Customers have described their nightmare ordeal after a removalist company went bust.
One couple based in Perth said they paid Rham Transport $14,000 nine weeks ago for their move, but their belongings still remained in Sydney.
Appearing on A Current Affair on Thursday night, Sharon and Edward revealed they had received an email announcing that the company had gone bankrupt.
The abrupt announcement came as all trace of the company vanished online.
Sharon and Edward lost access all their possessions, including clothes and family photos.
The couple eventually managed to retrieve their belongings with the help of a relative but had to pay another removalist.
Another customer, Deepu, relocated from Sydney to Western Australia and engaged Rham Transport for their move.
But Deepu and his wife Mourya have also been left without their belongings and have been sleeping on the floor since.
The couple also received a bankruptcy email from Rham Transport.
“All of a sudden the emails said … ‘to our beloved customers, we have gone bankrupt’,” Sharon explained.
A Current Affair investigated and encountered a Rham Transport truck at the storage site.
The driver, despite having keys to the yard, was unaware of customer complaints and left the picked-up container at the site without knowledge of its destination.
The driver’s boss mentioned being owed money by a subcontractor named Javi Removals and Storage, with whom they had dealings.
Javi Removals and Storage recently became active on referral services and allegedly has some staff connections with Rham Transport.
Rham Transport changed its official address to a Melbourne lot before reportedly going bankrupt.
Witnesses reported that once it was clear an investigation was underway, workers arrived to seize valuable items, including forklifts.
Simone Hill from the Australian Furniture Removers Association highlighted the need for regulation in the removalist industry and urged customers to inquire about the company‘s experience and affiliation with a national body.
Some customers are still unable to access their shipping containers, and Rham Transport has not officially declared insolvency.