #fyp
They claimed they along with their roommates were bamboozled by a moving company they hired to help with the transition from one space to another. They alleged employees held their belongings “hostage” and locked their roommate in the back of the truck when they tried to retrieve their belongings.
Sam claimed it was a ploy to get them to pay more money.
The unbelievable footage left many viewers aghast at what they were seeing, with many citing several charges that could have been brought against the mover.
@stephanies8989/TikTok
@colecollected/TikTok
@SophieTsune/TikTok
@tvlkbvck/TikTok
The video, which now has over half a million views, nearly 46,000 likes, and 2,300 comments, showed one of Sam's roommates in the truck with the individual hired to help them.
The roommate and mover can be seen in a heated discussion about the items in the truck.
Text overlayed in the video read:
"National Relocate & G&M Movers trying to hold mine & my roommates belongings hostage until they can scam more money out of us."
"This guy LOCKED my roommate in the back of his truck!”
Sam can then be heard, off screen, saying:
“That’s our stuff, you can’t touch our stuff right?”
Towards the end of the 90 second video, the mover closed Sam's roommate in the back of the truck with their belongings and locked the door.
Immediately after the door was closed, Sam ran over to the truck and said:
"Do not f***ing lock someone in a truck are you kidding me?”
“You are tripping."
"Absolutely the f**k not.”
@takemebacktomars/TikTok
After a tense interaction, the mover unlocked and opened the door to the truck and the roommate exited the vehicle.
In the comments section of the video, Sam told viewers they paid the company “thousands of dollars more than what they originally quoted” and they tried to add more undisclosed fees, holding their belongings "hostage".
In another comment left by Sam on the video, they wrote:
“[The mover] knew he couldn’t touch her so his solution was to lock her into the back of a truck on a HOT af day."
"It took myself & someone else stepping in to get this guy to let her out.”
In response to one user directing them to call the police, Sam responded 9-1-1 was contacted immediately but it took over an hour and a half for officers to arrive at the scene.
After the police arrived, the mover who locked the roommate in the truck was charged with false imprisonment, according to Sam. False imprisonment is defined as an incident wherein a person restrains someone in a confined space or physically against their will with no legal right to hold the person.
Unfortunately, scams similar to the one Sam and their roommates underwent are not uncommon.
Many commenters recounted their own unpleasant interactions with movers, hopefully providing solace to Sam and their roommates after such a traumatic experience.
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@nuttshaw/TikTok
Since posting the original video, Sam has posted 7 more videos answering questions about that fateful day as well as one video showing the mover's employees demanding fair compensation from him after their employer agrred to be paid a certain amount upon acceptance of the job.
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Here's to hoping the new home has been far more pleasant than the move to get there for these roommates.