Moving Company Rocky Mountain Overseas Leaves Family In The Dark, $30,000 In The Hole

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – What was supposed to be a fun move to Scotland has turned into a disaster for a Denver family. The Ruz family is now out tens of thousands of dollars after they say their moving company stopped returning their calls.

"I couldn't even believe that it was happening," Alex Ruz said.

When Alex's husband got a new job that required the family to leave Colorado for Europe, he hired Rocky Mountain Overseas (RMO) to ship the family's belongings across the Atlantic Ocean.

"Rocky Mountain Overseas is local and we like to support local business," Alex said.

For a little more than $10,000, the company packed and loaded a 40-foot container with nearly everything the family owned. That was the first week of June and the company's president said it would take 40 days for the Ruz family's stuff to make it to Scotland, Alex explained.

"That was definitely not the case," she told CBS4's Kelly Werthmann via FaceTime.

Along with their four cats and a dog, Alex and her two teens, husband and 89-year-old father departed for Scotland. They rented a furnished apartment for the first month of their move, trying to time their transition into the next unfurnished home with the arrival of their container. However, by that time 40 days had come and gone… then two months passed with no sign of their belongings.

"They basically ghosted us," Alex said of RMO. "We sent them emails, nobody answers the phone."

Alex said her husband eventually heard from an office manager in Denver who told him their container was delayed at a port in New York due to customs inspections.

"It sat in New York for 57 days," Alex said sternly. "Nobody put it on a boat because Rocky Mountain Overseas never prepaid the freight for it. So, while it sat in New York, it just kept accumulating charges. We didn't know, obviously. Nobody told us."

Between the port holding fees and charges to finally release their container in Scotland, Alex said they ended up paying an additional $20,000 to finally get their items last week.

"We call it ransom because it's basically what it feels like," she said.

CBS4 made repeated calls and left messages for Rocky Mountain Overseas, but never heard back. On Monday, CBS4 visited the company's office in east Denver where the wife of RMO's president opened the locked front door and declined an on-camera interview. She did say, however, the company is "going under" and "is no longer in business."

"I would like to take legal action," Alex said. "But that's just more money that we have to put into this. I'm not even sure (RMO) has money to pay us back."

RMO has scathing reviews online from other customers with similar experiences with the moving company. It also has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau. Alex said she wished they did a better research before hiring RMO to take care of their belongings.

"That was a big mistake," she said. "I think [RMO] puts on a really good face, but it's just all lies. All lies."

CBS4 also spoke with two former RMO employees who confirmed the Ruz family's unfortunate experience with the company, adding several other customers are experiencing the same issues. They told CBS4 they quit working for RMO last week and have filed complaints with the Colorado Department of Labor.