HYATTSVILLE, MD — Maryland's attorney general is suing a Hyattsville moving company for charging customers extra to move their goods and then driving off with the goods if the customers did not pay the increased demand, according to a news release.

Brian E. Frosh announced Monday that his Consumer Protection Division filed charges against Swift Van Lines, LLC (formerly known as Revolution Moving and Storage, LLC) and its owner Juan Carlos Martinez.

Frosh and his Division believe Swift Van Lines gave consumers low estimates for moving services and then drastically increased its prices after loading customers' items onto its trucks. The movers sometimes charged several times the estimate, Frosh said. If the customers refused to pay the increased amounts, the drivers allegedly drove off with the goods still on its trucks.

"Moving companies operating in Maryland cannot hold a consumer's items hostage," Frosh said in a statement. "When moving consumers within the State, companies cannot exploit consumers either by charging substantially more than promised or by refusing to deliver household goods once they are loaded onto a truck."

These charges seek an order that would permanently prohibit Swift Van Lines and its owner from hiking up the price and refusing to deliver to customers. It also orders Swift to pay restitution to consumers "harmed by its alleged unfair and deceptive practices," the news release states.

Consumers with complaints against Swift Van Lines, LLC, Revolution Moving and Storage, LLC or Juan Carlos Martinez may call the Consumer Protection Division at 410-576-6569, file a complaint online, or write to the Consumer

Protection Division at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202.

Source: https://patch.com/maryland/hyattsville/md-attorney-general-sues-hyattsville-moving-company